UKC

Ignoring the cost difference. With a 1080p content (or freeview HD which is lower) does a 4k TV upscaling look any worse than the same physical size TV with only 1920x1080 pixels at a distance of 5 - 6 ' (distance at which 4k on 4k vs 1080p on a 1080p is supposed to be indistinguishable on a 40" TV)

What I'm getting at is if I don't have an UltraHD content and I've already decided the physical size, aside form saving some money, is there any point in a 4k TV other than future proofing? I don't want a worse picture from existing sources just on the off chance that before I replace it again I need 4k.

In reply to Philip:

Tough question to answer. In a shop environment I can see a difference between 1080p on a HD screen and a 4k screen but that's on a 50 plus screen and it's running factory demo's designed to push you to the top one.
If I was in the new TV market I would be going to the shop with my own blue ray disk and getting them to run it so I could compare.
Personally I would go 4k as I tend to change my TV every 7 or 8 years so if I bought one now we would be well in to 4k being the norm before I was looking to change again.

In reply to Philip:

You are spending money on a 4k format that isn't even standardised in the industry and could well change.There is no broadcast TV channels in that format but there are a few download services. So loads of pixels and all they do is make stuff up, no matter how well they do it.

I'd wait tbh, especially if you're going to get a small set like a 40" where the increase in resolution will be hard to notice.

I still have a 28" CRT so what would I know.

In reply to Philip:

Upscaling will always make the picture worse as the image has to be processed and fitted to a new arrangement of pixels. But, whether you would notice it is the real question. As long as you get a good quality screen (that has good scaling) it's unlikely you'd notice anything, though you might if you could do a side by side comparison.

Having said that, if you're not getting a screen large enough to take advantage of the 4K and are just future proofing, I'd say don't bother. Regular HD has been around for ages and still DVDs and standard definition transmissions continue. I work in TV as an engineer and there is still almost bugger all take up of 4K. If you see a football match "shot in 4K" then there will only be a couple of cameras actually doing 4K. Even in the industry there is still a lot of "why bother" as everyone will have to get a huge TV to take advantage, it's more geared to home theatre and I believe 8K is somewhere on the horizon.

Oh and don't get a bloody curved screen, they only work from one angle at the right distance, bloody marketing arses!
My 2p