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Seiki SE50UY04 - First "low cost" 4K Ultra HD TV

43K views 75 replies 50 participants last post by  bobpaule 
#1 ·
Seiki's new 50" LCD/LED model SE50UY04 has native 4K Ultra HD resolution (3840 x 2160) and costs but a tiny fraction of any other 4K UHD TV yet available. It's currently available for order (on sale) at well under the regular $1430 price from the NBC Store - HERE . With a 50" screen it's really too small to have much benefit as far as the increased resolution is concerned for normal TV viewing (even if you connect a 4K video source), but it could be used as a super hi-rez computer monitor that also doubles as a TV.


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#2 ·
I am hoping someone tries this out but looking at the specs it states 30Hz only input so not that good for computer games??? What do other people think. I am using 3 monitors now but with frames in between, so not ideal. This would be perfect but not if there is a lot of flicker from the low Hz. Would VGA work??
 
#3 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by robmarti@tampa  /t/1466270/seiki-se50uy04-first-low-cost-4k-ultra-hd-tv#post_23154782


I am hoping someone tries this out but looking at the specs it states 30Hz only input so not that good for computer games??? What do other people think. I am using 3 monitors now but with frames in between, so not ideal. This would be perfect but not if there is a lot of flicker from the low Hz. Would VGA work??

The problem is the HDMI 1.4b standard only supports 4K rates of 24 Hz and 30 Hz. due to the overall bandwidth limits of that interface. The soon-to-be-completed HDMI 2.0 standard supports up to 60 Hz. for 4K video signals, but the first UHD TVs with HDMI 2.0 inputs are not expected to show up on dealers shelves until sometime next year. All of the current first generation of 4K UHD TVs, including the $20,000 ones from the likes of Sony and LG, have this same limitation. Of course these UHD TVs will refresh the display at a higher rate (e.g., 60 Hz, 120 Hz) for 4K input signals at 30 Hz.
 
#4 ·
Well, cheap TVs serve an important function: putting price pressure on tier-1 and tier-2 brands.


This TV itself may not be great, but it will help accelerate price cuts from Samsung, Sony, and others, as Vizio did in the past. 5 years ago there was a huge difference between tier-1 prices and Vizio prices. Nowadays the difference is small. 60 inch Vizio is selling for $999 while 60 inch Sharp 650U is selling for 1199.
 
#6 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by digital_dilemma  /t/1466270/seiki-se50uy04-first-low-cost-4k-ultra-hd-tv#post_23170222


You are a couple of months late in reporting this.


http://www.avsforum.com/t/1454633/inexpensive-2k-4k-tv-about-to-enter-us Don't feel bad. I had inside info.

I had seen reports from the info available at CES back in Jan. stating the price would be "under $2,000", but the new info is that it is now available and at a lower street price than most had expected.
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
That's the way to save money. Get rid of all the fat you don't need in a TV. If people really want "smart" features, there are a million products that will offer them a superior service than the crap that is installed on TV's.


This is also great for consumers because the big brands are going to have to compete with these prices. It really puts into perspective how much they are artificially jacking the prices up.
 
#13 ·
be careful on going into the service menu. this will void your warranty! i had my 4k tv stuck in burn mode. i had to call them. I'm surprised they are not after that guy that posted that code. they wanted to know how i got the code. i didn't say. If they do there research they will get that person. or someone rats him out. It's a service menu only. you screw up adjustments kiss your money good bye.
 
#15 ·
^^^^^^ Two good examples of why one should NEVER go into the SM unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing. It is very easy to click on the wrong field or option and brick your set. Even posted instructions can lead to disastrous consequences depending on the firmware version. Speaking of which, I'm surprised one of the posters had to go into the SM for a firmware upgrade. That should be done via USB.
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Otto Pylot  /t/1466270/seiki-se50uy04-first-low-cost-4k-ultra-hd-tv#post_23298525


^^^^^^ Two good examples of why one should NEVER go into the SM unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing. It is very easy to click on the wrong field or option and brick your set. Even posted instructions can lead to disastrous consequences depending on the firmware version. Speaking of which, I'm surprised one of the posters had to go into the SM for a firmware upgrade. That should be done via USB.

I tried to warn people about this in a Samsung thread and I got destroyed in the process because people accused me of creating panic and posting incorrect information. Whatever. Stay out of the service menu - it's not worth the risk. It's really not.
 
#17 ·
A comment about something the reviewer said on Gizmodo -


"The power of the television's 4K-scaling engine will also be a very important measure of its worthiness and we haven't seen any 1080p content on it yet."



