Answered Do 480p shows look ok on 1080p or 4K TV's?

Chris Edward

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Hello All,
I have a question about TV screen resolution.

I watch (stream) mostly older TV shows which are in 480p resolution.
I currently have a 720p TV and these shows look ok when at full screen.
If I get a 1080p or 4K TV will these shows still look ok or will they be pixelated when at full screen?

I just don't want to plunk down the money for a new 1080p or 4K TV only for it to be like watching a 144p video on my current TV.

I appreciate any help on this issue
Thank you
 
It should be fine.
 
@simonlewis, Thank you.
I am just worried the older shows will look bad* on the new TV.

If someone could provide me with a screen shot of what 480p looks like full screen on a 1080p or 4K TV that would be awesome.

Thank you.
 
Here you go ideal world on a 4K tv.
P1000396.JPG
 
@simonlewis, thank you for the screen shot.
For comparison, this is what the same show looks like on my 720p monitor.
 

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So, they look about the same.
I was just worried that a 4K TV would have "dumb down" the picture by filling in so many pixels the picture resolution would look worse then it already does on the 720p screen.

Thank you again for all of your help
 
Scaling quality matters. Many people fail to disable overscan which can reduce resolution by 3%. Another factor is a large TV makes flaws in SD more obvious.

The scaler in the Sony X900F / X9000F / X9005F is well regarded. It's available in 49".
 
@homerging, Thank you for telling me about this.
I am not looking for a big TV. The TV I have now is 32" and it is fine I don't need anything bigger, so I will either stick with something around this size or a little bigger if that's all that's available.
 
32" TVs don't sell much as lounge room TVs. In fact some brands don't offer any Full HD 32" models. As TVs become bigger the good models become less available in smaller sizes. Onboard speakers in some small TVs may be too small, you don't want anything smaller than 10w in a main TV if you're not listening to external sound.

The smallest 4k TVs are likely to be 43" and you can buy 40" 1080p models. I think 43" should be ok for SD although you will see more flaws if you sit up close.

On Rtings.com here is a screenshot of a 1080 scene on a 1080p TV versus upscaled on a 4k TV and there is practically no difference in it in that case.
 
Size definitely matters. If the source is 'poor' then it arguably looks worse the bigger the screen size.

420p content looks every bit as good, if not better, on my partner's £500 40" Samsung than it does on my 65" OLED.
 
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Size definitely matters. If the source is 'poor' then it arguably look worse the bigger the screen size.

420p content looks every bit as good, if not better, on my partner's £500 40" Samsung than it does on my 65" OLED.

Agree with this.

OP - try and get a TV between 40-50" if you can. It will have much better impact than a 32", but not to the detriment of low quality content being upscaled to fit.

And whatever you do, NEVER watch Gems TV!:eek:
 

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