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


Time for an eye test?
Lol. No, I think I am good. I just can't see the difference in resolution at the distance I described.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 11 Pro 25H2Intel i7 13700KF32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
OS
Win 11 Pro 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Self build
CPU
Intel i7 13700KF
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z790 UD AC
Memory
32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
Sound Card
On board Realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
ACER 34 inch
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
1 TB Samsung 980 Pro Nvme, 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Nvme, 2 x Samsung 970 2TB SSD SATA
PSU
EVGA 1000Q
Case
Rosewill something or other
Cooling
Noctua NH-D15. A whole schwak of Noctua case fans. $$$
Keyboard
Logitech G815
Mouse
Logitech G502 Hero
Internet Speed
700 up, 600 down
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
MalwareBytes
Lol. No, I think I am good. I just can't see the difference in resolution at the distance I described.
On a test to a studio with real full 8K UHD then even down rezzing to 4K UHD on a typical 50 inch domestic TV -- not those mega expensive things - it was clearly visible as an improvement compared with bog standard 4K UHD as output for example the Wimbledon tennis on BBC's iPlayer.

What was even more spectacular was that on a typical older 32 inch 1080p so full standard HD was the 8K signal down rezzed to HD was still clearly an improvement over the base SD signal !!whereas the BBC's 4K UHD wimbledon signal made no difference at all down rezzed or watched in native on some basic 50 inch typical TV's.

What was great about this test was that the SAME picture was being shown so you could compare easily. What I hate is if you go into a store to check out this stuff you get different pictures accross the various TV sets. That IMHO is a 100% USELESS comparison.

So it looks like choose TV and viewing areas with extreme care - you don't always get what you think you are getting !!!

So my conclusion is now unless I go for an expensive TV upgrade which I can't be bothered to do I'll sit this one out and see what "Black Friday" or Santa brings (are we nearly there already !!!! - this year has gone quick).

Cheers
jimbo.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows XP,11 Linux Fedora Rawhide pre-releas...2 X Intel i7
OS
Windows XP,11 Linux Fedora Rawhide pre-release 45
Computer type
PC/Desktop
CPU
2 X Intel i7
Screen Resolution
4KUHD X 2
On a test to a studio with real full 8K UHD then even down rezzing to 4K UHD on a typical 50 inch domestic TV -- not those mega expensive things - it was clearly visible as an improvement compared with bog standard 4K UHD as output for example the Wimbledon tennis on BBC's iPlayer.

What was even more spectacular was that on a typical older 32 inch 1080p so full standard HD was the 8K signal down rezzed to HD was still clearly an improvement over the base SD signal !!whereas the BBC's 4K UHD wimbledon signal made no difference at all down rezzed or watched in native on some basic 50 inch typical TV's.

What was great about this test was that the SAME picture was being shown so you could compare easily. What I hate is if you go into a store to check out this stuff you get different pictures accross the various TV sets. That IMHO is a 100% USELESS comparison.

So it looks like choose TV and viewing areas with extreme care - you don't always get what you think you are getting !!!

So my conclusion is now unless I go for an expensive TV upgrade which I can't be bothered to do I'll sit this one out and see what "Black Friday" or Santa brings (are we nearly there already !!!! - this year has gone quick).

Cheers
jimbo.
The best TV is always available next year :-)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 ProCore i7-13700K64 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Super Gaming OC 8G
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Self build
CPU
Core i7-13700K
Motherboard
Asus TUF Gaming Plus WiFi Z790
Memory
64 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Super Gaming OC 8G
Sound Card
Realtek S1200A
Monitor(s) Displays
Viewsonic VP2770 & Dell (secondary)
Screen Resolution
2560 x 1440
Hard Drives
Kingston KC3000 2TB NVME SSD & SATA HDDs & SSD
PSU
EVGA SuperNova G2 850W
Case
Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
Cooling
Noctua NH-D14
Keyboard
Microsoft Digital Media Pro
Mouse
Logitech Wireless
Internet Speed
80 Mb / s
Browser
Chrome
Antivirus
Defender, Malwarebytes Free & AdwCleaner
Good luck currently getting 8K TV signals. It's hard enough getting 4K and even if you pay extra on Netflix only a small portion are 4K.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 25H2Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24-Core)64GB DDR5 6400MT/sNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel UHD Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware 18 Area-51
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24-Core)
    Motherboard
    Alienware
    Memory
    64GB DDR5 6400MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel UHD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Onboard, Realtek high-performance Audio chips (ALC3329 & ALC1708))
    Monitor(s) Displays
    300HZ 18-inch QHD 500 nit Comfort View+
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 5 SSD
    Case
    Magnesium Alloy
    Cooling
    Advanced Cryo-Tech Quad-Fan Cooling system & large vapor chamber
    Keyboard
    Cherry MX ultra low profile mechanical keyboard with per key AlienFX RGB lighting
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Browser
    Vivaldi (main), Firefox, Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    MS Defender and Malwarebytes Free
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 25H2Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12 Core) ARM bas...16GB LPDDR5Qualcomm Adreno X1-85
    Operating System
    Windows 11 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 7
    CPU
    Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12 Core) ARM based CPU
    Motherboard
    Microsoft Corp.
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Qualcomm Adreno X1-85
    Sound Card
    Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos spatial sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    120 Hz 13.8-inch 600 nit PixelSense Flow touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    2304x1536
    Hard Drives
    1TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD
    Case
    Anodized Aluminum
    Cooling
    Traditional active cooling fan system
    Keyboard
    Mechanical QWERTY, backlit when in use
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4 and Surface Arc Mouse
    Browser
    Vivaldi (main), Firefox, Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    MS Defender and Malwarebytes Free
Here in Greece some shops use an HDMI splitter and display the same video across many TVs so the potential buyers can compare the image quality. The problem is that this comparison is not subjective because the shop has deliberately tweaked the color settings at all models making sure the one they want to sell looks better than the others. It might be truly better, it might be tweaked to look better, one cannot be sure. So we mostly buy based on the specs, on reviews we have read in technology magazines and our preference for a specific manufacturer. The good news is that almost all models look very good if the colors are carefully calibrated. Of course the average buyer has no idea how to calibrate the colors and just rely on the default settings which are almost always set to dynamic to make the colors more vivid but slightly unnatural.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8655)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8655)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8655)Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generat...2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB...
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8655)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
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