Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
08-29-12 | 05:27 PM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
From AP:
The rumor I read online is that this 84-inch HDTV will be priced at about $20,000.
Sony to sell ultra-HD '4K' TV set in US stores
By PETER SVENSSON | Associated Press
NEW YORK — High-definition TVs roughly quadrupled the resolution of the sets that came before them. Now, the industry is poised to do it again.
By December, U.S. stores will sell a TV set with four times the resolution of today's best HDTVs, Sony Corp. said Wednesday. The set will measure 84 inches on the diagonal, making the screen area four times as large as the common 42-inch set.
Executives said Sony will reveal the price of the set next week.
There is, for now, very little video content available that can take advantage of the higher resolution. With some work and know-how, a computer connected to the set can display video in the ultra-HD "4K" resolution. The set will also do its best to "upscale" TV, DVD and Blu-ray movies, so they look better.
Phil Molyneux, chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, said the situation was no different from the launch of the cassette tape, the CD or the DVD.
"We always get this question when we launch beautiful new technology: Where's the content?" Molyneux told journalists at an event in New York. "Did we bring the content to market? Yes, we did."
The exact resolution of the set is 3,840 by 2,160 pixels. It's known as "4K" because it has nearly 4,000 pixels on the horizontal edge. That compares with 1,920 by 1,080 pixels in "1080p" sets. More pixels allow TV makers to make bigger screens without compromising sharpness.
Sony makes digital projectors operating at 4K resolution for movie theaters.
The TV industry has been looking for a technology that will get consumers to upgrade their HDTV sets. Sales are slumping after an initial wave of upgrades from standard-definition sets, and 3-D sets attract only a small number of consumers.
Apple Inc. has slowly been quadrupling the resolution of its devices, starting with the iPhone 4 two years ago. This year, it released iPads and MacBooks with ultra-high-resolution screens.
By PETER SVENSSON | Associated Press
NEW YORK — High-definition TVs roughly quadrupled the resolution of the sets that came before them. Now, the industry is poised to do it again.
By December, U.S. stores will sell a TV set with four times the resolution of today's best HDTVs, Sony Corp. said Wednesday. The set will measure 84 inches on the diagonal, making the screen area four times as large as the common 42-inch set.
Executives said Sony will reveal the price of the set next week.
There is, for now, very little video content available that can take advantage of the higher resolution. With some work and know-how, a computer connected to the set can display video in the ultra-HD "4K" resolution. The set will also do its best to "upscale" TV, DVD and Blu-ray movies, so they look better.
Phil Molyneux, chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, said the situation was no different from the launch of the cassette tape, the CD or the DVD.
"We always get this question when we launch beautiful new technology: Where's the content?" Molyneux told journalists at an event in New York. "Did we bring the content to market? Yes, we did."
The exact resolution of the set is 3,840 by 2,160 pixels. It's known as "4K" because it has nearly 4,000 pixels on the horizontal edge. That compares with 1,920 by 1,080 pixels in "1080p" sets. More pixels allow TV makers to make bigger screens without compromising sharpness.
Sony makes digital projectors operating at 4K resolution for movie theaters.
The TV industry has been looking for a technology that will get consumers to upgrade their HDTV sets. Sales are slumping after an initial wave of upgrades from standard-definition sets, and 3-D sets attract only a small number of consumers.
Apple Inc. has slowly been quadrupling the resolution of its devices, starting with the iPhone 4 two years ago. This year, it released iPads and MacBooks with ultra-high-resolution screens.
08-29-12 | 08:13 PM
#3
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
...and so it begins, and so it begins. Time to sell my blu-rays.
08-29-12 | 08:15 PM
#4
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From: Formerly known as "Solid Snake PAC"/Denton, Tx
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
...that's more than I make in a year. And yet...I still want it. Also...well...guess my BDs are worthless now..bring on the 4K format wars.
08-29-12 | 10:01 PM
#7
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
And have they finally ironed out the kinks on the 5-layer BD's we'll need to buy movies in that resolution?
