Who Else is Holding Off on Purchasing a 4K UHD Set...

[riffjim4069]

...due to the lack of a programming? Me! I've actually been wanting to pick-up a new 70-75" 4K set for the past year or so, but there is such a lack of programming (most specifically broadcasters) that it's just not worth it. Heck, here it is with The Masters on-tap and I find myself feeling as though it were 2002 and I had to erect an OTA antenna because CBS was finally broadcasting The Masters in HD. The only difference is that I purchased a 4K set, I would be sh*t-out-of-luck because CBS is still broadcasting it in 1080i.

Moreover, two other factors is that I will need to buy a new Tivo (Bolt) to replace my not-to-old Tivo Roamio with 6-tuners that pretty much run the entire home. Also, I'll have to purchase another Yamaha AV Receiver because my others won't handle 4K. C'est la vie.

Anyway, as much as I would love to purchase a new 4K I think that I'll be holding off until this Fall or over the Holidays. Hopefully 4K will start gaining momentum by then. We shall see.

 

[goaliebob99]

I dont get where you come off that there is the lack of programming. Netflix, and Amazon alone has a bunch of content. Also, you can find loads of it on the internet, youtube, Vimeo, ect. Along with UHD Bluray now released the networks will catch up quicker than you think. I think this fall we will see a light switch turned on and before you know it we will have 20-30 channels in UHD. (DirecTV seems to be the only one capable of delivering and have the bandwidth for this content). To me it seems like the other providers such as Dish didn't look forward far enough and are scrambling now to find bandwidth they don't have.

 

[osu1991]

Didn't stop me. Wanted a larger set when I moved into new house as the 60 just looked small with more open floor plan. I wish Amazon had more 4k but I still find plenty with Amazon and Netflix using the apps built into the tv. My Tivo Roamio and 722 looks great on it. Some good 4k stuff on Youtube with the tv's app too. I do wish some events were easily available like the Masters, SuperBowl or network shows in 4k, but there is enough to make it worth getting if you are looking for a new tv.

There is going to have to be some decent linear 4k programming soon (football, golf, Nascar, etc), if Dish or any provider wants to keep me as a customer for much longer.

 

[navychop]

I'm holding off because I don't think the new standards have really settled out. HDR and Wide Color. I value those way more than resolution.

That, and the TVs will be better and cheaper in a year or two.

I hope to keep my Onkyo receivers, feeding the future UHDTV from a Hopper and disc player, and the AVR separately, since my current AVRs will not pass the latest and greatest.

 

[goaliebob99]

The HDR standards have settled out a bit. But if that is an issue go with the Samsungs and their evolution kits. That's the nice thing about them is when the hardware does change, you can install the evolution kit which essentially replaces the guts of your TV to the upgraded standards, codecs and components at a much reduced price. If I was to buy a new TV I wouldn't hesitate to go 4k now. It's not like what it was a year ago.

 

[navychop]

The standards have settled.

The implementations have not. Judging by various posts.

 

[dfergie]

Have a replacement for my fire destroyed Sony coming in hopefully Friday ... I was very happy with it.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I bought a 4K display but am holding off on getting involved with the discs until later in the year. Still looks great for 2D and 3D blu-ray! And especially with the 2016 displays, grab a nice 4K if you are in the market and then get into the format when you are ready with a player and discs. I cant stream so that isnt an options.

HDR and wider color gamut are also creating a situation where LCD's and OLEDs have to do things better, and PQ is getting real good.

 

[Ramy]

The only reason I am holding off right now is because I have a 2 year old that likes to throw stuff at the TV.

 

[jayn_j]

I think I am waiting for OLED to come down in price a bit.

Costco had a 55" LG OLED last weekend for under $2k, but it was only 1080P. Still an impressive picture, but I want 65" and 4k.

 

[lparsons21]

The standards have settled.

The implementations have not. Judging by various posts.

Yeah just read about someone renting/buying a disc with HDR and it wouldn't play because his 4K TV didn't support HDR. Since there are a hell of a lot more 4K TVs that don't have HDR support and probably won't get it, that is an issue that needs some resolution.
I know that it will keep me from buying a disc player until it is resolved.


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[teachsac]

I had no problem playing an UHD disc on a non HDR TV. Hooked it to my 850A just to test it out.

S~

 

[jayn_j]

Yeah just read about someone renting/buying a disc with HDR and it wouldn't play because his 4K TV didn't support HDR. Since there are a hell of a lot more 4K TVs that don't have HDR support and probably won't get it, that is an issue that needs some resolution.
I know that it will keep me from buying a disc player until it is resolved.

Sounds more like the TV is the issue, not the disc player.

Think back a few years to the number of early adopter HDTVs that became useless because they were component only, or didn't support HDCP. The industry did not relax the HDCP requirement for disc playback. They simply said "tough luck" to those early adopters. The lesson is to make sure the new 4K set you are looking at supports HDR and HDMI-2.0a.

