Is 4K worth it?

If you're in the market for a TV today, chances are that you have glanced over to the section with the 4K TVs. Even if you could afford one, shouldyou go for it? The short answer is no. There's a lot of detail to be covered here but it all starts with what you're viewing and whether the image is coming to you in 4K resolution.

Right now, there are virtually no dish operators who can support 4K in Bangladesh, thus making a 4K TV obsolete for those who are cable news enthusiast. But then what about Netflix or YouTube? In both cases, while there are a handful of shows and videos which do support Ultra HD or 4K, you'd need a top of the line internet connection to properly stream the content. Before getting into gaming and 4k Blu-ray movie discs, let's assume that you do have the means to afford the pixels and the bandwidth; can your eyes perceive the extra details that your pocket cashed in?

To put it simply, if you do end up purchasing a 4K TV, you'd have to sit really close to it while watching UHD content to notice any difference between 4K and 1080p. The market is ripe with 4K TVs right now but there are only a handful of blockbuster films that come out every year with 4K Blu-ray support. So if you already own a good 1080p TV and you already sit far away enough from your TV, then it isn't worth spending the extra Tk. 40,000 for a 4K TV since you won't benefit much from the upgrade.

The most viable consumer base for 4K TVs right now is gamers. With the Ps4 Pro and Xbox One X offering "4K" there is some hope for these high budget TVs. But even then you realize that the Ps4 Pro only upscales original 1080p with the use of checkerboard patterns. The Xbox One X however truly delivers on the promise of 4K with a lot of support for previously released titles with "enhanced" visuals. But is the image processed better on the Xbox One X and a 4K TV? Studies point to yes and it's evident too when you look at Forza Horizon 4 on the Xbox One X.

But with that being said, 4K still has a long way to go till it becomes universal and so the only reason to buy a 4K TV right now is if you'reinterested in features such as local dimming, OLED, and HDR.