I was wrong about 4K

roxics

roxics

Veteran
Up until this point I had been saying that 4K TVs at a certain size viewed from a proper distance really didn't look any better than HD displays. This was based on being in a store and seeing a 4K TV at that distance and not being able to really tell any difference from HD. Looking back, maybe it just wasn't 4K content or a very good TV. It was a Sony.

Yesterday however, I was in my local Best Buy and happened upon a 65" LG LED IPS display that was clearly playing 4K content. From a 7-8 foot distance (about what it would be in my living room) I could definitely distinguish the better detail. It was pretty spectacular looking.

So now I will admit that I was wrong, there is life after HD. Although I'm still unsure how important that will be for all types of content as some softer cinematic style content may not benefit much from the higher resolution. The content shown on this display was ultrasharp videoish style video. Not a look I would typically go for myself when shooting a narrative style film.
 
roxics said:
Although I'm still unsure how important that will be for all types of content as some softer cinematic style content may not benefit much from the higher resolution. The content shown on this display was ultrasharp videoish style video. Not a look I would typically go for myself when shooting a narrative style film.
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Now that's a very good point for sure, and all the sales pitch media will I'm sure be full of that hi-fi style of imagery where, like news print, you probably will see a marked difference, but as you say perhaps not so much in cinematic-type stuff - possibly might even look worse as will lose some subtelty?
Steve
 
mcgeedigital said:
It's not just the resolution.

4k has a wider color gamut (Rec2020) that also displays more colors than Rec709.
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True, although I'm curious how many of these current 4K displays are capabable of showing that wider color gamut right now? I was under the impression that most of them were still closer to the rec. 709 spec.
 
roxics said:
True, although I'm curious how many of these current 4K displays are capabable of showing that wider color gamut right now? I was under the impression that most of them were still closer to the rec. 709 spec.
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If they aren't displaying Rec2020 then they aren't adhering to the UHD spec for those TVs.
 
mcgeedigital said:
If they aren't displaying Rec2020 then they aren't adhering to the UHD spec for those TVs.
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True, but rec.2020 is pretty wide and the technology needs to exist to display it, even if the processors can process it. So while a TV may say it is rec.2020, only newer technology has been able to get to 97% display of the true color space and I'm not sure how many of these current 4K TVs have that technology in them yet.

This article (company) are the ones claiming they have a 97% coverage of the rec.2020 gamut on display using quantum dot technology. They also claim it's currently in mass production. But how "mass" is "mass production?" Are they talking some tablet displays and high end computer monitors or all current 4K tvs by all manufacturers? http://www.nanosysinc.com/dot-color...020-uhd-color-broadcast-spec-really-practical
 
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roxics said:
...happened upon a 65" LG LED IPS display that was clearly playing 4K content. From a 7-8 foot distance (about what it would be in my living room) I could definitely distinguish the better detail. It was pretty spectacular looking.
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Well, if you're willing to sit close enough to the screen, sure. But that's what you have to do for your eyes to resolve the "extra" resolution. Sit damn close to the screen. And if your eyes are 2m from the screen, your knees are a lot closer, 1.5m or closer. Claustrophobically close. Hardly anyone is comfortable doing that.

Sony research for movie theaters shows that you can only see the full resolution of a 4k projection from the first few rows in the theater. But, most people don't like to sit in those rows. They want to sit farther back. Those people sitting in the middle seats can't tell the difference between 2k and 4k projections. The people in the back few rows can't tell the difference between 4k, 2k, and 720p. That's just the laws of physics.

I'm just sayin' that you weren't wrong before. There are some good solid reasons for 4k capture. But I can't come up for any reasons for 4k delivery.

That said, there's a bunch more to the QHD standards than simple resolution. Like the REC.2020 color space.
 
Typically I am anywhere from 6' to 8' away from my 42" TV in my living room right now. Small house. So I tested these two 65" TVs at the farther of these two distances and I could clearly tell the difference the second time around. Before then I was in your camp and was sure no one needed a 4K display, now I would disagree.
 
some people are tetrachromats and can see way more colors than normal. i wonder if there is something similar with distinguishing resolution? maybe some people can see the difference easier than others?
 
tetrachromats (name of the next Tool album?) aside can regular people see the wider color gamut? seems like one of those things that while maybe technically true would actually not make much of a difference in the real world. how would that manifest itself (real world example of an image with a wider color gamut)?
 
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