This is very important - if this thing scales 720p and 1080p content poorly, then this set is worthless. Also, how is motion handling? I'm mildly curious about this set only as an outsider who is curious to see where these 4k sets are headed, and this cheap set seems like something to watch - but just because it has the resolution doesn't mean it handles color, motion, black levels, etc. - you get the idea. Another thing - with a 4k set, I imagine DVDs can be tossed out because wouldn't they look like garbage upscaled to such a high resolution? Currently DVD still looks pretty darned good on a 1080p set, if the screen isn't too large, and if the bitrate is descent.
 
#18 ·
CNET only gave it an ok rating (taken with a grain of salt) and one user gave it a glowing review. Sounds like the user was trying to justify his "first on the block" purchase. I think "low cost" is the operative word here but maybe this will push the major mfrs to get into gear. It is an edge-lit LED so.......
 
#19 ·
There is no reason to be in the service menu. People think they just know everything and try to go into and tweaking it. the menu is hidden for a reason. If you really think about it. also making it the top of what it can do is going to cause shortness of the life of the tv. you will be like yeah i got my tv tweak out to the maxx. and 6 months down the road. well i gotta go buy another tv. mean while if you left it alone. you could've got a year or two more out of the tv. and for the prices you pay IT'S JUST NOT WORTH IT. kind like hey lets get into your vehicle and every single time you put your gas pedal to the floor. not going to last as long. getting into the service menu or opening the tv voids the warranty. kiss your $1000+ away.
 
#20 ·
^^^^ yeah. A lot of folks get into the SM for two reasons. To enable a feature that wasn't part of the feature set for that particular model or to better calibrate their tv (so they think). Better made tv's have all of the necessary calibration options available to the user so there is no reason to go into the SM. Even professional calibrators should never have to use the SM on modern sets. Enabling features that aren't supposed to be enabled for that model is just asking for trouble the next time a firmware upgrade is applied.
 
#22 ·
BTW, anybody who thinks they need a 4k set should read these first:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57366319-221/why-4k-tvs-are-stupid/

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57566079-221/why-ultra-hd-4k-tvs-are-still-stupid/


I strongly recommend reading these. 4k will do nothing for the home video market but cause confusion and further splinter the technology. It's completely unnecessary for 99% of people - 1080p and blu-ray is an amazing, amazing combo for the home - and already the manufacturers are trying to convince us to get ready to toss our 1080p sets and trade in our blu-rays for 4K. Not gonna happen - they will never, ever convince the majority of the public that 4k is worthy of consideration. They have successfully convinced the vast majority of people that 1080p is worth the upgrade - and they've managed to get a good percentage of DVD buyers to switch to blu-ray. Isn't that good enough? Why can't they let us enjoy 1080p for a while before they start telling us that 1080p sucks and what we really want is 4k?


There may be some valid advantages to 4k - 1080p passive 3D is great, and higher detail at close range, and better resolutions for gaming and high-res image viewing. But I really think the vast majority of people will never see or understand the advantages, or want to re-purchase their entire film library yet again on a newer video format (streaming is a pipe-dream given the current bandwidth/caps issues, and many people like to own their films, not lease them from a server in the cloud that may vanish in the night and take their movie collection with them).
 
#24 ·
Having seen a clip play in 1080p on a Samsung 1080p 55" LED and in 4K on the Seiki 50", I can confidentially say the 4K clip looked significantly better. I'm tired of reading posts from people who haven't tried the display spewing BS about the inability of most people to tell the difference. I've now ordered one for work because its so cheap that its a no-brainer.
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmyg  /t/1466270/seiki-se50uy04-first-low-cost-4k-ultra-hd-tv#post_23303763


Having seen a clip play in 1080p on a Samsung 1080p 55" LED and in 4K on the Seiki 50", I can confidentially say the 4K clip looked significantly better. I'm tired of reading posts from people who haven't tried the display spewing BS about the inability of most people to tell the difference. I've now ordered one for work because its so cheap that its a no-brainer.

Check this out.
http://referencehometheater.com/2013/commentary/4k-calculator/

I have seen the Sony 65" 4K TV 3 times from 7 to 11 feet away at Best Buy, and have seen no difference between this and a 1080P hdtv. The saleman says the same. Four other people observing the TV say the same. If you are 3-4 feet away you will see a slight diference. It is your money, buy it, it is not that expensive and enjoy. If you have a 4K source for the 4K Tv then you should see a difference.


The best example would be to use the Spears and Munsil 2nd edition Blu Ray which has a 5K clip (Montage) and a 4K clip (Lighthouse). Both clips looked incredible on my 1080P TV. The bit rate ran as high as 47.
 
#26 ·
As I said, I saw 1080p and 4K versions of the same footage side-by-side at normal viewing distance and the difference was obvious. I never said that 1080p video looks any better on a 4K set...that wouldn't make any sense. The advantage is clear when watching 4K or 1080p 3D, regardless of what any article says. If you're the average consumer who can't tell the difference, then you probably wouldn't frequent AVSForum.
 
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