Ultra High Definition TV

[Gizmo1]

Not really a computer question but hopefully acceptable for this forum. Just wondering if anyone has any experience of UHD TV. There's not a lot of content around at the moment but as it did with HD, presumably that will improve as more of these TV's are sold. Does a UHD tv improve the picture of say a Sky HD channel at the moment and is the introduction of curved screens an improvement to the viewing experience or just a gimmick? In other words, with Xmas round the corner, is it worth an investment now or wait until there's more content from mainstream media and presumably a drop in price of the sets themselves. Thanks .... Giz.

[highflyer40]

what ever you do don't get it now! it will be at least 30% cheaper after x-mas.

[TWT]

Don't waste your money on UHD

UHD uses up a lot of bandwidth,whether delivered on cable,satellite or terrestrial UHF.For that reason don't expect any broadcasters to offer it any time soon.

The trend in my neck of the woods (not UK) is for broadcasters to actually decrease bitrates (resolution) because they keep on adding new channels to their bouquets,usually shopping type channels.

Spectrum is now an expensive commodity,and the broadcasters want to jam in as many channels as they can to maximise their returns.

[mixture]

Gizmo1,

The first question to ask is what sized TV are you thinking of buying and what is the distance at which you plan to view your TV ? The ideal resolution is a factor of both of those items.

Secondly, as has already been hinted at, you might find there to be a limited number of 4k sources. Upscaling existing HD content to 4k will not enhance picture quality, you can't polish a turd but you can sprinkle glitter on it !

Finally, yes I would think curved TVs are a bit of a gimmick .... but I've only seen them around the shops, have not actually sat in front of one for a period of time....

If I were you, I would probably look at buying a top of the range HD TV instead ....

[Booglebox]

4K really is a leap over HD in terms of quality, I find it very noticeable. However, as my good buddy miXPture (:E) correctly notes, sources of 4K content are scarce.
Devices that can drive a 4K display are also fairly uncommon, I think you need DisplayPort 1.2 or Thunderbolt to drive it at 60hz (as you should).

Regarding curved screens - it all depends how close you're sitting to the screen (and, I guess, how big the screen is). Please see below highly precise diagram I have spent dozens of hours on. Obviously, less "V" (viewing angle) is desirable.

http://i.imgur.com/PcuOIeq.png

[vulcanised]

I often shake like that too!

[LookingForAJob]

vulcan, what sort of things are you watching at the time?

[crewmeal]

The only documentary being recorded in UHD format ASAIK is BBC's Life. But I doubt whether it's being transmitted in UHD.

If you're that interested go into a store and ask them to show an HD channel from an aerial and see what the quality is like. Forget the glitzy demos they have to entice you into the store. Any good salesman will know his stuff about the format!

[Ancient Observer]

I'm with crewmeal on this.
One of the Richer sounds branches in the South East has a habit of being honest.
They had their UHD tele demo set up to display the demo stuff. It looked brilliant. It looked like one could walk in to the picture.
They then showed us the tele with their regular TV signal. (No doubt boosted behind the scenes, some how)
It was good, but not as good as the demo. We did not buy the tele. We didn't have the money, anyway.

The other issue is price. Prices seem to be all over the place for tvs right now. If you do decide to buy, a salesman in John Lewis gave some good advice to a couple near me in the shop yesterday. He simply said decide what features you want, and ONLY buy those features. He thought some of the bells and whistles were being priced far too high.

[dazdaz1]

Just a thought.... Would one get a enhanced (over HD tv) picture from a blue ray disc on the UHD tv? Will the film companies bring out UHD movies? Will we have UHD DVD players? Is this the decline of blue ray?