4K TCL TV as Monitor

Rob Monsipapa

Tim Ellman, 4:4:4 chroma display is NOT required for a TV to act asa PC, it just has a better rendering of fine text v.s. A tv that only supports 4:4:2. You should have a video that says it supports 4K video. I use the GeForce Nvidia 1050i, does a fantastic job for me.

Ed N5DG

I see Best Buy has the TCL Model:49S405 on sell for $299 , the ad calls it 
TCL - 49" Class - LED - 4 Series - 2160p - Smart - 4K UHD TV with HDR 
I want to be sure I'm buying the correct TV with 4.4.4 Chroma ? What has me confused is this is the only ad I see that calls this TV the ( 4 Series ) 
Can someone tell me if this is 4.4.4 Chroma please 

Thanks Ed N5DG

Rob Monsipapa

If you went to the link I posted you can find it there but here is what it says (YES on the Chroma 4:4:4)


Supported Resolutions

✕
What it is: Different resolutions supported by TV.
When it matters: PC monitor usage.
Score components:

• 17% 1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
• 17% 1080p @ 120Hz
• 17% 1440p @ 60Hz
• 17% 4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
• 16% 4k @ 60Hz
• 16% 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

Score distribution:

1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4          
   ✕ What it is: Crisp text on 1080p @ 60 hz signal.
When it matters: PC productivity and 60 fps gaming. 

     : Yes       1080p @ 120Hz

✕ What it is: 120 fps 1080p signal supported.
When it matters: PC gaming. 

     : No       1440p @ 60Hz

✕ What it is: 60 fps 1440p signal supported.
When it matters: PC productivity and gaming. 


     : Yes      4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4

✕ What it is: Crisp text on 4k @ 30 hz signal.
When it matters: PC productivity and gaming. 

     : Yes       4k @ 60Hz

✕ What it is: 60 fps 4k signal supported.
When it matters: PC productivity and gaming. 

     : Yes       4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

✕  What it is: Crisp text on 4k @ 60 hz signal.
When it matters: Productivity and 60 fps gaming in 4k. 

     : Yes       4k @ 120Hz

✕ What it is: 4k 120Hz signal supported
When it matters: PC gaming 

     : No
Most resolutions are supported. 4k @ 60 Hz is only supported when the HDMI input used is set to HDMI 2.0 in the TV's settings. 4:4:4 color is displayed properly in all picture modes.

The TV's 4:2:0 color support is inconsistent. 4:2:0 isn't displayed properly from some sources, such as a PC (whites turn pink, scanlines), while our HDR Blu-ray player had no such issue. This inconsistency could be a problem for 4k @ 60 Hz sources that only support HDMI 1.4, as 4:2:0 is needed for these sources to remain within the bandwidth cap of HDMI 1.4.

Update 07/18/2017: The TV only shows 4:4:4 color properly when in 'PC mode'. Sharpness also has no effect in PC mode, even though the slider can still be changed. For most sources PC mode is activated by changing the input's icon to 'Computer'. For a PC, if the TV detects a PC as its source it forces PC mode, and this cannot be avoided except by intercepting the AVI infoframes sent from the PC. Changing the input's icon does not avoid this forced PC mode. This behavior was not known during initial testing, leading to the incorrect assumption that 4:4:4 color is displayed properly in all modes.

Ed N5DG

Rob, Thanks for ur post , Best Buy had the 49" (49s405) TLC on sell for $299.99 so I have a new 4K in the box waiting for my video card to be delivered from Newegg . I read ur review and one other on the   EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GAMING card 
 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487290
The HDMI 2.0 cable is coming from Amazon , so by Tue or Wen I should be up and going ... Thids is going to be nice 
Tnx Ed N5DG

Rob Monsipapa

It’s going to put a smile on your face every Tim you boot it up!!! Keep me posted.

Mark - N4MKA

I finally popped for a 43" 4K TV to use with my Flex. I have not compared it to many other displays and probably don't know what I am missing by picking up a cheapy Naxa NT-4302k 43" 4k Ultra HD Led TV, but WOW. It looks really good at 3840 x 2160 on my GeForce GTX 1050 TI video card. I got it for $160 on special at Frys Electronics.

Rob Monsipapa

Mark, you made a good choice, I have the 49" TCL and the same video card in my Dell, the resolution on the very smallest of text is outstanding...  You'll enjoy it, probably wish you went bigger, unless your space restricted! 

Enjoy
Rob - AK7RM

Robert Lonn

AND!!!!! If you want to show off that 4K screen resolution, you need one of these!!!!

https://www.geochron.com/4k/

Mark - N4MKA

Thanks, very happy so far. I have (2) 27" monitors and the (1) 43" 4k display. I plan on using the 43" primarily for radio stuff. I won't say I never will want a larger one. Space is not a primary issue. I just hope I don't ever need a big magnifying glass to see it some day:)
 

Mark - N4MKA

I will have to add that to the list.

Muhammad Ashraf Alvi

Sir how can I connect my Pentium 4 with tcl

Tim - W4TME

You will need a more up to date PC running a recent version of WIndows with a graphics card that will work with 4k monitors.

Rob Monsipapa

Alvi, make sure the video card says that it supports 4K video, it should have an HDMI port, which will connect to your 4K TV. TCL has one of the best resolutions for a PC monitor.

KF4HR

For those who have been asking what 4:4:4 means.  Here's a short video that should help: https://youtu.be/7JYZDnenaGc

I've always had a problem finding this particular specification on TV's.  Thanks to those who posted a link. 

Gary Zeune

I used 4x24" Dell FHD monitors. Why? Because I have spreadsheets with 500,000 rows and 50 columns that spanned 3 24" monitor. A pain to use. So I replaced three with the TCL 50 in series 4 because it had chroma subsampling 4:4:4. Now I can get all 50 columns on top half and 2 or 3 support documents on the bottom half.. Works great but the text was a little fuzzy so I turnef off HDR. Now the text is really sharp. Costco had 43" series 4 on sale for $230 and 50" for $250. So I bought two, one for each house. I tried these series 6 which was almost double the price and it certainly was better for video and movies but made no difference when used as a monitor. Big monitor substantially reduces the amount of time I have to spend on my big spreadsheets. Wish I'd gotten one years ago. DisplayFusion.....If you get a giant monitor spend $35 and get DisplayFusion. It will create custom virtual displays on your giant monitor. It's great when you're doing PowerPoint presentations to have both the PRESENTER view and SHOW on one monitor.