HELP! UHD/Ultra HD4K advice & upscaling question(S)-& is Sony UHD worth the extra??!

DEBTMONKEY1A

:beer:

Hi all,

As usual I'll turn to youe experts on this as whilst I'm 'fairly' 'techy' minded I could do with some advice on the above.

Firstly-everyone raves (I mean guys in shop!!!!) about the procesor/engine for upscaling & backlight on Sony UHD'S-for what i want (see below)-worth the extra money?

Secondly-upscaling. Will ANY UHD TV upscale ALL TV-or is it just (as I'm lead to believe)-JUST full 1080p HD? Assume SD TV & normal DVD'S/BLU RAYS (played through external BR player)-are not upscaled?

Thirdly-assuming playing a 4K/UHD file from the web (obviously compressed but 4K/UHD output)-this will play in 4K/FULL HD (via app on fire stick plugged into TV). iF 4k image not the best from this will TV upscale automatically???

Looking for a 49 inch-55 inch UHD 4K tv. Can be refurbished if under guarantee & future proof & no chips to screen (not fussed re any small scratches etc but would want remote & stand included). If it's a smart TV all the better but 100% NOT essential as can connect to this on tablet & kodi/firestick. Not too bothered re: USB playback as have a slot on my blu-ray player for this. Not at all interested really in 3D. Do need at least 2 USB & 3-4 HDMI sockets. I don't watch a lot of sports. Mainly want top quality UHD picture for streaming films & TV from firestick/netflix/kodi (my connection at moment is only 6mpbs-streams 95% of HD films with no issue-in next 6-8 weeks tops upgrading to fibre with minimum 15mpbs) films & usual suspects live standard channels/soaps, etc. My TV is SKY (no virgin where I am) as is the web. I use a SKY+ HD box. Not particularly interested in SKY Q but if new fibre deal has it in (crazy-I can't switch at new customer price but G/F at same address can???!!!) then fine-but not over-keen on losing current recordings (again not the be all & end all). I also don't use social media/snapchat, etc-internet use is good old searching or 90% of the time streaming films/music/videos etc. We sit around 10 feet from the TV btw.

Wifi connection to TV not essential either (but if it is included makes firestick/kodi etc easier for app loading). I realise 2nd hand EBAY would be cheaper but not techy enough to know if a dud or not & no guarantee with these.

Done LOADS of looking around - found this http://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/77377332%2f1%2feiq-49uhdt2/electriq-773773321eiq49uhdt2-49-inch-led-tv
at £266-fitted with LG PANEL if this means owt to you tech experts? (??!!!)-(if purchasng trial of 'Which' magazine at £1!) & is local to me to collect, same supplier 50 inch.

55 inch new Finlux SMART tv-Aaparently 1/2 price -£399 https://www.directtvs.co.uk/p/1145811/finlux-55-fua-7020-55-inch-smart-4k-uhd-led-tv-with-freeview-play-



Sony-49 inch-B Grade-Argos-£498-49 inch Smart TV- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-KD49X8305C-49-Inch-4K-Ultra-HD-Freeview-HD-WiFi-LED-Smart-TV-B-Grade-Argos-/361695970459?hash=item5436c2849b:g:BWIAAOSwHMJYET6a

or as above but new-£550 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-49-Inch-Android-Freeview-PlayStation-x/dp/B01IT1ZZEW/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-theater&ie=UTF8&qid=1490630226&sr=1-5&keywords=SONY+ultra+HD+television+49+inch

Hitachi SMART 55inch B grade Argos-6 month guarantee-£393. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hitachi-55-Inch-4K-Ultra-HD-Freeview-HD-Smart-TV-B-Grade-From-Argos-on-ebay-/361799284369?hash=item543ceaf691:g:Y4gAAOSwol5Y1Fsz

On the face of it the 49 inch ElectriQ at £266 seems great (I currently have 42 inches...ooerr missus lol!)- or the new Finlux 55 inch SMART TV at £399/Hitachi B GRADE refurb at £393 SMART TV with Argos 6 month guarantee seems good. Will pay up to £550 if needed but the cheaper ones are really appealing if the Sony ones are not really worth the extra for my use.

Any advice people would be fab!:j

RumRat

Read this....http://www.techradar.com/news/television/ultra-hd-everything-you-need-to-know-about-4k-tv-1048954
The only advice I would give you is to avoid those cheap makes, Finlux Hitatchi etc.
Spend as much as you can afford and go as large as your situation will allow.....
Good luck..:)

thescouselander

UHD and HDR are a bit of a minefield at the moment. There are still a lot of TVs that don't support the required standards for streaming 4K and theres a lot of marketing fluff around HDR.

Take the requirement for Premium HDR screen to reach 1000 nits - this is ridiculously bright! Our latest TV can only produce around 500 nits and I can assure you it's enough to burn your eyeballs out. Watching it at anything over half brightness becomes quite uncomfortable in anything but bright daylight.

I'd advise going to see the TVs you're after in real life first and give them a good workout in the shop. Also keep an eye on those standards so you can stream 4k content.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Thanks! Rumrat, the electriQ has an LG panel on the 49 inch and I believe a Samsung on the 55 inch, does this make a difference?

System

DEBTMONKEY1A wrote: »

Looking for a 49 inch-55 inch UHD 4K tv.

Throwing away your money. 4K is completely pointless on any TV below 65" unless you're sat on top of it. For 55", to start to notice the benefit over 1080p you'd need to be sat at no more than 5ft and to get full benefit no further than 3.5ft-4ft which is half the distance the average person views their TV from in the UK. Spend it on a 1080p OLED or Plasma instead so you can have a decent contrast ratio, black blacks and not varying shades of grey. Everyone who has seen my 55" 1080p LG OLED thinks its 4k.

DCFC79

1 retailer to consider OP is Richer Sounds, John Lewis is another.

Go to a local RS store and look at whats on display.

EssexExile

DCFC79 wrote: »

1 retailer to consider OP is Richer Sounds, John Lewis is another.

Go to a local RS store and look at whats on display.

Don't go in the morning, they get up late at Richer Sounds.

DCFC79

EssexExile wrote: »

Don't go in the morning, they get up late at Richer Sounds.

I don't get it

DEBTMONKEY1A

Cheers guys/gals! Food for thought. Can anyone answer my upscaling and streaming questions?

thescouselander

Yes, all HD and UHD TVs have to upscale or when watching something of a lower resolution you'd end up with a small picture that doesn't fill the screen.

Upscaling doesn't fundamentally change a lower resolution picture to the full UHD picture - SD and HD pictures will still be of the original quality even after upscaling.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Thanks all! Assume compressed files for 4k /ultra hd online that are on fireatick or kodi will look ok/good? Realise that even though its a 4k format it's compressed but surely it should look better tgan full hd/1080p? By the way we sit about 10 ft from acreen.In anyone's opinion is thw new HDR on newish sets worth paying extra for? So to clarify NO visible improvement on HD channwls on tv, evwn though up scaled? Thanks all again for your help.