Finding the best balance for a 2015 4k TV

[ADWyatt]

This April I plan on buying a 4k TV, and as far as I'm aware I'm pretty much set up for it. Through my phone company my internet is hard-wired into my Home Theater system at a speed of anywhere from 31 to 44 mbps. (Netflix HD comes through in stunning clarity and detail, rivaling the quality of my 1080p Blu-rays.) I currently use DISH, which apparently is going to release a 4k Joey this April, although I know nothing about it. More importantly, by November my contract will be up and I will be switching to DirecTV. As well, it's hoped that sometime late this year the first 4k Blu-ray players will be released for sale. All of which is to say that, for me at least, 2015 is the time to step up to 4k.

Knowing how to best enter the world of 4k, however, may not be so easy. The absolute most I want to spend on a 65" set is $4,500 USD. That may buy a decent model, but I know there will be limits on what that affords, and this is leading me to ask the informed members of this forum their opinions and advice on several points. And with that, I'd like to thank all of you in advance for any input you may care to give.

First, I'm going to assume that I will not be able to afford a fully back-lit model, having to accept instead an edge-lit TV. For a model such as the Samsung JS9000 or JS8500, do you think I would be losing a lot of contrast and color quality compared to the back-lit JS9500? (I'm using Samsung as my primary example, as that is the brand I'm most interested in at the moment.) In a broader sense, how much will the picture suffer for those of us who can only afford an edge-lit TV?

Secondly, I only want a TV capable of 10-bit color (which I alluded to in my previous post). Samsung won't tell me if the 8500 or 9000 are 10-bit, although they're supposed to be SUHD models. I would hope that $4,500 could afford a TV with 10-bit, but do you think that sounds reasonable?

And what about juddering, which is one of the truly weak parts of LCD/LED televisions? As I understand it, Sony had perhaps the best performance in 2014 among LED models; I have to wonder how Samsung, or other companies, might be addressing this in 2015.

Finally, I have to ask about color saturation, which may be a bigger point of contention in 2015 than we're aware of at this early stage. One of the reasons I decided not to buy a Sony 4k TV in 2014 was because I felt its colors were a bit too over-saturated, and not as natural and life-like as my Panasonic plasma. Quite simply, the color was too over-bearing for my tastes. The impression I'm getting from CES 2015 is that quantum-dot technology may be exacerbating the problem, making the now-dead plasma TVs shine in comparison, at least so far as life-like color display is concerned. If I'm right, I have to wonder what 2015 4k LED model will have the most pleasing and realistic color for the money I have to spend. Panasonic, if I can afford it?

All of the above questions are a bit involved, but I think they may spark debates about the upcoming 2015 4k models that can ultimately prove to be beneficial for prospective buyers such as myself. Again, thanks in advance for everyone's advice and opinions.