Question on viewing 1080p video files on 4k TV

[bvdd]

I have several hundred 1080p movies and TV shows as MP4 and MKV files.
I view them via an Epson 2100 1080p projector and a 72" wall screen. The picture is perfect for us.

We're talking about buying a big screen TV for a new house that's coming soon.

I don't want to lose the picture quality I have now, and I'm concerned about a 4-8k TV somehow degrading the 1080p file.

Is that a concern?

Thanks

[jagabo]

I'm concerned about a 4-8k TV somehow degrading the 1080p file.

Is that a concern?

No.

[usually_quiet]

720p, 1080i, 1080p, and 20160p video all look fine on my 4K TV. 480i doesn't look good, but that is to be expected.

An 8K TV is probably overkill, as true 8K video is rare.

[jagabo]

Other things to consider: What is going to be playing the video files? The TV's internal media player? An external media player? A Blu-ray player? With external devices what signal is being sent from the player to the TV? Which device is doing the upscaling? The player? The TV? Both?

But in general you don't need to worry about quality unless you do something really stupid -- like use composite output from an old DVD player.

[dellsam34]

The only time to worry about newer TVs is when you have interlaced videos, especially SD, Anything HD and above in progressive is just line doubling and would look fine, Albeit the bigger the screen the bigger the source video pixels.

[bvdd]

Other things to consider: What is going to be playing the video files? The TV's internal media player? An external media player? A Blu-ray player? With external devices what signal is being sent from the player to the TV? Which device is doing the upscaling? The player? The TV? Both?

But in general you don't need to worry about quality unless you do something really stupid -- like use composite output from an old DVD player.

The video files will be coming from a PC and whatever output that has - probably HDMI.

Thanks.

[cholla]

My HTPC has HDMI out.
I have not tried but I do not believe the TVs media player can use this.
I use a PC media player.
Usually VLC but other PC media players also work.

My HTPC HDMI goes to my Receiver first.
I can use either HDMI or composite video out from it.
I use HDMI out.
For an older TV or probably projector without HDMI input the composite should work but I have never tested it.

[hello_hello]

The video files will be coming from a PC and whatever output that has - probably HDMI.

If you connect the PC to the TV at 4K, the PC's video player will be upscaling 1080p when it's running in full screen mode.
Some players allow you to choose the resizer used for upscaling, whether it be sharp or not etc.
These won't necessarily be the choices you have, but there's some info on the types of resizers native to Avisynth here, and what their strengths and weakness are, so to speak.
https://avisynthplus.readthedocs.io/en/latest/avisynthdoc/corefilters/resize.html

Another thing to look out for is the video levels. PCs traditionally output full range video (for 8 bit video, 0 is black and 255 is white) while the video you'll be watching uses limited range (16 is black and 235 is white). You have to make sure the PC's output and the TV's input match. If the TV is expecting limited range, the PC should output limited range, or they should both be configured for full range. A mismatch will cause the picture to either look too dark or a bit washed out. It's something that should be configurable for both the TV and PC, but its something to watch out for.

[bvdd]

Well, looks like there are a number of issues that might come up.

Guess I'll know when I get there.

Thanks everyone.

[bvdd]

My HTPC has HDMI out.
I have not tried but I do not believe the TVs media player can use this.
I use a PC media player.
Usually VLC but other PC media players also work.

Yes, I'm using VLC as well.

PC (VLC) to Epson 2100 projector to wall screen.

[jagabo]

Assuming similar sizes, viewing distances, and proper setup, almost anything will look better than the 1080p projector.

[bvdd]

Assuming similar sizes, viewing distances, and proper setup, almost anything will look better than the 1080p projector.

Maybe so, technically, but the picture I have now is stunning.