I Fell Down the Pixel Rabbit Hole

redpoint5

redpoint5

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May 12, 2020
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Youtube's algorithm has me figured out, so I clicked a video despite the click-bait title-

The Biggest Mistake in the History of Hollywood​



The takeaway is that many so-called 4k movies aren't 4k because they were mastered in 2k. This occurred from the early 2000s until about 2020. We got almost 2 decades of movies that can never be 4k because they weren't shot in 4k or better. On the other hand, everything shot in 35mm film can readily be scanned into 4k, so anything from about 2000 or prior are likely legit 4k movies.

The net result of learning this is that I was forced to buy a 98" TV, because at my viewing distance I wasn't getting any benefit from content with more than 720p resolution with a 75" TV at 14ft distance. Here's the chart that made me do it.

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I made the purchase when there was a Slickdeal for a 98' TV for $1000 at Bestbuy, I had store credit I would not otherwise use, and my wife was out of town. When she got home and saw the TV, she didn't seem to understand all the science and logic I was throwing down. :lol:
 
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That is a cool chart. According to that, I probably needed to go to at least an 85" for my "theater" room.... hmmmm...
 
For sure, a lot of people's TVs are some combination of too small and too far away for 4K resolution to be "worth it".

I have a 150 inch projection screen and my current projector is only 1080p. But because my typical viewing distance is roughly 17 feet, I cannot really discern individual pixels and do not get the impression that the image could be sharper. Even though this size and distance is technically into the "Ultra HD Worth It" region if the chart extended that far.

I actually am planning to get a 4K projector soon, not for additional detail, but because my current projector is horrid at HDR and all the new projectors with better HDR color and brightness happen to also be 4K resolution.
 
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Would be nice if laser projectors came down in price. Happy with the refurb Benq TK700 I scored for $600 at the moment.
 
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Not bad for $600 I guess, at least until the lamp dies. I'm curious how it compares with the cheap 98" TV. The sheer mass of such a TV scares me off. The hassle to move and install it, to dispose of it when it stops working or otherwise becomes obsolete. It is too much for me. That is why I have an appreciation for projectors even if I know they will never be as good at HDR video as modern OLED or Mini-LED TVs.

I haven't had a projector that has acceptable HDR performance yet though. My Optoma will accept an HDR signal but it has really bad wide color gamut support so HDR just looks awful on it. I was reading about the XGIMI Horizon 20 (it is often on sale for $1400) as a way to get decent HDR support and a small brightness boost over my Optoma. But I ended up YOLOing it and backing the XGIMI Titan Noir Max on Kickstarter earlier this week. I likely won't have it until July at the earliest but I am excited.
 
Been a few years... it was the TK800 I got for $600. Don't know the difference from a TK700.
 
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