UHD subscriptions for TV streaming - are they worth it !!

jimbo45 · Thursday at 6:46 AM

Hi folks
I find especially on a 50 inch TV which is UHD quality there's almost no difference when viewing in normal HD or a program supposedly transmitted in UHD 4K format. While in the UK for example I was watching the Wimbledon Tennis and England's World cup game against DR-Congo on its iPlayer which offered UHD - but it made very little (if any) difference on the screen. The TV is quite good quality so is this whole 4K UHD thing an elaborate scam to squeeze more money out of people or is it the program makers are just "up-rezzing" standard HD stuff. People like Netflix / Amazon Prime, TNT sports etc all want to charge extra subs for 4K UHD but unless you are sitting in a dark window-less shed the quality seems undetectable. I get better often from an older 36 inch TV set with just standard HD. !!!.

I've 20/20 vision so it's not a "Visit to the eye doctor" needed !! but my normal viewnig room is reasonably bright. If I need a dark room then I can always go to the Cinema. !!!

Do others have this problem !!!

Cheers
jimbo

thecaretaker · Thursday at 8:02 AM

Here in the UK, I watch a lot on the BBC iPlayer. Until my current TV (Panasonic OLED 55Z95BEB) I always preferred to watch the HD streams as I never found HDR on 4K streams very bright. But I am currently watching a documentary on Fungi and the picture quality is outstanding in 4K. What I have noticed is streaming on the iPlayer is graded (for want of a better description). It starts off all fuzzy, and gets better in stages as the TV works out what bandwidth it can handle. I have a 1gb upload/1gb download internet and it can take a couple of minutes before I get the full 4K quality.

One thing I have done, is turn off any Dynamic QoS on my router and just let it give me what I can get. The biggest reduction in speed was when I had Access Control turned on in my router. I turned it off and the speed jumped from 650mb to 950mb on a speed test. I don't know what internet speed you get and appreciate that 4K by rights only requires 40-50mb.

Also, you may notice a difference with your screen type. Panasonic OLED does seem much sharper definition than the Samsung QLED I once had.

MachineLanguage · Thursday at 8:22 AM

thecaretaker said:
What I have noticed is streaming on the iPlayer is graded (for want of a better description). It starts off all fuzzy, and gets better in stages as the TV works out what bandwidth it can handle

We bought "LG Web Os 55" i guess 4 years ago. It also has similar results as your iPlayer. Some times 5-30 seconds using TMobile Home.

spapakons · Thursday at 8:50 AM

I don't think that Netflix, Disney Plus and other platforms would ever dare to upscale 1080p and pretend is native 4K because if caught they would lose many customers. However, when we watch a fast action movie our eye hardly has the time to examine the image and tell the difference between real 4K and 1080p. Some times when there are no artifacts, I can even watch standard definition video and cannot tell the difference between that and 720p or even 1080p. OK, if I pause the video or go too close to the TV, I will see it, but from a normal viewing distance I don't, especially for a fast action movie. For what I have read online, you can tell the difference between 4K and 1080p when you have a TV 65 inches or larger, or if you project at large enough sizes. So everyone with a 50" or smaller 4K TV might see a slightly better image on 4K than 1080p, but it's mostly psychological. His eye cannot tell the difference at normal viewing distance, unless we watches from half a meter away and risks his eye health!

Catnip · Thursday at 8:56 AM

I have a 60 inch TV and from my normal viewing distance of 10 to 12 ft, I can't tell the difference between normal HD and UHD. I was going to get the UHD upgrades for Prime and Netflix, but I really don't see the point.

spapakons · Thursday at 9:03 AM

Yes, my wife pays for the UHD Netflix in order to use 4 screens at the same time, not so for the 4K.

jimbo45 · Thursday at 9:04 AM

spapakons said:
Yes, my wife pays for the Prime (UHD) Netflix in order to use 4 screens at the same time, not so for the 4K.

You don't need the UHD option - basic Prime or Netflix will cover 4 devices.

