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4K UHD TVs Are Being Adopted Faster Than HDTVs (venturebeat.com)
Now this may surprise some: 4K Ultra HD televisions are expected to double sales to 15 million units in the U.S. in 2016, and the next-generation TVs are now being adopted at a faster rate than predecessor high-definition TVs. 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players are also selling at a fast rate, according to Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, the big tech lobbying group, VentureBeat reports. From the report: At a press event in San Francisco, Shapiro said that 62 percent of consumers plan to buy a consumer electronics viewing device in the next 12 months; 33 percent plan to buy a smartphone, and 29 percent plan to buy a TV. "Consumers are showing a strong preference for 4K," which has four times as many on-screen pixels as HDTVs, Shapiro said. "It's faster and more robust than HDTV." By 2017, 4K UHD TV sales will hit 20 million a year in the U.S. That number will grow to 23 million in 2018, and 26 million by 2019, Shapiro said. The 2016 growth rate is 105 percent above the units sold for 2015.
When 1080p TVs hit the market, I wasn't all that excited. I was already using monitors with better resolution than that.
With 4k, however, I could replace my entire Wall O'Displays with a single 4k TV. I'm actually looking forward to doing exactly that. One 43" screen mounted to the wall would be much nicer and much more aesthetically appealing than what I have now. I would continue to use the older monitors with other machines, I don't expect my Chromebook (hacked though it may be) to drive a 4k display.
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
They look amazing even upscaled. They make great PC monitors. They're affordable. I recently saw several that were on sale cheaper than 1080 models.
If you build it, they will come....
As I understand this. 4K is what you get at many small theaters which use digital projection these days. There is some 4K material available, including streaming sources that actually have noticeable quality differences.
Will folks notice the difference? Unlikely... Or, as was the case when I saw my first 1080p resolution movie, I got very distracted by the background set and costume issues that now became oh so visible... Made the movie, an action adventure flick, almost unwatchable for me.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
TV is still 720. Movies are 1080. What's the point of 4K again?
Future proofing. And pretty cheap at that, with a FHD 50" TV selling at €350, and the 4K at €400, it is not that more to pay something that might come in handy in a year or two.
in 2003 a 40" HDTV cost you right around $3000. You can get a nice 4K unit for less than half that in 2016 with Netflix, youtube and all kinds of other features built in and game consoles that already support it.
in 2003 cable companies either didn't have many HD channels or charged extra $$$ for them. and blu rays didn't come out until around 2006 so there wasn't much reason to buy a HDTV unless you really wanted one just to sit around, read the blogs and be ready for whenever it was supported
The 4k TVs basically directly replaced the HDTVs, as in they just replaced the same model that was $899 last year with a new $899 model that is now 4k. Instant 4k Adoption. You're also probably getting some generational effects where people with older 480p and 720p flat screens suddenly need new TVs because they hit that magic it's 10 years OLD effect.
The upscaling is pretty impressive. A good 4k upscaler looks significantly better on the same 1080 source. That said, 1080p give a pretty sharp picture in it's won right. I don't think 4k is very noticeable in typical size family room (i.e. viewing from 10-14 ft away) unless you have a 75" or larger TV. Similarly, if you have 42" or smaller TV 720p is probably OK unless you are sitting 6 ft away from it.
Future proofing? WTF? 4k TV would be only cheaper in the future....
I don't need a TV in the near future, I needed a new one now, and therefor bought the 4K screen, since my TVs last somewhere from 5 to 10 years.
I think a lot of people are in that situation, they need a new, or want a bigger TV. 4K sales are exploding because they have become very competively priced in the last year.
And even without the 4K content, the onscreen menus have much sharper rendered text. It is actually a bit painfull to look at TV text menus at 1080p after using them in 4K.
>"Now this may surprise some: "
Why is this a surprise? It is what the manufacturers are pushing. Consumers have no idea that 99% of them won't notice ANY difference on their TV's from normal viewing distances between 4K and 2K. They won't know there is little 4K content, anyway. They will just by the one that is "better".
Same thing with the bluray players. You could say "new- supports popsicle mode for enhanced viewer" and other marketing speak and they will buy it.
Gaming.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
As I understand this. 4K is what you get at many small theaters which use digital projection these days.
Yes, but cinema 4K is not the same as TV 4K. They use DCI 4K, either 4096x1716 for 2.39:1 or 3996x2160 for 1.85:1, while UHD 4K is 3840x2160 for 16:9. For extra confusion most 4K cameras capture at 4096x2160 and there's some speciality monitors in the 17:9 format too, but usually you'd crop down to one of the three above for delivery. Most of them frame/master for the DCI release, so what you get on TV is mostly an adaptation/rescale for UHD.
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