Is 4K a game changer?

[DarknessBDJM]

No, 8K availability will be too close to 4K for the latter to take off. LCD is also such a dated display technology that it won't show off the benefits well enough, but it's cheap and available so it's still in use.

[richieb1971]

Not as much as 480i was when AVI's were downloadable for free.

[theprestige85]

Well, I don't know too much about 4K, but it certainly sounds more appealing to me than '3D', that's for sure. I'm sure there will be an appreciable difference on decent sized TVs, however, how many households will have the space (and money) to buy 80 inch plus televisions in order to get the full benefits of 4K??? And even more importantly, as others have highlighted, how many films will actually see a genuine upgrade? Hollywood blockbusters, that's it.

At the end of the day, 4K scans of 1080p blus are FANTASTIC and cheap and affordable right now. 4K will require people to spend a small fortune to really get the most out of it and that's the biggest issue, I believe.

[steve1971]

Is 4K a game changer? To the few yes to the majority of people such as the general consumer no. I read some posts in this thread where some are calling people idiots for their not so excited views on 4K. Really? To them I say who the hell are YOU to be calling people clueless or idiots? Just because some people are not buying into 4K dont makes them clueless or idiots, they just dont see the benefits of it and nor do I. The only benefit I see in 4K is if you veiw it on a 65inch screen or larger such as a projection system. And I dont buy into the "Oh you can tell the difference between 1080p and 4K on a 55inch screen." When I bought my Sony 55inch W900A they had it sitting next to a 55X900A 4K Sony tv and and my wife and I saw no difference at all, none, and even the sales rep said the same and he suggested if I was interested in 4K to go larger. Well since I have no interest in 4K I bought my W9 and I am glad I did. I am all for advancement in technology but I have to see the benfits of it and if I dont I move on to something else. Yes you see alot of 4K tvs at Best Buys and so fourth but how about Target, Walmart ect? No...you dont. 4K is all the rage right now due to the push of the manufacturers and I saw it with 3D as well and where did that all end up? People can call me an idiot or clueless for not drinking the 4K coolaide all they want but it dont bother me at all and it never will.

[KubrickKurasawa]

LOL! I think 4K haters/downplayers are simply people who overspent on their 1080p sets, and now have buyers remorse. Like the person above me a 55" Sony from 2011 probably cost 2,000+. Well we've all done it. Over payed for something and see it become out dated quickly, but you might want to man up and realize what you did. Instead of trying to spoil it for people who didn't over pay for their sets and want to upgrade to 4k. Trite and annoying.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by steve1971

Is 4K a game changer? To the few yes to the majority of people such as the general consumer no. I read some posts in this thread where some are calling people idiots for their not so excited views on 4K. Really? To them I say who the hell are YOU to be calling people clueless or idiots? Just because some people are not buying into 4K dont makes them clueless or idiots, they just dont see the benefits of it and nor do I. The only benefit I see in 4K is if you veiw it on a 65inch screen or larger such as a projection system. And I dont buy into the "Oh you can tell the difference between 1080p and 4K on a 55inch screen." When I bought my Sony 55inch W900A they had it sitting next to a 55X900A 4K Sony tv and and my wife and I saw no difference at all, none, and even the sales rep said the same and he suggested if I was interested in 4K to go larger. Well since I have no interest in 4K I bought my W9 and I am glad I did. I am all for advancement in technology but I have to see the benfits of it and if I dont I move on to something else. Yes you see alot of 4K tvs at Best Buys and so fourth but how about Target, Walmart ect? No...you dont. 4K is all the rage right now due to the push of the manufacturers and I saw it with 3D as well and where did that all end up? People can call me an idiot or clueless for not drinking the 4K coolaide all they want but it dont bother me at all and it never will.

lol, to the contrary, it really appears it does.

I guess the good thing is I no longer see you giving out ocular health advice in our Display Theory and Discussion forum.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by steve1971

People can call me an idiot or clueless for not drinking the 4K coolaide all they want but it dont bother me at all and it never will.

You will change your mind if you move to a larger television screen. No one will call you an idiot for that.


55" televisions are a very small teapot in which to have an argument about 4K. If you can't use one larger than that, no problem. If you can, you may enjoy it.

[tronotized22]

Originally Posted by steve1971

Is 4K a game changer? To the few yes to the majority of people such as the general consumer no. I read some posts in this thread where some are calling people idiots for their not so excited views on 4K. Really? To them I say who the hell are YOU to be calling people clueless or idiots? Just because some people are not buying into 4K dont makes them clueless or idiots, they just dont see the benefits of it and nor do I. The only benefit I see in 4K is if you veiw it on a 65inch screen or larger such as a projection system. And I dont buy into the "Oh you can tell the difference between 1080p and 4K on a 55inch screen." When I bought my Sony 55inch W900A they had it sitting next to a 55X900A 4K Sony tv and and my wife and I saw no difference at all, none, and even the sales rep said the same and he suggested if I was interested in 4K to go larger. Well since I have no interest in 4K I bought my W9 and I am glad I did. I am all for advancement in technology but I have to see the benfits of it and if I dont I move on to something else. Yes you see alot of 4K tvs at Best Buys and so fourth but how about Target, Walmart ect? No...you dont. 4K is all the rage right now due to the push of the manufacturers and I saw it with 3D as well and where did that all end up? People can call me an idiot or clueless for not drinking the 4K coolaide all they want but it dont bother me at all and it never will.

