Planning a 4K UHD Smart TV for my living room.

[pingpong]

Forget about the critics and analysts. In the real world you can get a decent picture out of SM90
if you are watching tv content thru a HD pack.
Don't judge the TV thru poor non HD package from any service provider. I am using Tata Sky HD.
The results are amazing. I had a normal SD pack even after getting this TV for about 2 weeks.
After switching to the HD pack things were completely different. 720p looks like 1080p or better in most of the HD enabled channels now.
I am even getting Dolby Digital in most of the HD contents.

Thanks.

 

[coolraghav]

Forget about the critics and analysts. In the real world you can get a decent picture out of SM90
if you are watching tv content thru a HD pack.
Don't judge the TV thru poor non HD package from any service provider. I am using Tata Sky HD.
The results are amazing. I had a normal SD pack even after getting this TV for about 2 weeks.
After switching to the HD pack things were completely different. 720p looks like 1080p or better in most of the HD enabled channels now.
I am even getting Dolby Digital in most of the HD contents.

im sorry but since when tatasky has started providing 1080p services ? Is there some specific STB you talking abt ?

 

[SIDEWINDER18X]

It's the TATA sky HD pack thru their HD set top box.
Check their web page.

 

[manniraj]

I think none of the India STB distributors have 1080p channels, and its actually 1080i which is more or less looks similar to 720p in my view.

 

[wstar788]

I think none of the India STB distributors have 1080p channels, and its actually 1080i which is more or less looks similar to 720p in my view.

Actually 1080i is the standard for broadcasting 1080 resolution as air waves of DTH(aka ku band) do not have enough bandwidth to broadcast pure 1080p content like streaming services(at least not financially viable).

 

[SIDEWINDER18X]

Actually 1080i is the standard for broadcasting 1080 resolution as air waves of DTH(aka ku band) do not have enough bandwidth to broadcast pure 1080p content like streaming services(at least not financially viable).

You are correct. I re-checked their user setting for HD settings ... It showed their highest settings for 1080i at 60Hz.
Though I have heard that they also have a 4K box
called TATA SKY 4K priced around 6K.
Channels in 4K are .....
Star Gold 4K
Sony Six 4K
Nat Geo 4K

 

[coolraghav]

You are correct. I re-checked their user setting for HD settings ... It showed their highest settings for 1080i at 60Hz.
Though I have heard that they also have a 4K box
called TATA SKY 4K priced around 6K.
Channels in 4K are .....
Star Gold 4K
Sony Six 4K
Nat Geo 4K

That's what I was talking about, there's huge difference in clarity of interlaced and Progessive.

 

[nomad47]

You are correct. I re-checked their user setting for HD settings ... It showed their highest settings for 1080i at 60Hz.
Though I have heard that they also have a 4K box
called TATA SKY 4K priced around 6K.
Channels in 4K are .....
Star Gold 4K
Sony Six 4K
Nat Geo 4K

My Airtel TV connection shows as 1080p

 

[wstar788]

My Airtel TV connection shows as 1080p

I doubt it(assuming it is dth),just compare it with some 1080p high quality stream or 1080p blu ray rip of some latest movie.

 

[SIDEWINDER18X]

I doubt it(assuming it is dth),just compare it with some 1080p high quality stream or 1080p blu ray rip of some latest movie.

What other options do we have presently for viewing TV content ?????

 

[sportsbinger]

You are correct. I re-checked their user setting for HD settings ... It showed their highest settings for 1080i at 60Hz.
Though I have heard that they also have a 4K box
called TATA SKY 4K priced around 6K.
Channels in 4K are .....
Star Gold 4K
Sony Six 4K
Nat Geo 4K

Sony Six 4k channel is stopped mate in Tata Sky.

 

[wstar788]

What other options do we have presently for viewing TV content ?????

Even people abroad also get 1080i DTH channels & therefore shifting to streaming services like netflix/amazon etc which offer better quality because of larger bandwidth capabilities. 1080i is also fine though for TV content viewing. For 4k though,only prefer streaming services with a good 25mbps or above unlimited broadband connection.

