How good/bad does 1080p look on a 4K screen?

Zepher

Zepher

[H]ipster Replacement
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Sep 29, 2001
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I am looking to maybe buy a small tv for the garage to use with my old apple tv and firestick.
hhgregg has a Seiki 4K 42" for only $249.
http://www.hhgregg.com/seiki-42-4k-ultra-hd-streaming-tv/item/SE42UGT#

Just wondering what it will look like being used primarily as a 1080p screen.

normally, I'd go buy it and try it myself but I can't walk yet or drive so I'd have to have someone take me to get it and then take me back if I decide to return it if it doesn't meet my needs.
 
Honestly you could pay that much for a pretty good 1080p TV and not have to question quality of the 1080P image.

It does not look like the TV has a upscaler so I would question overall quality of a 1080p source. Then again I didn't do much research on the TV to say yes or no. The flip side is the price is pretty awesome but I'd be a tad worried about 1080p.
 
Based on everything I've been reading lately, folks seem to be suggesting that 1080p shown on a 4k display should look just as good as 1080p shown on a 1080p display. Unless the display has particularly poor electronics.

More reading: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2ndmut/1080p_on_a_4k_display_for_those_who_have_actually/

I can't say for sure, but I'm curious about the issue myself and if it is true, a 4k display might very well be in my future (eventually). Nice to have both resolution options.
 
I have determined that 1080p image on a 4k screen is a complete dead end. If you are going to rely on 1080p, then get 1080p. If you get 4k, it'd be easier if you actually forget about 1080p.

I have used 1080p on my BL3201PT, which NCX has said to have one of the better scalers around, and so far my tests with it have shown to me that 1440p, ironically, looks better on that screen than 1080p. My quick test with a PB279Q returned the same conclusion: 1080p looks horrible on 4k monitors. TV may present a different story, but I have not been able to test it since no one here ever uses a 4k TV for a monitor.

Whether it is because of the actual monitor or if 1080p on a 32" would look actually that bad I do not know, but I certainly don't remember seeing 32" 1080p screen looking anywhere near as horrid as that (for example, LG-32MB25VQ looks miles better, despite it being the same 32").
 
It depends on the scaler but 1080p maps perfectly into 4k just using pixel doubling. There is no reason it should look different than a 1080p set of the same size looks unless there is some additional signal processing being done by the scaler.
 
I had the same line of thought, so I was really baffled when I saw 1080p on the BL3201PT, it should not have looked that bad, yet it looks absolutely horrible. It looks very pixelated and I do not remember seeing that much pixelation on a native 1080p 32" display. I have no idea why.

It could very well be that the scaling is entirely game dependent or I missed a magical setting somewhere.
 
There's no reason it should look bad, but it did in direct comparison last time i checked.

4k is one of these either you're in or you're out ball games. You can't have all your base. All your base does not belong to you when you into 4k.
 
4k is one of those resolutions where you have to spend the money all the way (top end SLI or Crossfire setups, as well as a quality panel) to enjoy 4k to its fullest potential with current hardware. Anything else is an oxymoron, be it bad 4k panel (EG I don't think 4k should use TN panels, despite how TN isn't all that bad, it's just strictly unnecessary for 60hz, especially 4k), not up to par hardware etc.

1440p is the current sweet spot at the moment. Better eye candy than your typical 1080p, decent monitor selection and can be driven by a single GPU, with second being optional rather than mandatory for 4k.

And there are also a few other issues with games at 4k, but those reasons are my personal nitpicking. 1440p doesn't suffer nearly as much
 
He's talking about A/V media, not gaming. So "driving" it is of no concern. Did you not see he'll be using an AppleTV and Fire Stick?

OP, I have 39" version of said TV. I regularly watch 1080P content on it and it looks fine.
 
I have a 55" Sony X810C. 1080P on it looks just as good as it does on a native 1080P set.
 
Zangmonkey said:
It depends on the scaler but 1080p maps perfectly into 4k just using pixel doubling. There is no reason it should look different than a 1080p set of the same size looks unless there is some additional signal processing being done by the scaler.
Click to expand...

As I understand it, that isn't always the case. Some of the Phillips units don't do a perfect 4:1 mapping of 1080P onto 4K panels. Evidently the Samsung units do. I haven't tried it in Windows, but watching non-4k content on mine looks as good as it does watching a regular 1080P TV in my house.

Your mileage may vary.
 
How good 1080p looks on 1080p screen?
TV's are not monitors, here there is much more stuff between panel and signal that can screw image up. Most television sets have obnoxious processing which make image non-pixel perfect. So buying 1080p TV you are not guaranteed to have monitor sharp picture.

4K add issue of scaling but depending on content that might either not matter or make image unacceptable and everything in between. For normal TV content it should not matter and only matter for computer like images. But how this Seiki screws up image is not really known. It might be good or bad and that is what you need to check.
 
Riccochet said:
He's talking about A/V media, not gaming. So "driving" it is of no concern. Did you not see he'll be using an AppleTV and Fire Stick?

OP, I have 39" version of said TV. I regularly watch 1080P content on it and it looks fine.
Click to expand...

Bankie said:
I have a 55" Sony X810C. 1080P on it looks just as good as it does on a native 1080P set.
Click to expand...

Porter_ said:
Same story here with my 55" Sony XBR800B. 1080P looks great for cable/streaming/AppleTV.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that is exactly what I was asking about. Since this is a smart tv, it may even do 4K from Netflix so that would be neat.
 
I wouldn't count on the "Smart" features being very capable of 4K content. Might want a Roku4 or FireTV for that.
 
I plan on putting the TV on the wall of my cubicle,
wall-area.jpg
 
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