At first you have to get used to the term HD, along with LCD, LED, full HD and now once you figure that you have it all sorted out there is 4K and Ultra HD technology that you need to try to understand. In order to give you some insight into this type of technology we are going to keep things as simple as possible and keep things in layman’s terms since that’s probably all you’ll really need to get a good grasp on this new HD technology.
Let’s take a good look at the new terms first to clear them up
So we have three different sets of terms that we’re dealing with right now including the following:
- Ultra HD
- UHD
- 4K
Fortunately for you and the rest of us, all of these three terms mean the exact same thing. Keep that in mind as you are reading through this article and other articles on the Internet.
This isn’t only a confusion for the consumers, however, since it seems that the television manufacturers haven’t really gotten a firm hold of the new technological names that they are so busy inventing. For instance, Sony is producing 4K TVs, LG is making Ultra HD TVs while Samsung is busy on its UHD TVs. Toshiba is busy producing 4K Ultra HD TVs and the funny thing to be noted here is they are all the exact same thing.
Ultra HD technology defined
If you have a full HD set in your home already it is working with 1080p high definition. A UHD TV is able to deliver four times the resolution of the full HD you currently own. Ultra HD technology can bring a pixel resolution of 3840 by 2160 pixels, delivering a total of almost 8 million pixels into your living room. That’s a lot of pixels – but do you really need this many?
That’s the $20,000 question
Since it’s going to cost you about $20,000 to pick up one of the new HD TVs that are being released this year, your first question is probably whether you really need all those pixels or whether they are going to be a waste of your money. Fortunately, as things stand right now, you don’t need to dig deep into your pockets to pull out the $20,000 immediately since you really don’t need this multitude of pixels in an average home.
The content simply isn’t here yet
In order to enjoy full Ultra HD at its best you’ll need the content to go with it. This content hasn’t arrived yet so the picture you’re viewing is going to look pretty much as good on the full Ultra HD set as it would on the TV you own now. To pay $20,000 for a whole bunch of extra pixels that can’t even be used right now just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Especially when you consider that the price will be going down as new ultra HD content is presented in the future.
The benefits you can see right now
Right now, if you sit 2.5 m away from your HD TV set you would need a TV with 102-inch screen in order to see any sort of pixels coming from a full HD picture. This means that these extra pixels that you’ll find on a full Ultra HD television set aren’t even going to be able to be viewed unless you have a huge TV. As things currently stand, Ultra HD technology would best be used for larger screenings at theaters or possibly in homes that have their own TV viewing room that is quite large.
Ultimate HD sources of content
While there are no consumer devices supporting UHD technology right now, there is talk floating around of new formatting being available in the future. Blu-ray movies may offer a UHD type of formatting in the coming years but it is doubtful how far the content will go. There needs to be a market for the content and it’s possible that UHD will just fall by the wayside especially with OLED TVs storming into the marketplace and claiming their rightful spot.
The news is that some films are starting to be shot in ultra HD, such as the movie The Hobbit, and that other movies are likely to be using the 4K formats as well in the future. Right now though, it still remains a guessing game as to how mainstream this technology will become in the upcoming few years.
4K television reviews
According to a lot of the reviews that have been coming out of the 2013 CES show, the UHD TVs were very impressive and looked stunning especially with the modern types of stands they were being shown on. Of course, these TVs would look impressive and show a great picture just like a full HD TV would.
The biggest buzz, however, was about the OLED TVs that were being shown. Many of the top experts from reputable websites on the Internet reported that the pictures shown on the OLED TVs were like something that had never been seen before and made the 4K pictures pale in comparison.
If you’re going to invest in UHD technology
Make sure that you have checked out your OLED options first. This looks like it may be the upcoming trend in the TV world during the next few years especially if Ultra HD doesn’t take off the way it is expected to. Your best bet right now is to take your money and either purchase an OLED TD or a high-end 1080p full HD TV set that may fit better into your budget.
If you have room for an 84-inch TV in your home or can even fit a 110-inch model into a viewing room, you can certainly take your chances on 4K technology if it works into your budget. As it is it currently, however, Ultra HD technology still seems to be at the wait-and-see point and for those that can’t afford a TV set worth more than $10,000, it may be best not to take a gamble with your money right now on this type of TV.
