Electronics/Technical Discussion/Device Advice/Gadget News

[noodles_leone]

Is it UHD/4K?

[cigar joe]

I just upgraded from my 32" TV: I bought a 43" Samsung TV - Cyber Monday special from P.C. Richard & SON: $279! Including tax, costs $305. I', picking it up from the store on Friday.

cool

[drinkanddestroy]

Is it UHD/4K?

No, it's LED.

Do you think I should pay the extra for UHD/4K?

I just looked up the price online - it's $125 extra for the same size 4K Ultra HDTV. You say I should go for it?

[noodles_leone]

No I don't. Not right now, you have a couple of years before 4K content becomes really mainstream.

[PowerRR]

Also just bought an enormous tv for Black Friday. Now to find an apartment that fits it.

I went 4K because I figure it'll be a at least a 10-year value. Might as well go l out (to an extent... fuck curved TVs and whatever SUHD is... super ultra hd?)

[drinkanddestroy]

Also just bought an enormous tv for Black Friday. Now to find an apartment that fits it.

I went 4K because I figure it'll be a at least a 10-year value. Might as well go l out (to an extent... fuck curved TVs and whatever SUHD is... super ultra hd?)

That's  exactly what I was thinking: a good TV can last for years; so if there is a clear benefit, it's absolutely worth paying the $125 or whatever extra. It would be worth paying even more. No question about that. But the  question is, is this really the next big real thing (like HD was 10 years ago) or is this a fad, a phony, like 3D or Cinerama screens that will cause me compatibility problems?? Will I be able to use my regular BRD player or will I have to buy an Ultra HD player, etc. If it's a clear benefit, compatible with everything, and no drawback, I'd happily pay the extra $125.

I gotta go pick it up Thursday night, and if I am going to switch, I need to decide before then.

Appreciate y'all's help 

[noodles_leone]

4K isn't a fad, it's the way of the future for content consumption. It's already the way of the present for content creators: every single wannabe filmmaker now owns a camera that shoots 4K. Everytime a new still camera is released, it's now bashed if it doesn't provide 4K abilities. That was never the case for 3D (only the porn industry is equipped). So 4K is here for good.

Now, almost nobody brings 4K content to your TV. A couple of TV stations, Netlfix "sometimes", maybe 2% of YouTube and that's about it. We don't even have a standard for physical disks in 4K. I'm not sure how much time is needed before the switch takes place. Seeing how slow everyone was to go from SD to HD, and considering the SD to HD quality gap is much, much higher than the one between HD and UHD, you have a few years ahead of you.

[drinkanddestroy]

4K isn't a fad, it's the way of the future for content consumption. It's already the way of the present for content creators: every single wannabe filmmaker now owns a camera that shoots 4K. Everytime a new still camera is released, it's now bashed if it doesn't provide 4K abilities. That was never the case for 3D (only the porn industry is equipped). So 4K is here for good.

Now, almost nobody brings 4K content to your TV. A couple of TV stations, Netlfix "sometimes", maybe 2% of YouTube and that's about it. We don't even have a standard for physical disks in 4K. I'm not sure how much time is needed before the switch takes place. Seeing how slow everyone was to go from SD to HD, and considering the SD to HD quality gap is much, much higher than the one between HD and UHD, you have a few years ahead of you.

So it seems to me that you are basically saying that while 4K TV's will not cause me any problems such as conpatibility, right now having a 4K TV will not bring much benefit. Right?

In that case, I think I will get the LED. Let's say that 4K does become useful and prevalent in a few years: At that time, perhaps better  4K TV's will be produced than the ones available now. So why pay extra now for something I won't use now; maybe I will use it later, but a better peoduct may be available later. And TV's are so cheap these days anyway, and there are plenty of Black Fridays/Cyber Mondays to come; I guess I will just stick with the LED 1080p, which is the best image practically used for a TV today, right?

Here is the TV http://www.pcrichard.com/Samsung/Samsung-43inch-Class-Full-HD-1080p-LED-Smart-HDTV/UN43J5200.pcrp
(The price has already gone up by $100 since I placed my order)

[Cusser]

I just bought a replacement/spare TracFone for $8 shipped, brand new.

[drinkanddestroy]

alright ... so I have a question for those of you who know about audio:

As you probably know (unless you have been living under a rock and/or not been reading the SLWB lately   ) I recently attended a Metallica concert on Long Island. The show kicked ass, as Metallica always does   Since 2004, Metallica has audio-recorded each of their concert; you can buy the recording from their website.

