I just bought a new TV...

[PZ]

We were at Costco a couple of days ago and noticed that they have 4k UHD TVs in a size that interested me.  I had a 32-inch LED TV mounted on the wall of the bedroom, and as I age, my failing eyesight makes it almost impossible to see the gaming prompts (letters too small).

What interested me is that Costco has a 43-inch 4k ultra high definition TV for $339 - I could not believe the price.  One reason is that it does not have a tuner, which I do not need anyway.  They also are selling a soundbar system with wireless sub woofer for $119 so I purchased the package and installed everything on the wall of the bedroom.

Sure, there is hardly any 4k programming, but this upscaler sure makes the satellite and PS4 images super fine. The sound bar and sub woofer makes the floor rattle - I'm in gaming heaven right now.  ^-^

[Binnatics]

 :o :-X :)

Wow, that price. Incredible!!!

I would go for it instantly if it was that price over here, I would make a wall to fit the screen on, lol :-D

[PZ]

It sure is a good price!  Funny thing is that it is way lighter in weight than the 32-inch. It only weights 21 pounds so the wall mount also is in heaven.  :-()

[Art Blade]

I've been planning to acquire a bigger TV as well. The one I've got (50" plasma) is too small, really. I want something like 65" but this time LED so I can both afford and lift it ^-^

[Dweller_Benthos]

Nice, but I was watching a video the other day where the guy was talking about a bunch of things. One being 4K TVs and how in a certain amount of time (no idea how long) the 4K codec will change and the rights management will be finalized or modified. Thing is, all 4K TVs out there now will not be able to use the new codec/DRM scheme. So, most likely that 4K TV you just bought will never be able to play 4K content when it does roll out as it will not be able to decode the DRM.

So, for upscaling standard stuff, it will be fine, but when 4K content does become available, it will just run the HD signal upscaled as well.

[Art Blade]

good to know  :-X

[Dweller_Benthos]

Here's the info, make sure any 4K device you buy has HDCP 2.2:

https://www.cnet.com/news/hdcp-2-2-what-you-need-to-know/

[mandru]

Congrats on your purchase PZ.  :)  :-X

Funny you should mention Costco as I just received their December flyer and they had something that caught my eye and I was considering messaging you with a heads up to check out if you were interested.  I actually had the OWG send message window open yesterday and was halfway through pointing this out to you but thought "No, this is weird" and  backed out and erased it.  ::)

On Dec 5th they are having a buyer's picks sale that is offering what looked like a real deal to me.  If you got the flyer give it  look.  There's one of the Acer Predator AG3 gaming rigs for $1300 that is pretty stacked with some of the right goodies but the case is huge (and scary looking to boot) to fit everything included.  I've not had any experience with Acer but I thought I'd point this out to you so you could check it out.

Key points:

* Intel Core i7 (it doesn't indicate if it's a Gen 6 or 7)
* 32GB memory
* 256GB SSD and 1TB HD
* an 8GB Nvidia GTX 1070

I also suspect that it's 4k compatible.  >:D

Spoiler

Item #1094124 will be searchable on their website to get the exact specs once the sale starts.

If you've been considering upgrading and passing your current rig off to your son (or shuffling it off onto Mrs PZ the way I do poor Mrs. mandru when I've outgrown an old comp  ;) ) this might be a worth while look up for you.  :-()

[OWGKID]

Well, the next thing are 4K HDR displays. Had a look on some HDR TVs at Micro Center/Best Buy. Very nice colour display, they actually looked more brighter and less darkish. The PS4/Pro, Xbox One S and Project Scorpio supports HDR displays.

I am going for a 2K monitor soon, it will be an Acer XF270HUA 27" FreeSync 144 Hz one with IPS :-D The problem with some 2K FreeSync monitors are limited FreeSync range. This one has FreeSync between 40-144 Hz.

PZ simply need to upgrade his GPU or add another 980 and he should be good  :) The 4970K still packs a punch and the 6700K doesn't offer a major increase in performance over its previous gen. Other than M.2 SSD support and other new stuff, still not worth it. Unless you are upgrading from a Sandy Bridge CPU 8-X If he wants a single card setup rather than SLI, maybe wait for AMD's Vega or a supposedly "GeForce 1080 Ti".

The Vega from AMD would be my go-to card, it features HBM2 memory capable of 1 TB/s memory speeds. Should definitely be sufficient for 4K >:D The 1080 Ti will probably use GDDR5X memory instead.

[Binnatics]

Incredible story about that HDCP 2.2 encription. Of course I understand that it is important to prevent piracy, but please; they force people to buy new equipment even faster than usual :o
I understood the explanation but something tells me it might be a 'pleasant side effect' for the business that people will yet again buy new televisions and receivers ;)

[Art Blade]

sounds as if we need to hurry if we want to grab some of the old tech for a low price.. I don't plan to use 4k tech, anyway, so I might as well consider getting an "old" scrap TV :-D

[OWGKID]

CRT, eh? 

[PZ]

 

Yeah, D_B - I checked the satellite programming and not a single 4k channel for my package anyway.  I suspect that I'll never end up utilizing the full potential of the unit, but at $339 I couldn't pass it up - the 1080p Samsung was just about the same price and only 40-inch in size.

Gaming this morning was a real pleasure - I could actually read the screen while in bed!

Thanks for the info, mandru, and please don't hesitate to send messages in the future - we're all friends here, and communication of all kinds are definitely appreciated.  That gaming rig sounds reasonable, and I too have not had experience with Acer computers, but because Costco's return policy is so good, I never hesitate to purchase anything from them because I can always return it even months later.

You're going to like that Acer monitor GKID; I've the G-sync version and love it.  Smooth as silk and vibrant colors

[Art Blade]

  @ CRT

[OWGKID]

 :-D

[fragger]

"CRT"

Cumbersome Retired Technology :-()

[OWGKID]

  :-()

[PZ]

Good one fragger! 

[Art Blade]

 :-D :-D :-D

[PZ]

Dang, I just checked, and that $339 TV is HDCP 2.2 compliant

[Art Blade]

Oh? I reckon you should hurry back flailing your arms and ask them in a very high-pitched voice and foam dripping from your mouth whether they were serious or not, in which case you are obliged to lower your voice and return it for a refund and a free 14" monochrome CRT. Seriously.

Then again.. flipping good catch, mate :-X :-D

[OWGKID]

Maybe you should upgrade to a PS4 Pro to make good use of that 4K monitor :)

[PZ]

Thanks AB  :-X  The sound bar with wireless sub-woofer makes a perfect companion to the TV, and my satellite remote controls all of it.

I thought about a Pro, GKID, but then I'd need to install my games on two machines, doing two sets of updates, and on my connection that would be way too painful.  :-()

Plus, then I'd have two Playstations which I really don't need, nor want to save up for  :-()

[Art Blade]

hehe :-D

[OWGKID]

All games are or will be compatible with the Pro and you could trade in your old PS4 at GameStop. Well, updates will be necessary for existing games to take advantage of the hardware ofc. Again entirely up to you ;)

Personally, I won't purchase any of them (completely done with consoles), but it is nice to see that console players can get some better performance machines. I am curious about how Microsoft's Xbxox Scorpio refresh will play out next year. Rumoured to be about 1/3 more powerful (6 TFLOPS vs 4.2) and maybe use AMD's upcoming CPU architecture called "Zen"