Are 4k TVs really worth it for 'casual' tv watching? lol

[Msuni]

So im looking to get a TV for my bedroom so i can lie in bed and watch stuff. I was thinking about getting a 4k samsung, but i would basically only use it for Netflix, YouTube and Prime Video (potentially to for my ps4 as well) Im wondering if getting a 4k tv is worth it due to what i will be doing with it, or if it would be better to just get a full HD one instead. Any suggestions and replies are much appreciated.

[Enderman]

Unless you sit pretty close, like a few feet away, you will be fine with 1080p.

Also you need to have a good internet connection for 4k content.

[Princess Luna]

Only makes sense if you gonna use 4k content, if you gonna keep watching at 1080p then obviously not.

 

I know it seems silly to say this but I see lots of people buying 4k tvs expecting to be amazed but uses cable TV at 1080i so yeah...

 

I think a 4k can be worth it but solid 1080p ones are still fine too.

[Msuni]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

Unless you sit pretty close, like a few feet away, you will be fine with 1080p.

Also you need to have a good internet connection for 4k content.

Thanks for the reply, I would be sitting on the other side of my room - so like 8ish ft away. I wouldnt be using it too too much any so i was just curious if they make a massive difference.  Appreciate it!

[Msuni]

2 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Only makes sense if you gonna use 4k content, if you gonna keep watching at 1080p then obviously not.

 

I know it seems silly to say this but I see lots of people buying 4k tvs expecting to be amazed but uses cable TV at 1080i so yeah...

 

I think a 4k can be worth it but solid 1080p ones are still fine too.

Thanks for the reply. And of course, a 4k TV would obviously cost more than a 1080p. It wouldnt get too too much use anway so i was just curious.  I think I'll just go with a 1080p 

[Riddler356]

i have a 4k tv now for my room, it is nice for casual watching but everything is done through my computer, and while not casually watching it is a 50" 4k monitor so that might skew things n my end

[Ergroilnin]

Well the price difference between full HD and 4k ones is not that big and TVs are usually somewhat of an investment that last a long time. And as time progresses, there will be much more casual 4k content to be enjoyed, so I personally feel that buying full HD TV nowadays is not the best thing to do. I personally have 4k OLED LG (obviously OLED tripled the price, though it is totally worth it for me) and I could not be happier.

[Pi31415]

yes it's worth it, compare a 4k tv to a 1080p display at the store and see for yourself, also like said before on the thread, good internet connection is a must, but for your ps4 not really, its not needed while playing games would be the same

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

If your internet connection is good (150+ down) then definitely yes, with 300/150 (in reality 322/130) it's an absolute dream

[Guest]

Depends on how much you care about picture?

I don't really care so 720p is fine. All my panels happen to be 1080p though. I'm fine with them but I watch most content in 720p or 480p. Only when I need text clarity do I watch in 1080p. General consumption is less important to me though.

[TheFlyingTraut]

What size as well? almost every tv is 4k now, hard to even find 1080 unless it's a small tv. You're still getting a crisper/cleaner picture with anything you're watching. For just a bedroom TV I have a 50" insiginia tv that I use, and I have an LG C7 OLED in my living room for my 4k stuff. You don't have to buy high end for casual use. Just snag a 50" LG or Samsung for like $300-350.

[Msuni]

2 hours ago, PacketMan said:

I'd say yes, it's worth it since 1080p TVs are not that cheap compared to the new 4K ones

You can always watch 4K HDR movies on your PS4 so... If it's that cheap go for 1080p, if not go for 4K

 

2 hours ago, Riddler356 said:

i have a 4k tv now for my room, it is nice for casual watching but everything is done through my computer, and while not casually watching it is a 50" 4k monitor so that might skew things n my end

 

2 hours ago, Ergroilnin said:

Well the price difference between full HD and 4k ones is not that big and TVs are usually somewhat of an investment that last a long time. And as time progresses, there will be much more casual 4k content to be enjoyed, so I personally feel that buying full HD TV nowadays is not the best thing to do. I personally have 4k OLED LG (obviously OLED tripled the price, though it is totally worth it for me) and I could not be happier.

 

2 hours ago, valdyrgramr said:

As someone with a 4k tv it's not completely worth it unless you enjoy the content being offered at 4k that much.  Most companies are still pushing 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p content.  4k is far from the norm.  I have an xbo s hooked up to it which I use to watch 4k blurays.  But, a lot of the stuff I watch is 480p-1080p.  On the plus side, I at least can use it as a third monitor.  XD

 

1 hour ago, Pi31415 said:

yes it's worth it, compare a 4k tv to a 1080p display at the store and see for yourself, also like said before on the thread, good internet connection is a must, but for your ps4 not really, its not needed while playing games would be the same

 

1 hour ago, fpo said:

Depends on how much you care about picture?

