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Why 4K is Stupid...
What do you guys think of this article?
I don't know enough about 4K yet, but it just sounds like the next big marketing trend for those of us that want to show off numbers to our friends, thinking those numbers make it a better product... Why 4K TVs are stupid | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews
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Trevor's Home Theatre: McIntosh MX121, McIntosh MC601, McIntosh MC207, McIntosh MLD7020, OPPO BDP95, JVC DLA950, Stewert Screen Studio Tek 130G3, B&W 802D2, B&W HTM2D2, B&W DS8, Klipsch KL 525, Velodyne DD15, WireWorld & IsoTek Cables |
#2
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Interesting article....
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#3
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I agree that 4K may be overkill for typical TV viewing conditions. However for immersive home theater systems it is not. The article assumes that human visual acuity is limited to a resolving power of 1 arc minute. However in bright light where the pupil diameter is smaller, human visual acuity can be 2.5 times better (0.4 arc minute) . Furthermore the article does not consider the need to sample at at least twice the spatial Nyquist frequency. Indeed if we followed the logic of the article we would limit audio sampling rates to 20 kHz instead of at least twice this to reproduce 20 kHz tones.
If, for example, we assume that a theater room screen subtends 20 degrees horizontal visual angle (20 degrees x 60 minutes/deg = 1,200 arc minutes) and that we would like at least 2 pixels per 0.4 arc minute with a bright screen image then we would want 2 x 1,200 / 0.4 = 6,000 pixels horizontally rather than the 4,096 provided by 4K displays.
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5.2 Theater Room McIntosh MC601's driving front Magnepan 20.7's, McIntosh MC452 driving rear Magnepan 3.7's, McIntosh MC601 driving center Magnepan CCR, 2 Paradigm Sub1 subwoofers, McIntosh MX151 processor, Panasonic PT-AE7000 projector, 2 Brüel & Kjær 4810 shakers, 2 Brüel & Kjær microphones, 2 Brüel & Kjær accelerometers, Puget Serenity very low noise computer, Agilent 34420A nanoVolt/microOhm meter, Agilent E4980A Impedance Analyzer, NI PCI-4461 Sound & Vibration analysis system, Michelson laser interferometer, MICA measurement cubes. Last edited by Ian; 09-02-2012 at 10:17 PM. |
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Quote:
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#5
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---4K means more dead pixels!
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#6
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I find it interesting that originally, we measured television resolution by the number of HORIZONTAL lines.
We had 480, 720, 1080 horizontal by 640, 1080, 1920 vertical lines. 1080x1920 is Hi-Def. NOW, all of a sudden, we have 4K--4000 plus or minus, counting VERTICAL lines, and the exact vertical count hasn't even had an industry standard yet. That makes it seem to buyers that the new TVs are much higher in resolution than they really are. Going from 1080 to 4K sounds like a tremendous improvement, BUT IT'S NOT. The industry would be much more honest if they called the new Hi-Def standard 2K or 2160 (2 x 1080) or 2160 x 3840, so prospective purchasers could compare apples and apples, not apples and oranges. |
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Gary.......Now that the television manufacturers have reached market saturation on wide screen flat panels, sales have flattened. They must make us all feel we have inadequate displays to trigger another buying frenzy. 3D didn't do it, so they're hoping 4K will generate desire. I'm not taking the bait.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A Last edited by jdandy; 09-09-2012 at 10:24 PM. |
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Quote:
Exactly, good point. Another thing to consider is, to truly see the difference between 720p and 1080p your screen has to be over 40". How big will your screen have to be to fully appreciate the difference between 1080p and 4K? So not only are the manufacturers gonna be making us feel "inadequate" about our old tech, out of date 1080p TVs (which some of us only recently upgraded to), but if you did decided to jump on the 4K bandwagon, you're gonna have to go really big which means spending even more money for an adequate screen size. 1080p isn't even fully baked yet, meaning that no broadcast channels that I know of or have access to broadcast in 1080p. Where will 4K content come from and how much will it cost? What else will you need to view 4K? Having said all that, as always, I understand that technology is ever changing, improving, moving forward so there will always be "the next big thing". It's just moving so fast now that it feels somewhat abusive to the consumer in a sense. |
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---You got that right Dan. ...Like we've said before, 4K is mainly beneficial for IMAX Theaters and the likes (people who have front projectors in their home and with a screen of at least 100" diagonal). ...And they'd better sit 8 feet or so from that screen to notice a difference.
Today we're good with a 1080p flat panel (60") that cost now only $499 and should last another 10 years or so. Last edited by LordoftheRingsEE; 09-09-2012 at 10:22 PM. |
#10
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I'd settle for 1080p cable, that might make the most difference in my daily viewing experience. As far as I know, comcast is still only broadcasting in 720p/1080i.
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