I was looking at 4k TVs at Best Buy & doing other research, them bitches are coming down in price.

It looks like most of the content for the immediate future is via streaming services like Netflix & Amazon.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/can-get-4k-ultra-hd-content-new-tv/

The problem with that is the ATT internet FUCKING SUCKS. The fastest speed I can buy is 18mbps, but generally it only delivers 11 or 12. Time Warner 30mbps internet usually delivered way faster speeds than promised, and they have 50mbps widely available now. They also have whole house DVR now, not sure how well it works since their cable boxes are historically pieces of shit, but at least they have it.

It also says on the upper tier TWC plans that there are no data caps on TWC internet, ATT has always had a data cap that few people run up against, but its there.

I remember working at Best Buy in 2003 and hearing the reps telling customers not to "worry too much about HDTV because there was no content available". There was one plasma on the floor then and it was $12,000. Marion Jones actually came in and bought one while I was at work. I think it was this one.. http://www.cnet.com/products/pioneer-elite-pro-1000hd/ Apparently at the time of release it was $17,000.

The mindset among many of my co-workers was that HD was some high end niche thing for rich people or a fad. No one could really imagine then how the shift was going to be to digital HD cable and flat screens, IPTV was not even a concept then. You don't miss what you have never had, but anyone who got an HD TV could no longer stand to watch a standard one.

The thing that is different now from a decade ago is that the infrastructure is there to deliver 4k content to customers pretty much immediately. No one has to wait for Time Warner, ATT, or the satellite companies to come out with new cable boxes and upgrade their equipment. Its just gonna take fast reliable internet without a data cap.

I paid $2000 for my 65" Samsung 3D Smart TV a little over a year ago, that same comparable TV with 4k is $2500 now. You can get a 55" for $1500 which is what people were paying for regular LED TVs not long ago at all...

So it seems affordable 4K TVs are either here or coming soon depending on your budget. The question is who the fuck is gonna stay with ATT and deal with data caps and slow internet to get their 4k content?

12/27/2014 2:58:49 AM

tww is a blg

12/27/2014 11:52:45 AM

Quote :

"The mindset among many of my co-workers was that HD was some high end niche thing for rich people or a fad."

How could anyone who sees how fast technology moves on a daily basis not see how quickly things would change?

12/27/2014 1:52:04 PM

The transition from analog to digital 1080i is dramatically different than the transition from 1080i broadcast to 4k.

There were a number of forces in play that pushed the move to digital hd, both infrastructure and content.

The problem with moving from hd to 4k is not transmission infrastructure. The biggest problem is primarily that its an iterative improvement that isn't appreciable by most consumers. Unless you have a fucking gigantic screen, its wasted resolution. It will be much like 120/240hz tvs, people will end up buying them because its the only choice, not because its better or useful.

On the content side, there's very little reason to bump up. Cable and internet streaming compression makes 4k almost indistinguishable from 1080p. There's currently no physical media to deliver full bit rate 4k to consumers and unlike 1080p and the move from DVD to bluray, there's no competition out there for the next generation of physical delivery.

For TV and movies, I think we are nearing the end of the resolution race. The only industry that stands to gain from a 4k transition is tv manufacturers, for everyone else involved its a zero sum game at best. The move to 1080 was mutually beneficial because it was also the move from analog to digital for many broadcast stations, film crews, editors, post production houses and all the rest.

[Edited on December 27, 2014 at 6:29 PM. Reason : b]

12/27/2014 6:29:08 PM

4k tvs and beyond are going to happen just because smart phones, wearables,vr, and computers need the high density panels, and it just doesn't make sense to have one manufacturing line for just the low res tv panels.

We are waayy behind in interconnect tech though, Apple had to make their own chip to make retina work on the imac.

12/27/2014 9:48:14 PM

Quote :

"How could anyone who sees how fast technology moves on a daily basis not see how quickly things would change?"

Simple...they were best buy employees.

1/3/2015 9:58:13 AM

ATT blows

1/4/2015 12:39:53 AM

^^^There's a big difference between mobile devices with high dpi screens and TELEVISION for 4k.

For computers, tablets and phones, 4k is already a reality and it's amazing. But for VIDEO and frankly video games, which are the reasons people buy televisions, we are 5-7 years AT LEAST from the possibility of seeing 4K usurp 1080p.

1/7/2015 10:58:21 PM

When is 4k porn going to be standard?

1/8/2015 12:25:43 AM

i bought my first 1080p LED TV a couple of months ago (i used a 720p plasma for 6 years)...i've decided my next TV is going to be a quantum-dot UHDTV

[Edited on January 10, 2015 at 6:26 PM. Reason : and real 120hz (which i can disable)...not the fake 120hz i have now]

1/10/2015 6:23:19 PM

Friend got an Acer Nvidia Sync 27" 4k gaming monitor. Sitting at his desk playing at 4k was one of the most impressive things I've seen in a while. Although it was only at 60hz. I'm leaning towards a 2560 by 1600 144hz monitor. It takes much more horse power to push 144hz at that resolution than 60hz at 4k.

--although 4k at 120hz+ would be awesome. Probably won't be out for another 1-2 years though.

^Pretty sure a true 120hz 4k monitor or TV doesn't exist yet...the only application for it would be computer gaming anyway or 3d I guess.

[Edited on January 11, 2015 at 1:22 AM. Reason : s]

1/11/2015 1:16:00 AM

that's my point...it'll be a while before i buy a new TV

1/11/2015 8:43:13 AM

Ah gotcha. Yeah with how cheap projectors are going because of 4k and the like I'm tempted to get a 100-125" screen and a really nice 1080p projector. Size over resolution. A 55" tv is still a 55" tv and at 8-10 feet doubling the viewing size is going to do a lot more than going to 4k.

1/11/2015 2:01:42 PM

http://www.adorama.com/LOT77EG9800.html?gclid=CjwKEAiA_s2lBRCe1YPXxtSe-DcSJACCIh3LMgq-qbIfWGUdPUCBsH1oCy66rW8zw1DuRp2vSU3GYRoCUH_w_wcB

77" 4K OLED with passive 3D. It's also motorized to go between curved and flat. $25k is fucking insane though, but that's the sort of tech that will finally get me to upgrade.

[Edited on January 12, 2015 at 9:15 AM. Reason : :]

1/12/2015 9:15:35 AM