2019 TV Thread

[Thomkal]

Yeah I know I'm early, so sue me



Just wanted to remind people that the second season of the Orville starts tonight after football (at least for me here), so set your DVRs

[Thomkal]

Well I went looking for a TV show thread to post this in, and my post is the only sad one in it. So I will add to it with this:

Are any of you still watching the "Arrowverse" DC Comics shows on the CW still? They have become a bit boring to me of late, but I'm excited for the premiere of a new one starting tonight at 8pm EST.

Stargirl is the new show, and it has its origins in a lot of DC history, especially with the Justice Society pf America, which believe it or not has its origins all the way back to WWII. Early indications are this show is going to show a mostly younger version of the JSA, taking inspiration from Stargirl. The main villains are looking like at this point to be mostly younger versions of the Injustice Society too, so I'm thinking I'm going to like the show a lot.

At the very least, its something new for you TV starved people.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I try to catch the big crossovers every year - but that’s about it. I watched the first two seasons of Arrow and the first season of The Flash and have enough passing knowledge of the other two to enjoy the crossovers.

[spleen1015]

We watch an episode of Arrow/Flash every night while eating dinner. We are 5 episodes into Arrow S7 and Flash S5. We don't watch Supergirl or Legends though.

[Thomkal]

I don't watch Legends anymore because I think they try to make the superheroes too comedic and bumbling idiots and not enough hero. I've watched every season of Arrow, Flash, Supergirl and Batwoman.

Arrow and to some extent Batwoman are not my favorites because neither character possesses superpowers and use guns/arrows as a poor substitute.

Flash and Supergirl are much more of my "flavor" of superhero shows. Both of them have embraced their part of the DC Universe and history and use of superpowers.

I have watched the first episode of Stargirl now and really liked it. That first 5-10 minutes with the Justice Society really worked for me and demonstrated that "balls to the wall" excitement/special effects/stunts/budget etc you need to make a superhero show really sing. I'm excited to see where it goes from here and encourage any fan of the "Arrowverse" shows to give it a try.

(oh in case you haven't heard, the Batwoman lead actress has quit the show for some reason, it will be interesting to see who they replace her with)

[Ksyrup]

My love of true crime and interest in genetic genealogy has me watching a "Big 4" broadcast TV show for the first time in like 10-15 years, The Genetic Detective. Highly recommended if you are interested in the subject. I can definitely tell it's a broadcast TV show because it's too cutesy at times and is way too promotional of the main woman who matches DNA with possible suspects (I don't need to see her personal life or hear about her awards or her high school reunion every show, thanks), but if you strip all of that away, what she does is fascinating.

Just saw a story this morning about a 38-year old murder in Columbus OH of an 8-year old girl that was solved using genetic genealogy. Very cool stuff. I've been tempted to do the DNA thing and upload it to GEDMatch just to help broaden the base (although I've thought better of it every time...).

[Ksyrup]

I had no idea until last night that Dirty Jobs is coming back. Very happy to hear it. A 4 episode series starts next Tuesday.

[stevew]

That 6 part series about the Golden State Killer looks like it should be great. It’s on HBO this month.

“I’ll be gone in the dark “

[Ksyrup]

Yep. Watched the first part yesterday.

I was a big fan of her True Crime Diary website before I ever knew who she was or was married to. I am interested in some of the blowback she got for the way she handled one of the families. I recall when the book came out she got some crap. I think it was the Cruz family. Doubt it comes up directly in this series since it's from her/Patton's POV.

[stevew]

I read about that Columbus thing. I don’t understand how the DNA for that guy was in CODIS and it didn’t register for the case. Also not buying that the guy killed only the one girl. Seems unlikely.

[Ksyrup]

Another blast from the past - Unsolved Mysteries is back, on Netflix.

[Ksyrup]

So I have a question about 4K - I've had a 4K TV for a couple of years and every now and then check out the lone 4K channel DirecTV has. I cannot tell the difference AT ALL between HD and 4K. Yes, I have it set for 4K resolution. It appears to be working, it's just... less than revolutionary.

Am I in the minority here, or is 4K not all that it's cracked up to be? I ask since I've now seen an 8K ad and I'm thinking "twice as good as 4K is still not a big upgrade over HD."

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So I have a question about 4K - I've had a 4K TV for a couple of years and every now and then check out the lone 4K channel DirecTV has. I cannot tell the difference AT ALL between HD and 4K. Yes, I have it set for 4K resolution. It appears to be working, it's just... less than revolutionary.

Am I in the minority here, or is 4K not all that it's cracked up to be? I ask since I've now seen an 8K ad and I'm thinking "twice as good as 4K is still not a big upgrade over HD."

