[OtinG]

4K HDR TV is still very new to me, and I’m trying my best to learn the ropes so to speak. Here are a few things to consider if you want to get a 4K TV in the future. Hopefully my ramblings here in this thread will help you decide whether you are ready to update from HDTV to 4K TV.

Pixel Size and Number

HDTVs have 1920 x 1080 pixels (2 million pixels). 4K TVs have 3840 x 2160 pixels (8 million pixels). So obviously a 50" HDTV will have larger pixels than a 50" 4K TV because the 4K TV has crammed in four times as many pixels into the same screen size. Greater resolution indeed is better assuming you are sitting close enough to actually see the pixels well enough. For an HDTV, the rule of thumb is to sit within a distance of 1.5x to 2.5x the screen diagonal, whereas for a 4K TV the rule of thumb is to sit within a distance of 1.0x to 1.5x the screen diagonal in order to see the pixels well enough to take advantage of the resolution. Sit too far away, and those tiny pixels all seem to blend together and you lose the advantage of the extra pixels. So for a 50" HDTV you should sit between 6.5' and 10.5' from the screen. For a 4K TV you should sit between 4.0' and 6.5' from the screen. I have a 49" 4K TV and I sit about 9' from it, so I’m actually beyond the theoretical optimum viewing distance so I should not be able to see a great improvement over watching an HDTV at that distance. But in reality, I do see added detail, for example skin pores and facial hair show up with greater detail. However, I do agree that my over all experience is that I’m not seeing that much improvement as far as resolution until I move within the optimum viewing distance. So choose the size carefully, but also understand that increased resolution is not the biggest gain you get from going to a 4K TV. The biggest gain is through HDR which provides a huge increase in colors and better lighting for dark scenes without blowing out brighter scenes.

HDR vs SDR

HDTVs use SDR (standard dynamic range) and provide 8-bit color depth which is 16.7 million colors. 4K HDR TVs use HDR (high dynamic range) and provide 10-bit color depth which is 1 billion colors. That is 64 times more colors. However, not all 4K TVs have HDR capability, and even when they do not all 4K content is produced in an HDR format. In my opinion, the added resolution of a 4K TV is wonderful, but the added light and color depth is actually what will take your breath away. HDR make 4K TV worth upgrading to. But do your research. There are multiple HDR formats used for 4K HDR content, the two most common ones are HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Both will knock your socks off assuming your 4K TV can display them. I suggest getting a 4K TV that at least has HDR10 compatibility, but even better has both HDR10 and Dolby Vision compatibility. Unfortunately there isn’t an industry standard yet, and may never be. So make sure your 4K TV is compatible with multiple HDR formats.

BTW, Dolby Vision is poised to be the best format in the future, if not already. It can provide 12-bit color depth which is 68.7 billion colors. That is 68 times more colors than HDR10. Unfortunately, the TV display technology can not yet support nor provide that many colors. Dolby Vision is already top notch, but if the electronics technology ever catches up to it then that will be a game changer.

Notes on TV 4K TV

I mentioned in the first post that the TV 4K TV device defaults all content to 4K HDR Dolby Vision format regardless of whether the original content is HDTV or 4K or has HDR or SDR. I personally like this, but you can change the system defaults to show the original content as it was released. You make the choice. Actually you have a large number of choices you can make about original content and how the TV 4K TV device will display them. It is very versatile.

Notes on Fire TV Cube 4K

I’m disappointed that the Fire TV Cube (or rather Amazon’s Prime Video) doesn’t always stream 4K HDR with the HDR. I ran into several instances where HDR wasn’t included in the stream. That really sucks! I’m not sure if it is a glitch, or whether they are trying to save money. Streaming 4K HDR TV content requires more bandwidth than streaming the same content in SDR.

Notes on Android TV, v. 11

I’m also disappointed that Android TV doesn’t always stream 4K HDR with the HDR. I ran into several instances where HDR wasn’t included in their streams.

YouTube

YouTube does not support Dolby Vision format, so if you stream content with that format it won’t look as good as it should.

Netflix

Netflix apparently has a strange form of HDR. My TV streams it in HDR, but a lot of it is very dark in dark scenes. I tried watching The Crown season 4, and it is so dark that it looks like seeing rooms lit with candlelight. Even outdoor scenes were rather dark. I read this is a Netflix thing and there seems to be quite a lot of disappointment from Netflix subscribers. Hopefully they will start supporting better HDR formats. Some of the Netflix HDR content looks okay, but a lot of it is too dark.

OTA TV and Cable TV

OTA TV via antenna is usually either broadcast in 720p or 1080i. Don't expect to get 4K, probably never. Same with Cable TV as most cable is delivered in 720p with some in 1080i. I wouldn't expect 4K from cable companies any time soon. I have no idea what satellite providers are streaming.

Various Streaming Services via Internet

Some of these provide 4K in various formats, some don't provide any 4K content.

Live TV via Internet

Philo and Sling TV don't stream 4K, as far as I can tell. Not sure if any of the other Live TV services like Hulu do, but probably not.