LG's monstrous 84in 4K TV is already on sale in the UK
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, pretty much every TV manufacturer was proudly demonstrating Ultra HD screens, which are also known as 4K TVs.
These TVs have four times more pixels than Full HD sets, and it’s easy to get over-excited at such a prospect, especially once you’ve seen the stunning demo reels and marvelled at the better-than-real-life picture quality.
However, while those manufacturers are rubbing their collective hands in glee at the opportunity of selling punters a new TV, Ultra HD has a problem.
In fact, 4K TVs have several problems at the moment.
One is resolution. Since there's no official standard, a 4K TV might have a resolution of 3840x2160 or 4096x2160. This near-4,000 pixel horizontal resolution is the reason they're called 4K TVs, in case you're wondering.
Another isse is the lack of content. Last year, everyone said 3D was going to be the big thing but even now, there are relatively few 3D broadcasts.
4K will have the same problem. Netflix is already trialling a 4K streaming service, Sony promises a “4K content delivery system” by this summer and at least one UK broadcaster is also running trials, but it could still be years before programmes you actually want to watch are shown in Ultra HD.
Next on the list of hurdles is price. LG already has a 4K TV on sale in the UK, the 84LM960V. It costs £22,499 including VAT. Only rich sportsmen need apply, then. Smaller and more affordable models are on the way (LG launched 55in and 65in companions at CES), but these will still cost well over £10,000.
Then, arguably the biggest problem of all, is size. Few people in the UK have space (or are willing to put up with) a 55in TV in their lounge, and that’s probably the realistic minimum size for 4K. We’re certain manufacturers will produce smaller versions, but at normal viewing distances the extra detail may not be particularly noticeable.
Finally, most people didn’t upgrade to HD just to get a better picture. They also got a much slimmer TV with extra features like BBC iPlayer and new connections such as HDMI. 4K TVs will be a much harder sell so, like 3D, the uptake could be pretty slow.
See also CES 2013: 4K Ultra HD TVs in pictures
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Comments
Mike Ogden said: There is another issue we choose not to watch some programmes in HD as we dont like seeing human faces close up revealing every spot wrinkle and bristle larger than life
Michel Merlin said: 4K screens could be as small as 40in------------------I agree with many points here but about resolutionsize the writer falls into the same error made for decades by his siblings journalists or forum pundits who spend more time speaking overlooking teaching and chastizing others than thinking or experiencing by themselves they all badly underestimated the natural human eye resolution For decades I have been struggling to find screens with resolution fine enough always been ridiculed by those I-Know-all forumists whence the makers and vendors ignoring the real users expectations Only very few makers as SONY were offering laptops really able for CAD or other fine work eg VAIO Z with 19201080133in 166dpi and only recently with smartphones and tablets have we got mainstream decent resolutions like 1920108050in 441dpi found on Experia Z and most new smartphones announced this month in LA and next month in BarcelonaOf course a TV is watched from farther hence needs bigger pixels ie less dpi But my current screen is 19201080215in 102dpi which is fine for TV but for PC work I would like a finer resolution ie either a smaller screen say 1920108016in 138dpi or even better a larger pixel numbers eg 25601440215 137dpi So I think 55in while a good start is NOT the smallest possible for a 4K screen we could well see 40in onesVersailles Fri 18 Jan 2013 210500 0100
Dimitris said: The only real problem I see is the non standardization of the resolution although in the past many HD ready sets shipped with a resolution of 1366x768 as opposed to the 1280x720 standard without affecting the user experience Prices will drop eventually and yes there will be many smaller than 55 inch sets with the huge benefit that the writer oversees to be able to watch 3d content with passive see comfortable glasses and not suffering from the scan lines problem as is the case with the current passive 3d sets