Some very, very positive Direct TV news...

[NERamsFan]

Love the thread @Rams43! Funny enough, I was going to start a new thread and ask what everyone's set up was at home because I am moving into my new condo and I in the market for a new TV. Even as a hip 24 yr old I am trying to understand all these new TV terms and features and trying to decide which is best for me. For example, I am an out of town fan and so I thought maybe getting a smart TV to get access to the internet and stream one of the underground sites to watch Rams football. Is it as easy as that sounds or should I consider connecting HDMI from TV to labtop? I live in a Comcast territory so no Sunday ticket for me.

 

[BuiltRamTough]

If you're looking for a top of the line TV. Here it is...

http://store.sony.com/84.6-diag-x95...7-XBR85X950B/cat-27-catid-XBR-4K-Ultra-HD-TVs

 

[kurtfaulk]

I bought a set and it was only $1200 more than the basic one I had first intended

in other words you paid double the price of the other one.

.

 

[Alan]

Rmfnlt with some details:
Quite frankly, even watching non-4K content, the picture is far superior to normal HD... these sets "quasi-convert" normal HD to a "4K kinda" picture. Sounds hokey but it works (at least on my set).

Interpolation?

 

[DR RAM]

You need to check this out, fellas. You'll be looking forward to replacing your current HiDef TV. Trust me.

I have seen them, there is a noticeable difference, congrats!

 

[cracengl]

I just got a 50" Samsung JU7100. I really don't care about whether 4k is a few months out since my TV also died. Here's a tip everyone. Never buy a Toshiba TV. I had a 32", it lasted a while and the screen went out. I got it replaced under warranty with a new 40" Toshiba thinking it was just a one in a million type thing. 6 months with that, the picture went out. This time they replaced it and it lasted about 5 years and now is dead again.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Put me in the camp that believes plasma is still a damn good technology. Outside of the glossy screen the definition and blacks are still amazing.

But plasma has been passed by. 4K will usher in a new wave.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I bought a set and it was only $1200 more than the basic one I had first intended.

Only?

 

[Rams43]

Only?

Perhaps I phrased that inartfully, Elmgrove.

Kurtfaulk kinda hinted at it, too.

Here's the context in which I meant that statement.

The UHD picture is drop dead gorgeous. You have to actually see it in a showroom to fully appreciate it.

It has 8 times the resolution of 1080i HiDef.

It is the future. Like color over black and white.

Direct is gonna start broadcasting in UHD shortly after the first of the year. That was verified by Direct TV.

It is expected to have a service life of 6-8 years if it's left on 8 hours per day.

When you crunch the numbers and consider the viewing pleasure intangibles in the above context, that extra $1200 seems like a bargain to me. Especially for a 70 incher. Slightly smaller sets would be even less of a premium, of course.

IF you're in the market for a new TV anyway, that is.

That's where I was coming from. I apologize if I came across as arrogant or condescending in my original comment. That would be the last thing that I would do.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Perhaps I phrased that inartfully, Elmgrove.

Kurtfaulk kinda hinted at it, too.

Here's the context in which I meant that statement.

The UHD picture is drop dead gorgeous. You have to actually see it in a showroom to fully appreciate it.

It has 8 times the resolution of 1080i HiDef.

It is the future. Like color over black and white.

Direct is gonna start broadcasting in UHD shortly after the first of the year. That was verified by Direct TV.

It is expected to have a service life of 6-8 years if it's left on 8 hours per day.

When you crunch the numbers and consider the viewing pleasure intangibles in the above context, that extra $1200 seems like a bargain to me. Especially for a 70 incher. Slightly smaller sets would be even less of a premium, of course.

IF you're in the market for a new TV anyway, that is.

That's where I was coming from. I apologize if I came across as arrogant or condescending in my original comment. That would be the last thing that I would do.

LOL not arrogant or condescending. I just thought it was funny when you said 'only $1200 more' when proportionately that was nearly double, or 100% more.

 

[Corbin]

This 4k crap is stupid as hell and whoever buys it I don't like you because your a butthole...

( I WANT IT SOOOO BADDLY!) lol

 

[Rmfnlt]

Interpolation?

Definition?

 

[Rmfnlt]

Put me in the camp that believes plasma is still a damn good technology. Outside of the glossy screen the definition and blacks are still amazing.

But plasma has been passed by. 4K will usher in a new wave.

I agree.

I was very happy with my Panasonic 50" plasma and it lasted 8 years (was still going, but was getting a little ghosty and my daughter needed an upgrade s0...).

For my money, plasma was superior to LCD.

 

[Alan]

Rmfnlt liking plasma:
For my money, plasma was superior to LCD.

More positionally dependent because of problems with glare though. More expensive too.

 

[Rmfnlt]

More positionally dependent because of problems with glare though. More expensive too.

I never had a problem with the glare, but it was in a relatively small room and I keep outside light dampered (blinds). But I'm sure some had issues with the glass (which, BTW made them pretty darned heavy!).

As far as price, I think they were more expensive initially... but when LCD started ramping up refreshers (speeds) to create a more fliud picture (like Plamsa already had), the margin seemed to narrow quite a bit (LCDs got more expensive depending on refresh rates).

Now we have OLEDs which are amazing as well.. but still very expensive.

When I was younger, I ran out and bought the newest audio equipment... had one of the very first CD players (paid $400 for it :eek.

But, as I got older, I took a more pragmatic approach toward technology... if what I have is getting older and it's not going to bust my wallet to move to the newest stuff, I'll do it. But I'm not going to take perfectly good equipment and cast it aside just to have the newest anymore.

