Television technology - where are we?

     I bought a Panasonic VT60 series 65" plasma 1080P hdtv in 2014 knowing Panasonic was exiting the plasma hdtv market due to manufacturing costs of producing plasma 4K hdtvs likely causing them to be priced out of the market.
     I'm so glad I did and, knock on wood, this plasma has been awesome and is still going strong with no issues at all.  Of course, I'm restricted from moving to 4K but, at my 12-14' viewing distance, I don't think I'm missing too much except possibly the HDR.
     However, I realize it won't last forever.  Currently my plan is to purchase a 65" or larger OLED hdtv when my plasma kicks the bucket.  I've seen the latest 65" LG 4K models and they're the first hdtv I've seen that beats my plasma, even brighter and with awesome black levels and contrast levels.  They remind me a lot of what I imagine a 4K Panasonic plasma might have looked like. 
       If I get real lucky, maybe my plasma will hold out until even better technology emerges and becomes affordable.
      But for dawgbyte, I'd suggest he take a look at someplace like BestBuy where he might be able to view the Samsung QLED and the LG or Sony OLEDs in close proximity and judge for himself.  There's also the enjoyment factor that comes with shear size, especially with sports and given very good motion performance.  I know a 70" plus OLED might be prohibitively expensive but I don't think a Samsung QLED would be.
       Actually, I find the whole experience of purchasing a new tv very exciting and pleasurable except, of course paying for it.  It's an extended pleasure, too, since you get a thrill every day you turn it on for the first time and begin watching.

Enjoy,
 Tim

8k is already here. So you can upscale the native 4k sources. Where the native 4k souce is sometimes a lie, being scale up itself, from a 2k master.


this is done so they can sell you an upgraded 4k copy later. Eg,...IIRC, all Marvel Universe 4k ultra HD discs are scanned from a 2k master and scaled. So you never get the 4k scan. You are not getting what the box label says.

4k scans tend to be releases of older films, like the recent 4k ’Alien' disc set and...er.. Die hard, Predator, etc. Bladerunner.. pretty sure that one is a 4k scan.

Where they have to bring quality to the table to get you to buy.

teo_audio,

     I didn't know that about 4K scans of 2K movies.  It reminds me of redbook cd transfers of 16bit/44.1KHz content to 24bit/96KHz FLAC and WAV files, without a master provenance history, that some companies like HDTracks scam consumers with.


Tim

Tim good suggestion! I plan to visit Best Buy to do some comparison shopping and then buy online for less.

I'll be replacing my Hitachi 55"Plasma, which is a stellar tv. I was an early adopter of HDTV and was very impressed with Hitachi - every bit as good as the Pioneer Elite Plasma's.

For me the real question is size vs resolution/quality. I have a large dedicated Home Theatre room, so going from 55" to 65" doesn't seem like it will be a significant leap forward, but we'll see.

dawgbyte:"Tim good suggestion! I plan to visit Best Buy to do some comparison shopping and then buy online for less."

Hello dawgbyte,

     I went to Best Buy, too,  to check out my Panasonic plasma before buying online.  I think it was about $4,500 at BB but got it for about half that online.  I felt a bit guilty but that's too big of a discount to ignore.
     Going from 55" to 65" is a bigger increase then you might think since they're measured diagonally.  Measured in non-diagonal terms, the size difference is better understood:
 
A 55" has 1,293.3 sq. inches of viewing area.
A 65" has 1,808.7 sq. inches of viewing area, which is 39.9% larger.  
A 55" is 47.9" wide x 27" high. 
A 65" is 56.7" wide x 32" high. 

     I highly suggest opting for the larger screen, even if you currently believe a 55" screen would be sufficient, to prevent future buyer's remorse.  
     If you need to save some money and are considering a 2019 model LG 65" hdtv, you should carefully compare current 4K model year prices and features to previous model year 4K models that may be discounted by some sellers.  Here's a link to start your research:

https://www.cnet.com/news/lg-2019-oled-tvs-start-at-2500-just-like-last-year/

     Have you made any decisions thus far?

Tim