Why 4K Might Not Be the Best Way to Attract Consumers

[pulpfiction007]

I know I won't. With my current 52" screen seen at 11 feet, I have already determined empirically that I'm not able to distinguish 720p from 1080p. And I have pretty good vision and already have hairy palms because of pixel peeping.

I don't pixel peep, but the rest I very much agree with. 4K for shooters makes sense to get a strong 1080, but for viewing I don't see the need for 3 reasons
1. Zero 4k content and very little true 1080 for that matter
2. 1080 looks flawless on my TV from my viewing distance
3. 4K is too expensive anyway

 

[adkimery]

Yeah except as Barry points out who will buy it? Consumers don't have as much of an incentive to buy this time and they are not going to spend huge chunks of cash for something none of them will be able to see sitting on their sofa.

5-8 years down the line 4K sets won't be huge chunks of cash. Hell, you can get an entry level 50" 4K monitor today for $800 (http://www.amazon.com/Seiki-Digital-SE39UY04-39-Inch-Ultra/dp/B00DOPGO2G). I remember back in the early part of the century HDnet didn't even have content to go 24hrs without repeating something, HD TVs were the size of furniture, used component hook-ups and were still well into 4 figures on price.

Assuming that consumers end up buying 4K sets because that's all the stores will carry in the future ( I can't see many people asking for 4K ), will the average TV viewer be able to distinguish 4K content from 1080 HD? ( I have huge doubts about this )

Probably not. But the same can be said for 1080p sets today vs 720p sets. Maybe people went bigger to 'future proof' the purchase since they don't buy living room TVs that often. Maybe the prices were close enough that consumers said "Hey, I'm played paying XYZ for a TV what's a little more to get the 'TrueHD' experience?" I'm sure we've all heard stories about people playing back SD content and their HD TV and going "Wow, this HD stuff looks awesome"

I really don't think stores will only carry 4k TVs. Stores will carry what sells and what consumers want. Sure they may try really hard to push a 4k model or two but they will never just stop selling HDTVs because the industry wants to push 4k. Even if some of them try it they would be taking a huge risk of not having any sales which could really hurt their bottom line. HD will only be phased out when consumers leave the HD sets on the shelves and stores see little reason to continue carrying them due to lack of sales. The only way any of this would make sense is if manufacturers start making 4k TVs for the same price point of current HDTVs. Not the price point four years but the price point today. Then if somebody has to choose over a $500.00 HDTV or a $500.00 4k TV of equal size then yes it would make sense but I doubt we will see that happen.

If TV set makers start dialing back the number of HD TVs they make (just like they did with SD) the stores won't have a choice. I remember in the mid 2000's hanging onto my large, dying SD TV because no one sold new SD TVs that large anymore and the HD TVs that were in my budget were too small.

I don't pixel peep, but the rest I very much agree with. 4K for shooters makes sense to get a strong 1080, but for viewing I don't see the need for 3 reasons
1. Zero 4k content and very little true 1080 for that matter
2. 1080 looks flawless on my TV from my viewing distance
3. 4K is too expensive anyway

Sony started a streaming 4K service a couple of months ago and Netfilx has already started testing 4K streaming (http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/2/5...g-ultra-hd-4k-to-prepare-for-launch-next-year). Over at CreativeCOW, in a discussion about H.265, someone mentioned seeing demos of H.265 content that look great on a 72" UHD TV. The data rate of the h.265 was only 3.5-7 mbps which falls into the middle range of current Netflix streams (https://support.netflix.com/en/node/306).

 

[joe1946]

Seiki Digital SE50UY04 50-Inch 4K UHD 120Hz LED HDTV $791.98 w/free shipping :

http://www.amazon.com/Seiki-Digital...1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384821042&sr=8-3&keywords=4k

It was not that long ago that 50" 1080p LED HDTVs were selling for that price.

Update :

They are available RIGHT NOW online at SEARS 39" for $520, the 50" for $722 and the 55" for $825. The only catch is you have to sign up for "FRIENDS & FAMILY" (there is no charge for doing this). - THIS DEAL ENDS TUESDAY - You can get immediate in-store pickup if the Sears you choose has them in stock

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1469063/seiki-se50uy04-50-4k-display/90#post_23966017

 

[starcentral]

What I can see happening is that manufacturers stop making HD screens all together, which in turn will force the push of 4k TV's, and still nothing to bloody watch on them.

 

[joe1946]

[h=2]Sony says it's ready for 4K live broadcast, now[/h]
The story behind the very first live 4K 60p sports transmission

Sony put on an incredible show at the IBC in Amsterdam, and to cap it all, they hosted the world's first live 4K transmission from a rugby match. Filmed live by multiple 4K, studio-equipped F55 cameras, the feed was encoded and sent via satellite to the RAI centre in Amsterdam.
We were there, and beforehand, we spoke to Sony's Peter Sykes (who you can see in the video), who explained the rather complex transmission path to us. You can see all this in Sony's video.

http://www.redsharknews.com/technology/item/1216-sony-says-it-s-ready-for-4k-live-broadcast,-now

 

[Digigenic]

....4k is kinda like that guy who just keeps rowing, right off the waterfall. at least in terms of end user experience

But people still want to see that, ever see Red Bull's Flugtag event?
So, to that analogous point, 4K will still have its market.

 

[Digigenic]

What I can see happening is that manufacturers stop making HD screens all together, which in turn will force the push of 4k TV's, and still nothing to bloody watch on them.

The content will be there.
I anticipate consumer transition from HD to 4K will be considerably faster and smoother than the transition from SD to HD.
Mobile devices will play a significant role in catalyzing this new transition. Well, that and the porn and gaming industry of course.