Love my audio stuff still... have a Yamaha RX-V775 powering a Klipsch subwoofer, Bose Center Channel, Polk Audio rear speakers and JBLs in the front. But the Polks are over 10 years old, the JBLs probably 7 years old, the Bose is over 12 and the Klipsch is probably 4 now. The only newer thing is the receiver and that's 2 years old now.
I've found that, unlike video, the differences in audio year-over-year are not even discernable (at least for me).

 

[jetplt67]

I made the mistake of buying a 4k laptop. It's a disaster. I bought it because of the other features, and didn't think through how 4k would interact with programs and applications.

disclaimer: I am not a computer programmer so if I screw this explanation up, bite me

When they make a computer program they design the picture that you see to include so many pixels. Let's say there is a computer program and the form or picture that you are interacting with is designed to have 500 pixels and that looks normal on a normal computer, it fills half the screen and the words and the things you are interacting with are legible. Now you put that application on a 4k laptop. That picture still has 500 pixels, that's how the programmer made it, but the picture you see is 1/4 the size of a normal computer screen. Some applications are near impossible to see, words are near impossible to read. There is so adjustment to fix this because the number of pixels doesn't change no matter what you do.

I use some investing programs ie. TD's Think or Swim and Tradestation. I use multiple screens connected to my computer, when I first added a screen I hoped this would fix this issue, it's just a lot bigger and still illegible. Very frustrating

Moral of the story: Wait for the world to catch up before you purchase a 4k computer. Anyone want a slightly used high end laptop??

 

[Alan]

Rmfnlt with remembrances of his youth:
I never had a problem with the glare, but it was in a relatively small room and I keep outside light dampered (blinds). But I'm sure some had issues with the glass (which, BTW made them pretty darned heavy!).

As far as price, I think they were more expensive initially... but when LCD started ramping up refreshers (speeds) to create a more fliud picture (like Plamsa already had), the margin seemed to narrow quite a bit (LCDs got more expensive depending on refresh rates).

Now we have OLEDs which are amazing as well.. but still very expensive.

When I was younger, I ran out and bought the newest audio equipment... had one of the very first CD players (paid $400 for it :eek.

But, as I got older, I took a more pragmatic approach toward technology... if what I have is getting older and it's not going to bust my wallet to move to the newest stuff, I'll do it. But I'm not going to take perfectly good equipment and cast it aside just to have the newest anymore.

Love my audio stuff still... have a Yamaha RX-V775 powering a Klipsch subwoofer, Bose Center Channel, Polk Audio rear speakers and JBLs in the front. But the Polks are over 10 years old, the JBLs probably 7 years old, the Bose is over 12 and the Klipsch is probably 4 now. The only newer thing is the receiver and that's 2 years old now.
I've found that, unlike video, the differences in audio year-over-year are not even discernable (at least for me).

Your history is almost a mirror image of my own. I did have a a couple of advantages in the I did warranty repair work for most of the manufacturers and thus got a 55% discount on most of my equipment and speakers. Although JBL only gives a 45% discount on their studio monitors . I won't bore you with the details but my system, mostly tube based, costs about $12,000. My JBL 4315B studio monitors cost $1,700 dollars each by themselves. My Conrad Johnson turntable cost $2000 and that's not counting the cartridge. My part time job at the stereo repair store in Lancaster, CA paid for all of that. Gave all of it to my oldest son and now all I have is a system that incorporates my LCD monitor for watching TV.

Yeah, if you find a good place for it the plasma was superior. Not that I could tell the difference now with my vision problems so I'll keep what we have now until it or the sun explodes.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Your history is almost a mirror image of my own. I did have a a couple of advantages in the I did warranty repair work for most of the manufacturers and thus got a 55% discount on most of my equipment and speakers. Although JBL only gives a 45% discount on their studio monitors . I won't bore you with the details but my system, mostly tube based, costs about $12,000. My JBL 4315B studio monitors cost $1,700 dollars each by themselves. My Conrad Johnson turntable cost $2000 and that's not counting the cartridge. My part time job at the stereo repair store in Lancaster, CA paid for all of that. Gave all of it to my oldest son and now all I have is a system that incorporates my LCD monitor for watching TV.

Yeah, if you find a good place for it the plasma was superior. Not that I could tell the difference now with my vision problems so I'll keep what we have now until it or the sun explodes.

I bow to my superiors!
:bow:

 

[Alan]

Rmfnlt recognizing the innate superiority of all former USAF enlisted men:
I bow to my superiors!
:bow:

Not only was I lucky enough to have a job repairing stereo equipment, I was also fortunate to be stationed at Udorn AB in Thailand, Osan and Kunsan ABs in Korea and Clark AFB in the Philippines. What the major stereo manufacturers did back then is try out all their new lines of equipment at prices the military could afford (less than half what it costs in the States) and if we liked it they went on to sell them elsewhere. Companies like Bose, Pioneer, Sansui, DBX, Kenwood, Onkyo and the like would have little demonstrations on base to show off their new stuff. It was heaven for all us GIs.

And then of course there were all the women available off base but that's another story.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Not only was I lucky enough to have a job repairing stereo equipment, I was also fortunate to be stationed at Udorn AB in Thailand, Osan and Kunsan ABs in Korea and Clark AFB in the Philippines. What the major stereo manufacturers did back then is try out all their new lines of equipment at prices the military could afford (less than half what it costs in the States) and if we liked it they went on to sell them elsewhere. Companies like Bose, Pioneer, Sansui, DBX, Kenwood, Onkyo and the like would have little demonstrations on base to show off their new stuff. It was heaven for all us GIs.

And then of course there were all the women available off base but that's another story.

Cool! And thanks for serving!