I totally agree with you about calling people idiots. Just because someone has a different viewpoint than you doesn't mean that the other person is a idiot or one of the "peasants" who could not possibly understand or comprehend why some people are excited for something.

[Nightopian]

I think 4K will be to Bluray what Bluray was to DVD. Not everyone will upgrade to it, but for those who value the higher resolution and have a 4K display already it will be a natural progression.

For me, my issue is triple dipping. I made the jump to Bluray when I built my theatre room with a projector and was in desperate need of higher resolution than DVD. But with my screen size and viewing distance I am not able to fully resolve the resolution of Bluray and therefore it is perfect for me now and I'm no longer required to upgrade out of necessity.

The other issue is the time it takes to release films on a new format. Bluray has been out for almost 10 years now and it is still missing thousands of titles which are available on DVD. It will take 4K Bluray decades to catch up...and more than likely by that time there will be a different format again. If I decide to buy a new 4K player, I will just stick with the current releases in 4K if anything. I won't backtrack.

[meremortal]

I'd say from a technological standpoint it's a worthwhile progression. We've already seen a number of "mastered in 4k" blu rays that are noticeable improvements even in dithered 1080p form. So there's obviously potential for even greater gains in transparency when viewing an actual UHD blu on a 4k display. And current blu ray buyers could benefit from UHD as well if it means that all titles prepared for UHD will also see a cheaper "mastered in 4k" blu ray alternative. Both camps could arguably benefit here if it means a release is coming from a high quality source.

But a game changer on a mass market consumer scale? I really doubt it. Price is going to be a driving factor and the average person is not going to pay a premium for movies that are available much cheaper on other formats. In other words, it's hard to imagine 4k drumming up enthusiasm beyond diehard AV enthusiasts and the most critical of blu ray consumers. Home theater's still very much alive, but not everyone is picky when it comes to presentation quality. I'd imagine most people are far more interested in the story than how it looks and sounds. Probably the vast majority of consumers are sitting further than ideal seating distances and using the stock tv speakers for audio.

I'm sure there will be a very dedicated and small target audience for UHD who demand the very best in AV at any cost. But how much support it'll draw is up to anyone's guess. Most people will probably see the prices and balk when there are already dvd and blu ray alteratives. And with dvd still the dominant format sales-wise, the margins that UHD can siphon from blu ray may be minimal at best.

[renegadeviking]

Bluray UHD will be nichi, because studios aren't going to do 2k/4k masters to old films unless it was 2k masters as of 2015. Not right away. The 1080p masters to come out for UHD in 2023-2024. I never knew plastic Bluray are worth $30-40 for a single movie when it uses $2 worth of material. $20 is premium for movies these days.

I believe it says 2160p on the 2016 releases

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by renegadeviking

Bluray UHD will be nichi, because studios aren't going to do 2k/4k masters to old films unless it was 2k masters as of 2015. Not right away. The 1080p masters to come out for UHD in 2023-2024. I never knew plastic Bluray are worth $30-40 for a single movie when it uses $2 worth of material. $20 is premium for movies these days.

I believe it says 2160p on the 2016 releases

Niche like bluray? Or Niche like nuon?

[truelies]

Don't think so, you can't see the difference if the TV is less than 80". I suspect UHD 4k will as popular as DVD and Blu ray.

[katiehlvr2]

Originally Posted by truelies

Don't think so, you can't see the difference if the TV is less than 80". I suspect UHD 4k will as popular as DVD and Blu ray.

I totally disagree. I have a 60 inch vizio 4k p series. I sit 8 feet away. Ive only watched 4k content from amazon and I can tell a huge difference.
I will be in line for the physical media no questions asked.

[musick]

Originally Posted by scorpiontail60

I think you mean "as much a game changer as Blu-ray was"

Nope that is not what I meant at all
but since you are interested in trying to correct me let correct myself

It will be as much a game changer as 3D blu-ray was/is

[musick]

LOL even the mod doesn't think it is a game changer

[SillySauce]

4K is lame. All Arri Alexa shot movies are only 2K.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Speaking for myself, I don't have much incentive to upgrade to 4K. When I upgraded to HDTV in the first place (back in '07), it was largely because I wanted a widescreen picture. What I didn't realize at the time was how inferior it was going to make my DVDs look. I resisted diving into Blu-ray for a while because I didn't want to upgrade my collection.

This time around, there's really no incentive to upgrade aside from an increase in pixels. I'm sure it looks great for 4K material, but that doesn't matter much to me since I'm quite happy (to say the least) with the quality of 1080p. Add to that the fact that so many titles from the past 10+ years (film and television) won't ever be available in 4K (either thanks to their digital intermediates or the limitations of the camera resolution), it just doesn't make sense for me.

So a game changer? In truth, I don't know. But, at least for me, it won't be.

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by SillySauce

4K is lame. All Arri Alexa shot movies are only 2K.

It's not lame. But you do bring up a good point in that if cinemas felt that 2K was good enough for the cinema screens, at least for a period, it begs the question of how many ordinary consumers will begin to think that 2K isn't good enough for their homes.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by scorpiontail60

Was this article written by the same idiots who said you can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p unless you have a 80" TV or more just a few years ago?

Well I forget his name, but he's the guy that also wrote an article about how owning a TV at all is silly, since you can get a digital projector and instantly have a 120" screen projected on the wall.

Those two topics, plus he works for CBS, should be enough for a Google search of his name.