UHD TVs, sometimes called 4K TVs are appearing for very affordable prices. With the demise of 3D – no manufacturers are shipping 3D TVs this year – the TV makers had to come up with something to get us to buy another TV.
I was recently shocked to see a 55″ LG UHD TV for $1798 at Walmart. The TV looks awesome. It’s IPS, which means better off-axis viewing. Right next to the LG model is a Samsung model, but it had no price attached. In contrast to the large LG display touting 4K and UHD, the Samsung display had in small letters – 2160p, 240Hz – which is clearly a UHD spec.
There are two remaining problems with UHD that don’t seem to be slowing down manufacturers at all, but should give you pause before you drop your money on these sets:
- There is no content. Of course they will upscale your HD content of any kind. But except for a very few Netflix movies that will stream in UHD, provided you have a UHD Netflix receiver box, there is no content. The BluRay standards group is still arguing about a UHD standard. TechRadar has an interesting summary article. No TV stations have said anything about upgrading. No really affordable UHD camcorders exist, although some video editors like Corel Video Studio Pro – Less than $100 per seat – will edit UHD content.
- The UHD standard is not finalized. It sure would be nice if the standard would finalize before you bought that new TV. For a complete discussion of the entire problem of the UHD standard, watch this TWIT episode of Home Theater Geeks.
What is Available Now?
Here are the models from both of those companies and their very affordable prices:
At WalMart now:
Here’s the LG model that I saw at Walmart:
Walmart’s price is $1798.00. Yes. That’s less than $1800.
LG Models:
The Samsung lineup:
So if you’re current TV is not working or is really long in the tooth, you might consider one of these awesome UHD TVs. But personally I’d wait a year or two for the standard to finalize and for some content to become available.
– ww
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