 

[SIDEWINDER18X]

Agreed.
I too have subscribed to Netflix & Amazon Prime. But when it comes to view TV content such as news network, family soaps & drama and regional content as well as Movie channels HBO, STAR MOVIES, AXN ,WB....
Nature and wildlife content ... Discovery, National Geograpics, Animal Planet.... Sports, Music & Entertainment...
Dth is the only option and they look very good in HD in comparison to the regular SD version.

 

[nomad47]

I doubt it(assuming it is dth),just compare it with some 1080p high quality stream or 1080p blu ray rip of some latest movie.

It is actually 1080p as you have option to select from in the settings. Various options include 1080i and 1080p. Also the TV recognises the signal as 1080p on the popup

 

[wstar788]

It is actually 1080p as you have option to select from in the settings. Various options include 1080i and 1080p. Also the TV recognises the signal as 1080p on the popup

Interesting,however resolution is not the only criterion for quality.I still don't think the bitrate of this 1080p channel over DTH is comparable to the bitrate used by streaming services like netflix though it should be better than 1080i.

 

[nomad47]

Interesting,however resolution is not the only criterion for quality.I still don't think the bitrate of this 1080p channel over DTH is comparable to the bitrate used by streaming services like netflix though it should be better than 1080i.

No, it's the reverse actually. No streaming service can match the bitrate of DTH. Streaming services are limited by internet bandwidth. DTH is not. DTH can offer higher bitrates than streaming service.

 

[wstar788]

No, it's the reverse actually. No streaming service can match the bitrate of DTH. Streaming services are limited by internet bandwidth. DTH is not. DTH can offer higher bitrates than streaming service.

This is not true.No wireless internet/data service at its best will ever be faster than a wired internet/data service at it best as it is simple laws of physics.

https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en/learn/about-us/blogs/2019/01/ka-band-vs-ku-band-the-difference-between-ku-and-ka

Performance of Ku-Band systems has improved in recent years with typical speeds now around 18 mbps.

Even small time ISPs in metro cities now offer 100mbps while major ones already started launching affordable 1gbps plans.It is not streaming services that are limited by bandwidth but the user depending on the area of residence.

 

[sportsbinger]

Guys as per my understanding bitrate is important for watching Sports events.
The motion of the ball will appear smoother with less distortion on a higher bitrate content.
Airtel DTH provides 1080 @ 50Hz whereas the same match watching on Hotstar the bitrate is around 10Hz.
For movies and soap opera the bitrate does not matter that much.

 

[nomad47]

This is not true.No wireless internet/data service at its best will ever be faster than a wired internet/data service at it best as it is simple laws of physics.

https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en/learn/about-us/blogs/2019/01/ka-band-vs-ku-band-the-difference-between-ku-and-ka

Even small time ISPs in metro cities now offer 100mbps while major ones already started launching affordable 1gbps plans.It is not streaming services that are limited by bandwidth but the user depending on the area of residence.

I am not sure the link is related, as we are not comparing satellite internet connection, but satellite transmission.
Think of it this way, while connecting to the internet streaming or accessing any data, each individual connection is to be served uniquely. So total bandwidth is distributed among all users. Whereas in satellite TV, it is not catered individually. It's a global burst, and one signal is received by all i.e the entire bandwidth available.

I have tried searching for available data on internet but it's not there. My entire observation comes from watching live match on Hotstar premium and live broadcast of Star Sports.

 

[wstar788]

I understand but see,DTH in India is transmitted over Ku band & as per above article its carrying capacity is ~18mbps. Like you said,internet bandwidth is shared but that is worst case scenario which is true for satellite transmission too where channel rents transponders on satellite to broadcast the channel over Ku band(aka if subscribers are much more than how many transponders channel can rent then individual subscriber bandwidth too will go down). Now any decent ISP won't face issues with this as major streaming services use CDN(aka trying to maximize the local content on servers in local country itself/nearest to it) so in case of youtube/prime/netflix etc chances are that almost all regional/local content & globally popular content is delivered via a server in India itself which will always give max bandwidth as it is international bandwidth that costs more & has more chances of throttling due to excess bandwidth consumption.

P.S. hotstar premium is not a good example as it is typical low expectations Indian service trying to make do with least amount of bitrate possible to save money. Compare with netflix/amazon prime(1080p high quality streams) who have their global reputation to look out for.