New TV: 4K or regular?

[Anonymous]

Time to buy a new TV and considering whether to get a 4K TV or a regular one. Seems like 4K isn't worth the extra cost at this point as there is almost no 4K content available. I mean, first there was Blu-Ray movies and then cable started broadcasting in HD. Seems like we're at least a few years away from a meaningful selection of 4K content so it doesn't seem like it's worth it to pay extra for the feature. I realize 4K TVs have an upscaling feature but I'm not totally convinced that its all that different from what a regular HD TV is going to provide. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I haven't heard of 4k--I'm out of it, I guess, but you got this out of order:

"I mean, first there was Blu-Ray movies and then cable started broadcasting in HD."

[Anonymous]

We got a 4K, but it was a great deal on an open box tv at Costco.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't heard of 4k--I'm out of it, I guess, but you got this out of order:

"I mean, first there was Blu-Ray movies and then cable started broadcasting in HD."

Maybe I'm misremembering. I could have sworn Playstation 4 was one of the first Blu-Ray players and there were a handful of games and a handful of movies it could play before there was any significant HD presence on cable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got a 4K, but it was a great deal on an open box tv at Costco.

Were you planning to get 4K all along or did you just get it because it was a better deal? I'm more curious about the analysis behind buying 4K or not than the ultimate purchase decision.

[Anonymous]

Regular and upgrade later in less you get a good deal. If there is no content, by the time content is available, there will be better tv's at lower prices. Save the money and invest it in a new tv when the technology is useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regular and upgrade later in less you get a good deal. If there is no content, by the time content is available, there will be better tv's at lower prices. Save the money and invest it in a new tv when the technology is useful.

Thanks, OP here. That was my thought as well. Just wasn't sure if anyone thought the upscaling technology was significantly useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regular and upgrade later in less you get a good deal. If there is no content, by the time content is available, there will be better tv's at lower prices. Save the money and invest it in a new tv when the technology is useful.

You'll pay a lot less for the 4K TV when everyone else is buying up the 8K TVs or whatever they come up with next.

-the guy with a 1080p from about 4 years ago

[Anonymous]

My DH felt that the 4k TV was too detailed and made everything look fake. He didn't see the point in having a TV that would ruin every movie and program because you can see the pores on the actors' faces and the paint strokes on background set.

[Anonymous]

4K isn't worth much.

That said, many of the 4K tvs have some other nice features that are worth something.

Personally I'm a huge fan of the Samsung models because they have an external box, so when technology changes you can update the box - not the tv.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regular and upgrade later in less you get a good deal. If there is no content, by the time content is available, there will be better tv's at lower prices. Save the money and invest it in a new tv when the technology is useful.

THIS. As we learned from "full HD" (1080p), the TVs were end of life and being replaced and FiOS still wasn't pushing anything in 1080p. Most of us stopped Netflix disc delivery as well so you are watching cable or streaming and none of that is available in 4k. By the time it is this will be your gaming TV, recycled because it broke (Chinese..) or given to nice old uncle Bob and you will have a new one.

[Anonymous]

We bought the 4K and it is fantastic! We had a slightly larger non 4K and it was not as high quality in so many ways. We got a slightly smaller 4K and it is the best TV ever. I prefer a smaller higher quality picture to a larger lower rez/ quality picture. The smaller sets are much less expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought the 4K and it is fantastic! We had a slightly larger non 4K and it was not as high quality in so many ways. We got a slightly smaller 4K and it is the best TV ever. I prefer a smaller higher quality picture to a larger lower rez/ quality picture. The smaller sets are much less expensive.

OP here. Based on what I've read the benefits of 4K depend on your viewing distance from the TV. For us, at 11 feet from the TV, it does not appear that we will even be able to notice the benefits of 4K.

You guys can probably tell I'm leaning towards the regular TV but was just making sure I wasn't missing anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regular and upgrade later in less you get a good deal. If there is no content, by the time content is available, there will be better tv's at lower prices. Save the money and invest it in a new tv when the technology is useful.

You'll pay a lot less for the 4K TV when everyone else is buying up the 8K TVs or whatever they come up with next.

-the guy with a 1080p from about 4 years ago

+1 on this.


It probably depends on your budget and how much it matters to you.

As the previous poster mentioned, you can always wait for the prices to come down but by that time there will be something even newer that you'd might want to consider as well.

Maybe take into consideration your family's viewing habits and what they'll do with it as well. ie is anyone a movie or tech buff where they really look at that stuff?

As for the comment about it being too detailed, I'm sure it's something that you get used to and can never go back afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH felt that the 4k TV was too detailed and made everything look fake. He didn't see the point in having a TV that would ruin every movie and program because you can see the pores on the actors' faces and the paint strokes on background set.

I felt this way when HD first came out. Now it's weird to watch non-HD.