# 1080 content upscaled to 4k: a downgrade from native 1080p?



## pdx8080 (May 30, 2014)

So I need a new TV. I can buy a 1080p or a 4K. I'm coming from a 26-inch, and will be getting either 40 or 43. But a 4K-capable Tivo is not in my foreseeable future. I do, however, have a 4K-capable Blu-Ray player. 

If I go for the 4K TV, will upscaled content (all our TV viewing) look blurry? How about the few channels we like that are still SD-only?

Am I better off going for the 1080p, despite not wanting to buy another TV for a long while? I don't want to be criticized by less technical members of the household for getting a TV that looks worse than what it will replace.

Thanks!


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

Buy 4K. I have a Roamio Plus and recorded shows in 720p or 1080i look great on my 4K TV.


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

pdx8080 said:


> So I need a new TV. I can buy a 1080p or a 4K. I'm coming from a 26-inch, and will be getting either *40 or 43*.
> Thanks!


Get a 1080p. 50" was about the size where you could notice 1080p was better than 720p.


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## pdx8080 (May 30, 2014)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> Buy 4K. I have a Roamio Plus and recorded shows in 720p or 1080i look great on my 4K TV.


@PSU_Sudzi Thank you! That definitely gives me food for thought!

@chicagobrownblue Thanks, but I was wondering about the difference between 4K and 1080, not 1080 and 720. That said, if I were deciding between those two resolutions, your information would be extremely useful, so I appreciate it nonetheless.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

content from Cox and OTA looks great with my Roamio's, on my 65 and 50in 4k's.


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## Fant (Sep 1, 2016)

pdx8080 said:


> @PSU_Sudzi Thank you! That definitely gives me food for thought!
> 
> @chicagobrownblue Thanks, but I was wondering about the difference between 4K and 1080, not 1080 and 720. That said, if I were deciding between those two resolutions, your information would be extremely useful, so I appreciate it nonetheless.


I think he means that most people probably can't tell the difference between 1080p and 4K from over 5 ft away


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## Eddie501 (Jun 4, 2004)

pdx8080 said:


> So I need a new TV. I can buy a 1080p or a 4K. I'm coming from a 26-inch, and will be getting either 40 or 43. But a 4K-capable Tivo is not in my foreseeable future. I do, however, have a 4K-capable Blu-Ray player.
> 
> If I go for the 4K TV, will upscaled content (all our TV viewing) look blurry? How about the few channels we like that are still SD-only?
> 
> ...


Definitely go for the 4k if you have a choice. I had the same concerns after seeing a few store displays but it'sno


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## alexb (Jan 4, 2003)

My cheap vizio m-43c 43" 4k from Costco looks great with 1080 and 720 content, I bought it because the 4k panel was the best 1080 display at the price (color, blacks, refresh rate, # of inputs).


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

@chicagobrownblue Thanks, but I was wondering about the difference between 4K and 1080, not 1080 and 720. That said, if I were deciding between those two resolutions, your information would be extremely useful, so I appreciate it nonetheless.

My point was you don't even need 1080p until you get to a set size of 50". You are looking at set sizes much smaller than 50" so you will not notice the increase in resolution from 1080p to 4K.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I can't give first hand experience on 4k, but I can tell my 1080i content quality went down when my NBC and CBS stations both added 2 sub-channels. I went from 18Mbps to 15Mbps. It has killed my desire to go 4k. But I could have Comcast and this problem: Busted! Comcast Down-Converts native 1080i Channels to 720P!!!

Maybe when Amazon works. I already have a 4k upscaling Blu-ray.


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## Eddie501 (Jun 4, 2004)

The only compelling reason to buy 1080 over 4K would be if you're getting a bigger size for same money. But all things equal, I would go for 4K. I had the same concerns when I bough my 1st 4K TV right before Christmas. I've never been a big fan of upscaling, especially seeing how awful SD looks on most TV's. But HD upscales to 4K quite nicely, especially on high bitrate content like Blu Ray. It certainly won't look any worse than same content on a 1080p TV.


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