I went to the page from my concert https://metallica.com/store/live-recordings/live-met-downloads/12935/live-metallica-uniondale-ny-may-17-2017-digital-download

They are offering the digital download in three formats:

       
    MP3 (256kbps) $9.95
    FLAC or ALAC (16-bit/44.1KHz) $12.95
    FLAC-HD, ALAC-HD or MQA (24-bit/48KHz) $17.95

or I can buy a cd set, which they mail me (available in about a month from now) for $19.95
https://metallica.com/store/live-recordings/live-met-cds/12090/live-metallica-uniondale-ny-may-17-2017-2cd



I definitely want the best version possible; the money is no object here. Firstly, the download is directly from Metallica's live site, but I assume I can load the song into my iTunes and then put it on my iPod, no matter what format? iTunes I assume is generally MP3; if I go for the more expensive format, FLAC-HD, presumably the audio quality is better, but will I have a problem playing it on my iTunes/iPod?
And once i download it to my iPod, will it compress down to the crappy MP3 format, so that all versions will sound the same anyway?

I should probably just wait a month and get the CD - that's the best quality, right? But once I get the CD, I'm not really going to listen to the actual cd anyway: I'll put it into my computer and rip it onto my iTunes and then put it on my iPod. Will that still sound better than if I had bought the MP3 or will it be the same?

Thanks  

[drinkanddestroy]

while I was waiting for an answer to the above query, I decided to go look at some previous concerts I have been at; I'd never gotten around to purchasing the audio file, and decided I wanted to finally do so. First thing I looked at was my first-ever Metallica concert, April 20, 2004 https://metallica.com/tour/10493 Back then, they did not have all these many audio options; it was simply $9.95 for MP3 or $12.95 for FLAC.

Of course, I spare no expense for Metallica, so I splurged on the extra 3 dollars to get a better sound. What happens? My computer is unable to open the FLAC file. I don't know if it's cuz the FLAC is incompatible with my MacBook or because that was 2004 and this is 2017, but I am unable to open it. I'm not very tech-savvy and I'm kinda freaking out, but then I notice that when my MacBook says it can't read open the FLAC, it also gives me an option to search the App Store and find an app I can open the file with. So, I download the first free app I can find; it's called "To MP3 Converter Free," made by Nikolay Kozlov (sounds like a hacker working for Putin  ... or maybe for the Trump campaign  ) so I convert all the FLACs to MP3's, and voila, they play just fine in my iTunes.

So, you have regular Metallica fans who pay $9.95 for MP3  Then you have BIG Metallica fans that they'll pay $12.95 for FLAC  Then you have D&D, who is such a HUUUUUUGE Metallica fan that he pays $12.95 for MP3   

----


anyway .... I have no idea if the non-MP3 digital formats for the 2017 shows will give me the same problems, but I think I won't take a chance. I will just wait a month and buy the physical cd and that's that 

[noodles_leone]

1 - If quality is your only request, this is a non issue: buy the CD, extract from there whatever format you want.
2 - The FLAC version is quite easy to downconvert to MP3 or any format you want. I'm not a MAC person but this will help you: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3002052?tstart=0

[drinkanddestroy]

1 - If quality is your only request, this is a non issue: buy the CD, extract from there whatever format you want.
2 - The FLAC version is quite easy to downconvert to MP3 or any format you want. I'm not a MAC person but this will help you: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3002052?tstart=0

Yes, for the recent concert, which is available on CD, I am buying the CD.

But for the older concerts, no CD's are available; these come only on FLAC or MP3. As I said, I bought that one concert on FLAC, and when I realized it wouldn't play on my computer, I used a free app from the App Store called "To MP3 Converter Free" and converted them to MP3's.

I assume that these files now – FLAC files that have been converted to MP3 – are not any better quality than files that I download directly as MP3's, right? So, for future digital downloads, I guess I should just buy the MP3. I am happy to pay more money for better quality, but if my computer cannot read the FLAC's and I so have to convert the FLAC's to MP3 anyway, there's no reason I shouldn't just buy the MP3's instead.

[drinkanddestroy]

I (finally!) ordered a region-free BRD/DVD player, from SONY, says its plays both NTSC and PAL

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D915UC4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

for an extra $25 I got a 4-year insurance plan.

Now, to test it, I have to try it out by finding a good movie that is only available in Region 2/B. Preferably one that is in PAL. Any suggestions?

BTW, the comments have warnings not to do any software updates or you may lose the region-free capability. Anyone know anything about this? I could just not connect it to internet and that way, there's no risk of an auto-update or even me accidentally updating. (If I want to stream anything, I'll do the streaming through my TV rather than through the BRD player.)

[dave jenkins]

I (finally!) ordered a region-free BRD/DVD player, from SONY, says its plays both NTSC and PAL

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D915UC4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

for an extra $25 I got a 4-year insurance plan.

Now, to test it, I have to try it out by finding a good movie that is only available in Region 2/B. Preferably one that is in PAL. Any suggestions?

Yeah, any of the discs I've given you over the years.