Cheap and cheerful bargain basement 4K TVs are now a reality, and it’s all thanks to our favourite Chinese box maker Seiki. That’s right, Seiki Digital, whose low cost 4K Ultra HD models have been selling like hot cakes in the USA, has just confirmed its UK invasion plans with 39-inch and 50-inch ultra high-definition (UHD) tellies retailing at £399 and £599 respectively.
Despite being almost unheard of even in its home country China, Seiki has successfully stormed its way up the US sales charts to become the 3rd biggest 4K TV seller, cornering an impressive 23.1 percent of the market, according to Whathifi.com.
Seiki’s success is all down to its aggressive pricing strategy of course, but it’s somewhat debatable whether or not a 39in screen is actually large enough to appreciate the extra detail that 4K provides. Hardcore UHD aficionados would probably even sneer at a 50in display if truth be told, but the £599 price tag will surely be attractive to those who’re eager to find out for themselves whether or not it’s as good as all the hype.
Seiki’s British models seem to be almost identical to the ones it shipped to the States last year. That means we can expect a 2160p, 120Hz, LED HDTV with 3840×2160 resolution, plus a 5000:1 quoted dynamic contrast ratio, 16:9 aspect ratio, and 65ms response time, together with connectivity options including 3 HDMI ports, USB and VGA connections.
Those are decent specs, but it’s worth noting that finding native 4K content to watch on them will be a bit of a challenge. That’s because neither the 39″ Seiki SE39UY01UK nor the 50″ SE50UY01UK comes with HDMI 2.0 nor inbuilt HEVC decoding, something that means they will not support Netflix 4K streaming. Still, that’s the price you have to pay when you price yourself so low.
The Seiki 4K televisions are due to hit UK stores in July. Depending on popularity among our readers, we may try to get one in for review.
Completely pointless TVs just hoping to jump on the bandwagon, but useful as might force major brands to drop/reduce prices.
@loopthrough – I think most people who are purchasing these will do so as a monitor. Or you could buy the 50″ and pair it with an Android box capable of decoding any HEVC and 4k media …
You pay for what you get and this is going to be terrible.
£599 will buy a great 1080p capable TV in the UK right now. Nobody should waste their time or money on this.
A decent set(50″)…. Should review it….with the upscaling cable and priced at $500 from Walmart in the states, makes a surprisingly good picture… Honestly at that price for 50″, seems like as good a bet as any… Have had sony and samsung sets with major issues, so taking a chance on a no name that can produce images kinda close to a $3500 x850a in 4k seems like a no brainier for at least a review….
I’m with @Richard on this one. 50″ is useless for 4K anyway (unless using it as a monitor and I can’t believe anyone would be comfortable sitting that close to a 50″ screen), so they’re really just jumping on the 4K bandwagon in the hope of a quick buck. There’s no point in buying a cheap TV. Never was and never will be. Even a name brand lower end set will be better.
I have a SEIKI 39′ TV and Its STREAMING house of cards in 4k apart from no bells or whistles on tv its a great picture PS4 Runs great on it to if You want a great pic Get this SEIKI TV