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NoxTek
The Geek Redneck
- Joined
- May 27, 2002
- Messages
- 9,300
So I'm currently in such a euphoric state that I simply had to share with someone... 
For the last year or so I've been on the hunt for a 4K display that ticks all of my boxes:
- Large format (40" or up)
- 4:4:4 chroma at 4K/60hz
- Relatively low (or at least tolerable) input lag
- Good color, contrast, and uniformity
That search has gone on for quite some time and has been pretty exhausting as well. After having a decent 1080p large format display for almost five years (a 2011 era LG 42LK450 with an IPS panel), I decided to retire it and purchase a replacement around Christmas of last year. Little did I know how difficult it would be to get my hands on a 4K display that ticked all of the above boxes and didn't suck ass doing it.
I tried:
- An LG 43UF6430: Very bright IPS panel with great contrast, but it used a horrid RGBW pixel arrangement (and staggered too!) that made it a really crappy PC display.
- A Seiki SE42UGT: Actually not a half bad display, but it lacked 4:4:4 chroma support and also had higher input lag than I'd like. A fairly decent quality build though especially with the sub $300 price factored in.
- A Wasabi Mango 'ZEN' U400: I had to try and get in on the latest 'direct from Korea' display fad, right? What could go wrong? Well let me tell you that thing was the biggest piece of shit (pardon my language) that I've ever laid my hands on. Not only did it arrive with a blotched panel due to pressure from the air pillows they crammed in the box, but I'm 90% certain it was flashed with the wrong firmware - the firmware for the Crossover 289K which is another direct-from-Korea display. Absolutely horrible pixel response times with ghosting and smearing the likes of which I haven't seen since the first color LCDs on laptops from the mid 1990s. (I'm pretty sure this was because Overdrive wasn't working, probably due to the wrong firmware being on it) The quality was just plain BAD - flimsy construction all over. Two of the screw holes for the feet were even stripped out beyond hope. Maybe the higher end WM units are better... I'll never know.
Anyway after doing a ton of research the big wheel kept landing on the KU6xxx (2016 era) and JU6500 (2015 era) TVs from Samsung. These mid-tier TVs seemed almost too good to be true. HDMI 2.0 support on at least one port with full 4:4:4 chroma at 4K/60hz, and input lag numbers that beat even their higher end brothers - especially in 'game mode'. Around about the time I had made my mind up on a 43" Samsung UN43KU6300, a deal on Ebay popped up for the 2015 era UN50JU6500 for $529 with free shipping and no tax. At that price I simply had to bite and try my hand at the wheel of displays once again.....
This thing is GREAT! Deep inky blacks, great uniformity with very little of that 'VA Bullseye' effect - so little of it in fact that I'm tempted to compare it to an IPS panel! Full 4:4:4 chroma at 4K/60hz and input lag that's some of the lowest I've seen on an LCD TV! RTINGS initial review back in 2015 states something like 42ms in PC mode, but with the newest firmware I'd wager that the number is now closer to the mid 20s - no kidding. (In game mode it drops down to the low teens but you lose 4:4:4 chroma - not a big deal for gaming in any case) The difference in quality is impressive too: When compared to the Seiki and especially the Wasabi Mango there just is no contest. Even the out of box experience had my jaw dropping - the Samsung goes through this whole fancy intro video when you first power it up and it overall just oozes quality compared to what I'm used to.
If I had to find one thing to complain about it would be that this thing definitely has a PWM backlight. It's not even a high frequency one either, it's 60 cycles. That's a bit annoying especially if you like to turn your backlight way down. I'd say it's forgivable though given all of the upsides of the display.
Anyway, for anyone who is in the same boat I was - you might want to stick it out and save up for something in Samsung's lineup. Heck, even one of last year's models could be just what you're looking for!
For the last year or so I've been on the hunt for a 4K display that ticks all of my boxes:
- Large format (40" or up)
- 4:4:4 chroma at 4K/60hz
- Relatively low (or at least tolerable) input lag
- Good color, contrast, and uniformity
That search has gone on for quite some time and has been pretty exhausting as well. After having a decent 1080p large format display for almost five years (a 2011 era LG 42LK450 with an IPS panel), I decided to retire it and purchase a replacement around Christmas of last year. Little did I know how difficult it would be to get my hands on a 4K display that ticked all of the above boxes and didn't suck ass doing it.
I tried:
- An LG 43UF6430: Very bright IPS panel with great contrast, but it used a horrid RGBW pixel arrangement (and staggered too!) that made it a really crappy PC display.
- A Seiki SE42UGT: Actually not a half bad display, but it lacked 4:4:4 chroma support and also had higher input lag than I'd like. A fairly decent quality build though especially with the sub $300 price factored in.
- A Wasabi Mango 'ZEN' U400: I had to try and get in on the latest 'direct from Korea' display fad, right? What could go wrong? Well let me tell you that thing was the biggest piece of shit (pardon my language) that I've ever laid my hands on. Not only did it arrive with a blotched panel due to pressure from the air pillows they crammed in the box, but I'm 90% certain it was flashed with the wrong firmware - the firmware for the Crossover 289K which is another direct-from-Korea display. Absolutely horrible pixel response times with ghosting and smearing the likes of which I haven't seen since the first color LCDs on laptops from the mid 1990s. (I'm pretty sure this was because Overdrive wasn't working, probably due to the wrong firmware being on it) The quality was just plain BAD - flimsy construction all over. Two of the screw holes for the feet were even stripped out beyond hope. Maybe the higher end WM units are better... I'll never know.
Anyway after doing a ton of research the big wheel kept landing on the KU6xxx (2016 era) and JU6500 (2015 era) TVs from Samsung. These mid-tier TVs seemed almost too good to be true. HDMI 2.0 support on at least one port with full 4:4:4 chroma at 4K/60hz, and input lag numbers that beat even their higher end brothers - especially in 'game mode'. Around about the time I had made my mind up on a 43" Samsung UN43KU6300, a deal on Ebay popped up for the 2015 era UN50JU6500 for $529 with free shipping and no tax. At that price I simply had to bite and try my hand at the wheel of displays once again.....
This thing is GREAT! Deep inky blacks, great uniformity with very little of that 'VA Bullseye' effect - so little of it in fact that I'm tempted to compare it to an IPS panel! Full 4:4:4 chroma at 4K/60hz and input lag that's some of the lowest I've seen on an LCD TV! RTINGS initial review back in 2015 states something like 42ms in PC mode, but with the newest firmware I'd wager that the number is now closer to the mid 20s - no kidding. (In game mode it drops down to the low teens but you lose 4:4:4 chroma - not a big deal for gaming in any case) The difference in quality is impressive too: When compared to the Seiki and especially the Wasabi Mango there just is no contest. Even the out of box experience had my jaw dropping - the Samsung goes through this whole fancy intro video when you first power it up and it overall just oozes quality compared to what I'm used to.
If I had to find one thing to complain about it would be that this thing definitely has a PWM backlight. It's not even a high frequency one either, it's 60 cycles. That's a bit annoying especially if you like to turn your backlight way down. I'd say it's forgivable though given all of the upsides of the display.
Anyway, for anyone who is in the same boat I was - you might want to stick it out and save up for something in Samsung's lineup. Heck, even one of last year's models could be just what you're looking for!
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