TV question on upscaling to 4K

gmcman

I didn't want to derail the current TV thread so here's my situation. I want to replace my mom's current TV, 47" LG that's about 5YO. Her signal feed is DirecTV and will be 95% of the usage.

I have just enough room for a 60" set, and her viewing distance is 15' so being able to upscale to 4K would be great. Trying to keep the budget under $1K as well.

I would like to get her a good used 60" plasma, but I lose out on the higher resolution.

My question is, can I upscale the DTV feed to 4K without adverse issues? At times I cannot upscale, for whatever reason, I would need a set that handles native resolution well....she's a stickler for PQ like myself, but I believe anything is better than what she has.

I was thinking about the Sony 900F when black Friday rolls around, but it's not avail in 60", I may go with 55" if I cannot find another 60" that has a better pic..some Vizio's are pretty good.

Tough call...all input appreciated.

Edited to add: As far as upscaling, would I be better off with a good used receiver or use the set....or both?

FestYboy

I find that Sony's are great at upscaling at the tv, especially if it's already at 1080i/p from the source. I have not been able to play with the Vizio in that regard to compare and contrast.

rpf65

The Sony TVs will do a slightly better job at upscaling 1080 content than Vizio, but most people will not see a difference. Drop down to 720, and this is where you will find a noticeable difference.

The lower the transfer rate, the harder the upscaling becomes.

gmcman

I think I've narrowed down my options to either a new Sony 900F, or an almost new in box Samsung 60" plasma 8500 series. I understand some of those 8500's may need a cap replacement as it was a known issue but not a big deal.

The 8500's did very good in bright rooms, so I have to weigh the differences. I'm mainly after PQ with native resolution.

I will try to look at another 900F today, but last time I did I wasn't overly impressed with the native cable feed, but it was a very good pic. Very hard to compare when you are used to a plasma.

tonyb

They don't upscale to 4k, it's usually around 2200. Todays tv's are great at upscaling a HD signal, but....on those old cable channels that are not HD, it can still look like crap even with the upscaling.

gmcman

tonyb wrote: »

those old cable channels that are not HD, it can still look like crap even with the upscaling/quote]

I want to say that's what made some of these new sets seem less appealing. Granted blu-ray looked awesome, but we have to be realistic and look at what the set will see most of the time.

In her case, its 1080i some of the time, as well as 720P. Also add in some SD that's been upgraded to HD already.

tonyb

For me, I don't watch anything not in HD already. If you watch a lot of SD channels, plasma is your better bet then.

gmcman

I'm all HD, but she throws in a lot of old shows. And she can be picky about the pq...you dont even know...lol.

98Badger

Pass on the Samsung 8500. Picture was excellent, but mine developed a vertical line down the center of the screen 8-9 months after the warranty expired. Cost to replace the panel was almost what I paid for the set.

mdaudioguy

Interesting fact - ESPN and Fox went with 720p when everyone else did 1080i. They still broadcast in 720, and are jumping straight to 4k. Most people just assumed they were watching these channels in 1080.

EndersShadow

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Interesting fact - ESPN and Fox went with 720p when everyone else did 1080i. They still broadcast in 720, and are jumping straight to 4k. Most people just assumed they were watching these channels in 1080.

Its hard for most people unless they have very large TV"s (60+ inches) to tell the difference between 720 and 1080.

Lots of the movies I stream are in 720 and I cant tell the diff lots of times between them and my 1080p local rips.

steveinaz

Just bought the Vizio P65-F1 65" yesterday ($899), after owning a 58" Panny plasma for 8 years. I like the Vizio, ALOT! Especially the dark/shadow detail which is incredible.

pitdogg2

steveinaz wrote: »

Just bought the Vizio P65-F1 65" yesterday ($899), after owning a 58" Panny plasma for 8 years. I like the Vizio, ALOT! Especially the dark/shadow detail which is incredible.

how is it off axis Steve? Anything like a plasma?

steveinaz

You lose a little color saturation, at typical off-axis angles; say beyond 60 degrees. See hometheaterhifi's review; they know all the HDTV tech-speak.

tonyb

steveinaz wrote: »

You lose a little color saturation, at typical off-axis angles; say beyond 60 degrees. See hometheaterhifi's review; they know all the HDTV tech-speak.

That's typical of the technology Steve/Ivan, common knowledge really. Sony's new Master series is suppose to have improved on that off axis viewing. Oled is going to be more plasma like with viewing angles....and burn in. Pick your poison as I like to say.

pitdogg2

tonyb wrote: »

steveinaz wrote: »

You lose a little color saturation, at typical off-axis angles; say beyond 60 degrees. See hometheaterhifi's review; they know all the HDTV tech-speak.

That's typical of the technology Steve/Ivan, common knowledge really. Sony's new Master series is suppose to have improved on that off axis viewing. Oled is going to be more plasma like with viewing angles....and burn in. Pick your poison as I like to say.

True Tony but some are much much better than others. Steve I get most all the mag's but it is no replacement for folks that have no skin in the game to lose (advertising dollars)

tonyb

True dat pal, usually the worst viewing angles are at the bottom series of most all the brands. Probably because they are using the cheapest screens in them and cheaper processors.

What's that saying...ya get what ya pay for.

gmcman

98Badger wrote: »

Pass on the Samsung 8500. Picture was excellent, but mine developed a vertical line down the center of the screen 8-9 months after the warranty expired. Cost to replace the panel was almost what I paid for the set.

Late reply but I did hear of a couple issues with the vertical banding. Seems there's a fix for it by cleaning the ribbon contacts but that's not always the cure.

I went and looked at a few more sets a couple weekends ago, granted this set I'm looking for is only to replace an older 47" LCD so she can have a nicer viewing experience. No full-blown HT setup, just something with a great pic and good off-axis viewing.

I did end up purchasing the 8500 late last week, hope it was the right choice. This TV has just under 800 hours and is still in its protective wrap. Even with two stories of windows about 6' to the left, the 8500 has no issues with a bright room, once I spent about an hour with a setup DVD, the PQ is phenomenal....hard to pass up for $700.

Before I pulled the trigger, I did go look at a few other sets, I really liked the 900F, but something that bugged me was if I moved about 45deg to the side, there seemed to be a shift in contrast....albeit very slight. The dark scenes started to lose contrast and I wouldn't say washout, but you could see the darkest scenes begin to lighten up...and that wasn't even close to one of their viewing angles they had to deal with which is closer to prob 75 deg.

For the price, the Sony is a killer deal, but I had to lean towards PQ with native content.

I will need to hold off on all the 4K stuff for now.

steveinaz

I spent a week at Daughter-in-laws house; she has a couple year old Vizio 55", and what I can tell you is that my new set (P series) has far better off-angle viewing.