I don't really care so 720p is fine. All my panels happen to be 1080p though. I'm fine with them but I watch most content in 720p or 480p. Only when I need text clarity do I watch in 1080p. General consumption is less important to me though.

 

1 hour ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

What size as well? almost every tv is 4k now, hard to even find 1080 unless it's a small tv. You're still getting a crisper/cleaner picture with anything you're watching. For just a bedroom TV I have a 50" insiginia tv that I use, and I have an LG C7 OLED in my living room for my 4k stuff. You don't have to buy high end for casual use. Just snag a 50" LG or Samsung for like $300-350.

Thank you very much for the replies, I'm just gonna go for a 49" 4k Samsung TV.  Appreciate it!

[Riddler356]

1 hour ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

What size as well? almost every tv is 4k now, hard to even find 1080 unless it's a small tv.

unless you are at a best buy, in which case you can still find many 720p ones, my local best buy even has a 40" 720p for like $150

 

[Pi31415]

25 minutes ago, Riddler356 said:

unless you are at a best buy, in which case you can still find many 720p ones, my local best buy even has a 40" 720p for like $150

 

god no

[Kalm_Traveler]

it's your money, but technically 4k is only worth it if you will be in the 'sweet spot' to be physiologically capable of perceiving the higher resolution.

 

Basically, depending on screen size and your distance from it - quite often 4k is not 'worth it' at all because your eyes are not good enough to be able to resolve the difference. A good example I like to show people is with my TV - I have an old (2014) 75" 1080p model, and my normal viewing spot is about 12 feet away. At that distance, I would need a 92" TV to be able to literally see any detail benefit from going to 4k. 

 

PC monitors are another good example since generally people sit roughly 2.5 to 3 feet away, and on a 27" screen at that distance most humans CAN see the benefit of moving up from 1080 to 1440, but not at all from 1440 up to 4k. Our eyes are just not that good. If you were a fly or something maybe, but I'm pretty sure you're a human so nope.

 

Anyway this gives a good visual of distance to resolution benefits: 

[circeseye]

57 minutes ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

it's your money, but technically 4k is only worth it if you will be in the 'sweet spot' to be physiologically capable of perceiving the higher resolution.

 

Basically, depending on screen size and your distance from it - quite often 4k is not 'worth it' at all because your eyes are not good enough to be able to resolve the difference. A good example I like to show people is with my TV - I have an old (2014) 75" 1080p model, and my normal viewing spot is about 12 feet away. At that distance, I would need a 92" TV to be able to literally see any detail benefit from going to 4k. 

 

PC monitors are another good example since generally people sit roughly 2.5 to 3 feet away, and on a 27" screen at that distance most humans CAN see the benefit of moving up from 1080 to 1440, but not at all from 1440 up to 4k. Our eyes are just not that good. If you were a fly or something maybe, but I'm pretty sure you're a human so nope.

 

Anyway this gives a good visual of distance to resolution benefits: 

i will say this..i sit about 7" from my 65"4k that i upgraded from a 72" 1080p (sat same distance) and i could see a huge difference between the 2.....even 1080 content looks better on the 4k (no up scaling)...720 content and lower thou you start seeing the grainy effect more and more as quality goes down

[Kalm_Traveler]

7 hours ago, circeseye said:

i will say this..i sit about 7" from my 65"4k that i upgraded from a 72" 1080p (sat same distance) and i could see a huge difference between the 2.....even 1080 content looks better on the 4k (no up scaling)...720 content and lower thou you start seeing the grainy effect more and more as quality goes down

yep that fits the chart - you're right in the middle of the '4k worth it' zone. Not sure how 1080p content would look any better than with a 1080p screen though since there aren't new pixels to display, though since the TV is smaller you're likely just not seeing the individual pixels as well which makes it look sharper.

[Riddler356]

12 hours ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

yep that fits the chart - you're right in the middle of the '4k worth it' zone. Not sure how 1080p content would look any better than with a 1080p screen though since there aren't new pixels to display, though since the TV is smaller you're likely just not seeing the individual pixels as well which makes it look sharper.

For me you explained it perfectly for when i swapped a 48" 1080p for a 50" 4k

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I have a 43" 1080P TV I bought last summer and view from 10' away. I can't tell any difference between 720 and 1080. There sttill isn't a lot of 4k content out there.

 

There isn't a huge price difference between 1080s and 4k TVs. If getting something significantly larger than 43", it would be worth getting a 4k and waiting for the content to become more available. It's also hard to find 1080P TVs in larger sizes. The only 1080 I could find locally in 43" (the largest I had room for) and also had three HDMI inputs was a low end Insignia from Best Buy. I wanted 1080 because I clone my monitors with the TV.