Cheers
jimbo

spapakons · Thursday at 9:20 AM

I am not sure, but some years ago when we started paying for Netflix, here in Greece we had three plans. The first and cheaper was one screen at standard definition, the second was two screens at HD and the third was for 4 screens up to 4K. I don't know if anything has changed today, at least here in Greece.

jimbo45 · Thursday at 9:20 AM

Catnip said:
I have a 60 inch TV and from my normal viewing distance of 10 to 12 ft, I can't tell the difference between normal HD and UHD. I was going to get the UHD upgrades for Prime and Netflix, but I really don't see the point.

I really suspect until TV's themselves can handle this stuff properly (and why would I want to pay up to £1000 or €1300 or US equiv just for a TV even if the new OLED one's are really good - apparently !!) is BONKERS it's not worth the upgrade - certainly until programs are made from scratch in 4K UKD resolution and not just "Up-rezzed" SD.

I'm not a "Leftie - Net Zero fanatic" - but it's about time we need to get out of this forever "consume more, buy more expensive products" etc etc. I like innovation etc but do it decently . I was recently in London - and you really would not believe it until you had seen it for yourselves the amount of perfectly good Lime electric bikes just dumped all over the place !!!! probably scheduled for landfill !!!. Probably true in other places as well. !!

What will really be a difference is the advent of proper 8K UHD - from what I've seen that DOES make a huge difference on the test locations I've visited but you'll need really good Internet - especially if 2 or 3 people in the same house are concurrently watching different channels. !!!

For people who push "Consume more - consume more" - I'd suggest if you can find it look at that movie "They Live" -- absolutely brilliant. !!!!! even though it's from as far back as 1988. !!

They Live - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Cheers
jimbo

spapakons · Thursday at 9:26 AM

If we need at least 65" to tell the difference between 4K and HD, I bet we need over 100" to tell the difference between 8K and 4K. So anyone that pays for 50" or smaller 8K TV has been scammed!

PS: If it happens to still have a perfectly working CRT TV, you can watch Netflix on it using a TV box with analog video (AV, aka composite) output, or if you connect a cheap HDMI to AV adapter and then an AV to SCART adapter, if necessary. OK, the quality would be standard definition, but who cares! I used such an HDMI to AV adapter to record some gaming video on my good old VCR and the quality was amazing.

PS2: Compare the "consume more" pressure for consumer electronics, with "Replace your PC to buy a Windows 11 compliant and AI capable". No way, I still have my good old 3rd generation Intel Core-i7 system (see 2nd system specs) and it runs Windows 11 25H2 fine. 26H2 will be available as an Enablement Package, which means it has the same hardware requirements (CPU with SSE4.2) as 24H2 and 25H2. So I will upgrade to 26H2 this October without issue. Why change my PC? Similarly, why replace your perfect TV? Let big companies say what they want. We decide when our devices are obsolete. "It's ain't dead until I say it's dead", as we hear in many movies.

Catnip · Thursday at 10:27 AM

I forsee that the common adoption of 8K is at least a decade away, for it to be the de regeur. I think that most people are running SD or HD at the moment and aren't going to move up to 8K right away. There is no point in replacing a 2 year old TV just to get UHD or 8K right now. That just doesn't make sense.

And I am not going to replace my phone every two years, just because Apple and Samsung, etc. say I have to. Sorry, but I am a responsible consumer. And cheap.

spapakons · Thursday at 11:03 AM

Regarding the iPhone here in Europe new models must have a replaceable battery and make it last more than 2-3 years. I don't remember more details as I don't own an iPhone.

Regarding old TVs, I would consider replacing a "dump" TV with a smart TV to have better image quality and the convenience to watch streaming videos using my remote, but even then if the TV is large enough and in perfect condition, I think it would be better to just connect my PC/laptop or buy a small and much cheaper TV box. Unlike TVs that don't receive frequent updates, a PC or a TV box running Android is far more flexible and receive more updates. Also a less than five years old smart TV should be adequate for most owners and they can always add a TV box to watch new services. Most content providers give you a TV box if your TV doesn't support their streaming service. The same TV box also supports Netflix, YouTube and other streaming services making the smart TV obsolete.

