4k projectors

sidvee

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Esteemed FM's,
I am researching a projector upgrade from my current epson 8350 to a 4k model. Some questions:
1. What are the 4k projectors available in India?
2. Is upsampling the pic. from 1080p to 4k benefical and easily observed? I used to upsample 480p dvd to 720p few years ago before bluray discs were widely available, but improvements were not always consistent.
3. Is it better to wait a while or jump on 4k soon? Especially in terms of price drops.
4. Is there is any visibility on when 4k discs or other content will be available in the market?
Thanks in advance for any info.
Cheers,
Sid
 
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You should wait. There really is no 4K content available just yet... a few shows on Netflix and some tech channels on YouTube, but both will require high speed b/w to stream. Physical media, there is none in terms of movies or TV shows as the 4K Blu-ray format will only be coming later this year (I believe the specs are still being agreed on and it will be UHD and not "true" 4K).

I was in US last year and from what I saw 99% of the channels there are only broadcasting in 720p or 1080i, not actual 1080p... so I'm sure even for general broadcasting 4K is at least a couple of years off even for US, so India is going to be a few more years.

The only other alternative is if you shoot 4K content on your smartphone, again a limited prospect as most smartphones don't allow for shooting more than 5 mins continuously.

Upsampling 1080P to 4K will depend on how well the TV or the media player do it, but if done well its really good. I have a 1080p Panny and my brother a 4K Sony and the same Blu-ray movie on the Sony looks much better, way much better in fact even in comparison to the native 1080p resolution on the Panasonic. So yes 1080p content will look good on 4K TVs, even better than on 1080p TVs, but this probably has more to do with the Sony Bravia engine.
 
So yes 1080p content will look good on 4K TVs, even better than on 1080p TVs, but this probably has more to do with the Sony Bravia engine.

So in summary if upsampling to 4k looks good on a TV screen then it should look great on a large 110" or 120" screen, should it not.
Yes I understand the lack of 4k content, but just like I had a 720p projector even before blu rays were available in the market (this was in the US) and used to upsample DVD's, I guess this option is a good one for early adopters. Of-course like you stated the upsampling process is critical, however sony has released a few 4k models so I will start checking them out along with panasonic and epson. Sony pricing will probably be at a premium though.
Cheers,
Sid
 
Yes, but do play some content and see how well it upscales.

I've a Sony BDP that upscales DVDs so well that I cannot watch the same DVDs with the old DVD player or even in SD resolution on my monitor. However, my PS3 (which is also an extremely competent Blu-ray player) does not do so well in upscaling DVDs.
 
The only thing to add to this is that from what I have seen, the streaming content providers have been adopting new tech much faster than the traditional broadcasters. So most cable content in US is indeed 1080i. (On a side note, I have an HD antenna (Mohu Leaf) that actually gives me over the air channels at 1080i - easily matching or bettering cable quality!)

But a lot of content on Netflix is already true 1080p or "Super HD" as they call it. And a lot of new programming (such as House Of Cards) is already planned for 4k.

So I would say that Netflix etc. will adopt 4k much more aggressively than most others. Plus it gives them that unique differentiator.

And anyway, if you have good 4k upscaling, you can benefit from that as well.

One thing (based on what I have read, not seen): There is heavy image processing that happens and every device or device series has its own implementation. For example, a lot of people are complaining that the 4k image processing by Vizio's 4k TV line (which is the cheapest and most compelling 4k option today, by the way, in the US) - is over-aggressive and over-contrasted. In order to make the images pop and give you a visual 4k difference, they are doing it at the expense of making it artificial looking. So do watch out for that. But they also say that a firmware fix will address this issue - so it may not be a deal-breaker but still something to watch out for.
 
Ok thanks guys. I will do some research, I guess upscaling (I realize I have been using upsampling which is an audio term, been spending so much time with audio lately I am forgetting the video terms:lol:) will be the initial option for an early adopter. Even if 4k disc show up in US, can you imagine their cost here - so I guess it will be long swait to discs here. Perhaps broadcast may be the only source but after the world cup who knows if this will sustain, as it is - as musicbee mentioned there is no 1080p content in broadcast right now. Only source for 1080p is discs/tand their digital equivalent as of now.
Cheers,
Sid
 
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