If you're only sample size of 4k content is checking a single channel on DirecTV every once awhile, then I'd say that's not a large sample size. There are a few factors that play into how good 4k content is going to look on a home television. Some of them would be:

-Is the 4k content you are watching using HDR? Most people would agree that HDR is the bigger deal than just the resolution upgrade from 1080p to 4k.
-How far away from your television are you sitting? If you are sitting 15 feet away from a 55' TV you are doing it wrong. 4k television should allow you to sit farther away and not make content look less sharp.
-Do you have a good television or is it something you bought on Black Friday for $400? A more premium TV will have better contrast and better take advantage of HDR and its wider color palette.
-Is the content you are watching highly compressed like many things being streamed? If you want the best experience a UHD Blu-ray is where it's at.

[sovereignstar v2]

Sorry if that came off as snarky. Unfortunately, some research is necessary to get the full 4k experience as the industry has pretty much failed the general public in regards to the upgrade. If you are more interested in specifics on televisions, streaming devices, and the best content I can help as I have been all-in on 4k for several years now.

[Ksyrup]

Looks like we bought it in 2017. It's a Samsung UHD LED 49". Looks like it was about $700 back then. I didn't necessarily buy it for the 4K and I only remember I have 4K when DTV prompts me about sporting events they are showing in 4K. It's also in the bedroom, so I can only sit so far from it. I just expected it to be sharper than HD generally and I see absolutely no difference switching channels back and forth.

[Ksyrup]

There's not enough content for me to care that much - I suppose I was expecting some gradual migration from HD to 4K and thought I'd get ahead of the curve, which hasn't happened. I don't watch movies so it would basically only affect sports or cable channels if any were to start showing 4K content. I was just curious what others experience was because what I thought I was getting doesn't match what I see.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Looks like we bought it in 2017. It's a Samsung UHD LED 49". Looks like it was about $700 back then. I didn't necessarily buy it for the 4K and I only remember I have 4K when DTV prompts me about sporting events they are showing in 4K. It's also in the bedroom, so I can only sit so far from it. I just expected it to be sharper than HD generally and I see absolutely no difference switching channels back and forth.

I don't have DirecTV, but it wouldn't surprise me if most of the content on that channel is more gimmick than groundbreaking. Additionally, most of the sports content that has been marketed as 4k is usually upscaled from regular HD and either doesn't contain HDR or it's fake HDR. The NFL games that have been marketed as 4k over the last several seasons have not impressed me at all.

Does your television have the YouTube app? Unless you have a streaming device that is probably the best way to get some decent-looking 4k content. For example, the 'Jacob + Katie Schwarz' channel has some pretty sweet videos.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

There's not enough content for me to care that much - I suppose I was expecting some gradual migration from HD to 4K and thought I'd get ahead of the curve, which hasn't happened. I don't watch movies so it would basically only affect sports or cable channels if any were to start showing 4K content. I was just curious what others experience was because what I thought I was getting doesn't match what I see.

And sports and cable would be the areas that are farthest behind the ball. Most stations are still broadcasting in 720p/1080i and not even 1080p (Full HD). The most recent season of one of the most beautifully produced cable shows (Game of Thrones) looked absolutely terrible on all platforms until it was released on UHD Blu-ray because they compress the crap out of it.

[Ksyrup]

It's a smart TV so I'm sure it has YT.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

It's a smart TV so I'm sure it has YT.

Try it out when you get a chance and make sure it's playing at 4k resolution. It's possible you may need to update the TV firmware or app to get the best experience. I don't have a Samsung, so that's about all I got.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So I have a question about 4K - I've had a 4K TV for a couple of years and every now and then check out the lone 4K channel DirecTV has. I cannot tell the difference AT ALL between HD and 4K. Yes, I have it set for 4K resolution. It appears to be working, it's just... less than revolutionary.

Am I in the minority here, or is 4K not all that it's cracked up to be? I ask since I've now seen an 8K ad and I'm thinking "twice as good as 4K is still not a big upgrade over HD."

Time for new glasses?

Generally though people say that HDR is the bigger revolutionary jump (and I have to agree.. anything in HDR and especially Dolby Vision is fantastic - the greater range of light makes a massive difference).

However, I can easily tell the difference between say an HD show on Netflix and 4k (no HDR) Better Call Saul on Netflix. I have a 55in OLED that I sit about 8 feet from.

[Ksyrup]

Maybe it's just the sports don't really have much difference. The only difference is that there's no commercials which is frankly the better upgrade than the picture. I'd rather watch an empty field for 2 minutes.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Maybe it's just the sports don't really have much difference. The only difference is that there's no commercials which is frankly the better upgrade than the picture. I'd rather watch an empty field for 2 minutes.

As soverereignstar noted most "4k" sports are just upconverted from HD. When they are actually filmed in 4k, they look really good - such as the 2019 Women's World Cup.