 

[TheForce]

It is worth vetting before purchasing, however, lack of HDR is not too shaby on these 4K sets. Even with HDR, the right cable to handle the HDCP 2.2 compatibility and 18.2Gbp handwidth, there are still compatibility issues being resolved, with over saturated color, crushed blacks, and loss of detail in the darker scenes. Basically, unless you tweak each UHD movie with HDR to your system in the advanced setups, the picture will look worse with HDR than without. Most people are not ready to deal with custom calibrations for each movie just to use that additional color gamut. Presently there is only one UHD BluRay player that works at the full HDR specification. They are hard to get now but I have one on order. Then my new 4K projector does not implement the full 4K UHD HDR at 60fps. Not concerned because all my movies will be at 24fps which is supported.

All in all, if you are not looking at a ~100" wide screen or more, many of these 4K features just might be lost. You'll have them as bragging rights but you won't see a difference on the smaller 65" LED screen.

 

[lparsons21]

Sounds more like the TV is the issue, not the disc player.

Think back a few years to the number of early adopter HDTVs that became useless because they were component only, or didn't support HDCP. The industry did not relax the HDCP requirement for disc playback. They simply said "tough luck" to those early adopters. The lesson is to make sure the new 4K set you are looking at supports HDR and HDMI-2.0a.

Certainly it is a TV issue. HDR is not supported on the majority of 4K TVs today and most won't be upgradeable to do so. This is part and parcel of the hot mess that is 4K today.
Fortunately for me I find the difference between true 4K streams of actual movies and shows to be not much different than up scaled 4K from 720/1080 streams at the 12' distance I sit from my 70" 4K TV. Of course the 'demo' clips of hi-bitrate streams do look quite a bit different, but that isn't what the movies and shows are streaming and probably won't ever stream at those high nitrates because of bandwidth issues.
And the problem of HDR right now is that it is in transition too with no single definition from what I've read. IOW, what you buy today may or may not support whatever ends up being the 'final'. And as noted in another comment, the results today with HDR on sets that do support it is far from being correct.


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[long_time_DNC]

I'm not in any hurry... My 58" HD plasma TV still looks great and while UHD is very impressive, until Dish gets into the game in a serious way, I have no real incentive to go spend $2k (or a lot more) on a new TV...

 

[Tampa8]

It is well documented in reviews of some TV's without either the correct HDR or having no HDR that indeed playing some 4K material does change the settings to very bright making a bad picture. And maybe the standards have been settled but there are many TV's on the market that do not meet them or some material that does not. There are posts from people who have their settings changed (As HDR is meant to do)
I don't think content would be a good reason not to buy because it will be coming, however As for alot of content now? Seriously some think there is a lot of content? There is little on Netflix and Amazon, last month about 60 titles between them. But a closer look show many filler titles on Netflix for testing such as "El Fuente" I don't know about Amazon who has less.
And by the way they appear or at least some to not have HDR, the major component of 4K.
Youtube has some but it's mostly shorts and travel to to show off 4K. There are literally a handful of discs, of which I can't believe most would want to spend that kind of money on more than a few of even those. But as discussed on other forums the outlook for 4K discs isn't encouraging when Blu ray has had a minimal impact in disc players.
You can hunt and pick to find some 4K but plentiful it is not and combine that with it being something you even want to watch. This is like the 3D debates, except with 4K I do think the content will come. (But how much before the next resolution change or some gimmick?) That said it does appear 4K content is going to mainly come from online streaming so if you have the bandwidth I do expect much more from that.

But the biggest reason imo hasn't been mentioned to put off buying a 4K unless you need a TV anyway. Generally what I have streamed online from Amazon etc is not outstandingly better than 1080P particularly much better than blu ray. You must sit quite close to the TV to see the difference. Some of the shorts on Youtube and travel videos do exhibit a better resolution. You have to sit very close to the TV to see it, and even at that I would not call it must have, not like HD over SD for sure.

 

[jayn_j]

As Don mentioned, the only set that is worthwhile to upgrade is the projector in my home theater. I have a nice 1080P setup there and it would need to be ripped out and the disc player, receiver and projector replaced. I am not willing to spend $15k for the upgrade and will wait until the products stabilize and prices drop.

 

[lparsons21]

My position was that I wanted a new TV and felt that buying less than a 4K wasn't bringing any improvement. I don't regret buying the Sharp 4K TV that I did. Got a good price, better picture because the 4K up scaling is so good and I have watched some of the 4K movies and shows and enjoyed them all.

My son was tickled too! He got my 73" DLP really cheap and he's playing his XboxOne to his heart's content.


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[bmetelsky]

I'll be holding off for at least another year. We're perfectly happy with our "regular old HD"......