4K Blu-ray Poised For Holiday 2015 Debut
- Thread starter snowhiker
- Start date
ddrueding
Fixture
Too little too late for disks, I think. Netflix should have 4k running a year earlier than that I'd imagine.
Maybe...it all depends how good of quality they're able to stream given all the net neutrality bandwidth issues these days. I'd still be willing to spring with a disc-based media if it meant getting the best picture quality out of a good 4K panel.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
There are people uploading raw .ISOs of blu rays to the usual places. I usually Netflix special effects spectacle movies that I don't buy just so that I can convert them myself, but even with a Netflix distribution center just 50 miles from my apartment, they don't mail them faster than I can download 40GB. A 1080p (pirate release group) YIFY release usually looks comparable to slightly better than a Netflix HD stream as it is.
I'm curious to know if they'll update the copy protection measures.
Also, Samsung's 4k TVs, especially the 40 and 55" models, are definitely within the realm of mainstream affordability here in the USA. I'll bet the 55", 120Hz model is $1500 come the Christmas season.
Stereodude
Not really a
I'm sure they won't miss the opportunity.
Yes, but they are still too small to really see the difference in resolution from any typical seating distance, and they're crappy edge-lit LCDs.
Is Vizio still coming out with their 4K TVs for a decent price this fall with localized backlighting? Those might help the consumer adoption.
I'd have to replace my Roku to get 4K Netflix (or other service) anyway and I'm not really interested in doing that right now.
I'd have to replace my Roku to get 4K Netflix (or other service) anyway and I'm not really interested in doing that right now.
ddrueding
Fixture
Reason 4,435,123,564 to just have a real computer next to each TV. All these STBs and other gizmos impose so many limitations.
Newtun
Storage is nice, especially if it doesn't rotate
Gosh, my wife has a hard enough time working the TV with a remote.
Perhaps but not all real computers did 4K well until recently. Other than this 4K limitation the Roku has been awesome to use. If I used a PC I'd need all kinds of tweaking, software, and remote configs. Unless a decent amount is spent to get all quiet parts it wont even come close to the silent nature of a Roku. Price wise it's still probably less expensive to buy a 4K Roku if it ever comes out than to build my own PC. The dedicated PC will win on full functionality at the expense of price, complexity, size, and noise.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Gosh, my wife has a hard enough time working the TV with a remote.
I may have mentioned this, but if you own a Windows or Android tablet, the XBMC/Plex remote apps available for them are super, super sexy. My mom can't work a TV either, but does pretty well once she's in Plex.
I still think the FireTV is pretty nice. The Chromecast is way, way better than it was at launch, though it's clearly targeted at younger users since it has a tablet/smartphone/PC as an absolute requirement to using it. Roku is just a one way ticket to a laggy UI, but it's still piles better than all the crappy functions and remotes on every Smart TV I've messed with.
Porkchop Sammiches said:
My NUC was built out of spare parts I just had sitting around other than the barebones NUC itself. It doesn't make any more noise than any other STB and it's only a tiny bit bigger than a Roku 2. The Start Screen actually makes a great UI since it amounts to a 10' UI for 10' UI selections of Plex or Netflix or Youtube or XBMC. If you have RAM and an 802.11 card sitting around, you could probably get one of the Celeron models running for $200, which doesn't strike me as outrageous given the benefits over the STBs.
I do wish there was a better experience for local media among the ModernUI ("metro") apps; all the stuff in the app store is really just front-ends for Spotify or Pandora or Last.FM or something and while I'm OK with the XBMC presentation, I suspect that it could be improved.
I suspect that even the entry-level 4k displays will look really damned good for most applications. I wish I hadn't bought a new TV in the last 12 months.
Stereodude
Not really a
Supposedly.
So far there are no external boxes support UHD Netflix. Only some UHD TVs with can stream UHD Netflix directly.
Stereodude
Not really a
Can she use a computer?Gosh, my wife has a hard enough time working the TV with a remote.
Those spare parts cost you money at some point or another. A $200 NUC plus RAM and a 802.11 card is already more than twice what I paid for a Roku. How do you operate the NUC once it's setup in your media center? RDC? What benefits would I be gaining for the extra cost and complexity?
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
The RAM is a couple 2GB DIMMs I had from upgrading a laptop to 8 or 16GB in the past and the 802.11/BT card was fished out of a dead laptop. The mSATA card was an otherwise too small for anything useful 80GB model, though I'll admit most people don't have spare mSATA cards sitting around. I can control the thing with either a Rii bluetooth keyboard or Logitech k400. If XBMC or Plex is open, I can run them off my mobile devices. I can also control XBMC from its web interface and of course I can RDP if I want.
Why is that better? Technically, my box will do 240Hz and/or 4k output and will do those things right now, without waiting for a product revision that doesn't exist yet. I can run XBMC for coherent access to local content (SD and I have been talking about that in another thread - XBMC is more or less the best option for looking at your music collection on a 10' interface). I also have a better Netflix experience through the ModernUI-style application as compared to Roku and I can get support for any of the more mainstream channels the Roku offers as well (I will concede Roku's superiority for international sports and off-brand religious content; I think about 75% of its available channels are in the religion category). The NUC could also act as a Plex Media Server. The Celeron-based NUC might not be the best choice for doing that, but it's capable enough for a couple video streams. I can also plug in a BD drive if I want and the HTPC will allow access to some shady content sources like Popcorn Time or First Row Sports. I'd also say that the plethora of control options is also a plus.
I really do like STBs that put access to Plex where I want it, but the HTPC is still a far better all-around choice.
Why is that better? Technically, my box will do 240Hz and/or 4k output and will do those things right now, without waiting for a product revision that doesn't exist yet. I can run XBMC for coherent access to local content (SD and I have been talking about that in another thread - XBMC is more or less the best option for looking at your music collection on a 10' interface). I also have a better Netflix experience through the ModernUI-style application as compared to Roku and I can get support for any of the more mainstream channels the Roku offers as well (I will concede Roku's superiority for international sports and off-brand religious content; I think about 75% of its available channels are in the religion category). The NUC could also act as a Plex Media Server. The Celeron-based NUC might not be the best choice for doing that, but it's capable enough for a couple video streams. I can also plug in a BD drive if I want and the HTPC will allow access to some shady content sources like Popcorn Time or First Row Sports. I'd also say that the plethora of control options is also a plus.
I really do like STBs that put access to Plex where I want it, but the HTPC is still a far better all-around choice.
sechs
Storage? I am Storage!
Is there really a market for this?
How many people can they get to rebuy the same movie because it's now in 4k?
How many people can they get to rebuy the same movie because it's now in 4k?
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Depends on the movie.
Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic movies? I want to watch those in the highest quality available because those are movies that I know I'll watch repeatedly.
Something I'm only going to watch one time? Probably doesn't matter but I'd still rather have higher quality than not.
Most of my movies went through an upconversion from DVD to BD-quality by way of ripped Netflix discs. I suspect I'll wind up doing the same thing with 4k once Handbrake has H.265 support implemented.
Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic movies? I want to watch those in the highest quality available because those are movies that I know I'll watch repeatedly.
Something I'm only going to watch one time? Probably doesn't matter but I'd still rather have higher quality than not.
Most of my movies went through an upconversion from DVD to BD-quality by way of ripped Netflix discs. I suspect I'll wind up doing the same thing with 4k once Handbrake has H.265 support implemented.