Steve C · 2026-07-03T03:17:41-0400

jimbo45 said:
Hi folks
I find especially on a 50 inch TV which is UHD quality there's almost no difference when viewing in normal HD or a program supposedly transmitted in UHD 4K format. While in the UK for example I was watching the Wimbledon Tennis and England's World cup game against DR-Congo on its iPlayer which offered UHD - but it made very little (if any) difference on the screen. The TV is quite good quality so is this whole 4K UHD thing an elaborate scam to squeeze more money out of people or is it the program makers are just "up-rezzing" standard HD stuff. People like Netflix / Amazon Prime, TNT sports etc all want to charge extra subs for 4K UHD but unless you are sitting in a dark window-less shed the quality seems undetectable. I get better often from an older 36 inch TV set with just standard HD. !!!.

I've 20/20 vision so it's not a "Visit to the eye doctor" needed !! but my normal viewnig room is reasonably bright. If I need a dark room then I can always go to the Cinema. !!!

Do others have this problem !!!

Cheers
jimbo

I disagree. On my LG G4 TV there is marked difference between UHD and normal HD on BBC iPlayer. Note for the current World Cup matches you need to be watching the live match to view in UHD.

Steve C · 2026-07-03T03:18:34-0400

Catnip said:
I have a 60 inch TV and from my normal viewing distance of 10 to 12 ft, I can't tell the difference between normal HD and UHD. I was going to get the UHD upgrades for Prime and Netflix, but I really don't see the point.

Time for an eye test?

spapakons · 2026-07-03T04:08:22-0400

I connect my laptop on my 50" 4K TV and I play movies at 1080p because the laptop is not powerful enough for 4K. At normal viewing distance the image looks perfect. I can only tell the quality is not perfect if I go as near as half a meter. Nobody watches a movie too close! So yes, there is a difference, nobody disputes that, but if you cannot see it why pay for it? If you have an old CRT TV and want to upgrade to HD and beyond or if your old HD TV is faulty, then it is time for a new 4K TV. If you have a perfectly good TV why replace it? Similarly why pay for the UHD version of streaming if you cannot tell the difference? My wife pays for UHD Netflix because here in Greece is the only way to have 4 screens at the same time. Otherwise we hardly detect the difference between 4K and HD while watching from 4 meters distance (more than 13ft). I might have a little difficulty reading fine print on paper or device labels, but my eyesight is perfect for looking far away, so it's no time for an eye test yet...

SlicEnDicE · 2026-07-03T04:16:36-0400

spapakons said:
Yes, my wife pays for the UHD Netflix in order to use 4 screens at the same time, not so for the 4K.

I know women are brilliant at multitasking, but 4 screens at the same time?

Is she an octopussy-spider hybrid with 18 brains and 12 eyes?

spapakons · 2026-07-03T05:03:05-0400

Sometimes she watches at home while I watch outside, but her father might want to watch too, so we got 4 screens. This doesn't happen too often, but it happens. Besides the difference in subscription is not that high.

PS: About multitasking, when my wife teases me women can multitask, I reply that it is better to do one thing perfectly than many things good enough. No matter how good one is at multitasking, a divided attention is prone to errors.

SlicEnDicE · 2026-07-03T06:20:35-0400

I agree

Steve C · 2026-07-03T07:01:27-0400

The eye can only resolve HD resolution at a distance about twice the diagonal screen size. For UHD it is a distance of about one diagonal screen distance away.

spapakons · 2026-07-03T07:17:18-0400

Steve C said:
The eye can only resolve HD resolution at a distance about twice the diagonal screen size. For UHD iit is a distance of about one diagonal screen distance away.

So to properly see 4K at a 50" TV you must want at 50" distance, that is a little over 4ft or 1,27m. Like I said, you must watch from 1m distance. Nobody does that, even gamers on such large screen.

PS: When you see a child going too close, you must probably go to the doctor to prescribe glasses. This is how we discovered my sister is shortsighted.

UHD subscriptions for TV streaming - are they worth it !!

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