08-29-12 | 10:11 PM
#8
Banned by request
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
Wasn't it supposed to be something like a 100 gig blu ray disc? I would think it would be needed now to hold a movie at full 4k resolution. Would love to see some movies like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in its native 4k.
08-29-12 | 10:46 PM
#9
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
Hilarious, esp. considering your average Joe still can't see any difference between DVD and Blu-ray!
08-29-12 | 10:58 PM
#10
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
Yep....I still have several DVD's that upconverted hold their own. So does this mean BR's now will have to be "upconverted" to take avantage of the 4K screen?
08-30-12 | 01:40 AM
#12
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
The problem with a 4K television is that very few films have 4K masters.
A lot of studios don't have the time or money to invest in giving their back catalog the 4K treatment. Fuck, most studios don't have the time or money to give their current films the 4K treatment.
A lot of studios don't have the time or money to invest in giving their back catalog the 4K treatment. Fuck, most studios don't have the time or money to give their current films the 4K treatment.
08-30-12 | 06:25 AM
#13
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
So will this new set accept 48 Hz signals? Afterall, if (the limited release of) The Hobbit and Avatar 2 are a success, that's where things would be headed.
08-30-12 | 10:39 AM
#15
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
The tv might eventually get some traction as a newer and better tv always needs to exist. However, the discs will never get any real traction because Blu-Ray is the last true physical format that will get any kind of significant sales. Let's think about it realistically, people still buy more dvds than anything else and while I think blu-ray has some staying power, this 4k bullshit only further dilutes the pool. The average consumer will totally ignore the 4k disc and I have trouble believing even the diehards will latch onto this enough for it to be profitable.
I have roughly about 1000 discs between blu and dvd. I think I finally have more blu than dvd and have no problem outside of the television stuff I have on dvd converting most of the stuff I own to blu. But in no way shape or form will I go to 4k or any other physical format. You can pry my blus out of my cold dead hands. On the flipside, I do welcome the television and think that in time it might be worthwhile.
I have roughly about 1000 discs between blu and dvd. I think I finally have more blu than dvd and have no problem outside of the television stuff I have on dvd converting most of the stuff I own to blu. But in no way shape or form will I go to 4k or any other physical format. You can pry my blus out of my cold dead hands. On the flipside, I do welcome the television and think that in time it might be worthwhile.
08-30-12 | 10:41 AM
#16
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
"We always get this question when we launch beautiful new technology: Where's the content?" Molyneux told journalists at an event in New York. "Did we bring the content to market? Yes, we did."
08-30-12 | 11:08 AM
#17
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
The problem with a 4K television is that very few films have 4K masters.
A lot of studios don't have the time or money to invest in giving their back catalog the 4K treatment. Fuck, most studios don't have the time or money to give their current films the 4K treatment.
A lot of studios don't have the time or money to invest in giving their back catalog the 4K treatment. Fuck, most studios don't have the time or money to give their current films the 4K treatment.
08-30-12 | 11:58 AM
#18
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
I'm sure they'd start with films from the past few years, which do have 4K masters since that's how they're presented in digital theaters. Ten if the technology takes off (which I seriously doubt) they would go back and remaster, just like they did for DVD and Blu-ray.
Trust me, 4K isn't coming anytime soon to 99% of the films that have been made.
08-30-12 | 02:01 PM
#19
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
^ The studios are probably as weary as we are.
08-30-12 | 02:44 PM
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From: Formerly known as "Solid Snake PAC"/Denton, Tx
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
That was the first film I thought of as well...goddamn is that BD fucking sexy for sure. The colors of NYC in the night....woooo....beautiful in it's ugliness.
So...we're at what? 5 years w/ BD? To even make 4K TV even a general product like HDTV is now...this'll be what? 15 years till it's affordable? 10 at the earliest?
So...we're at what? 5 years w/ BD? To even make 4K TV even a general product like HDTV is now...this'll be what? 15 years till it's affordable? 10 at the earliest?
08-30-12 | 03:22 PM
#21
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
As admirable as this is, it is doomed to failure, if only for the reason that existing bandwidth will not support a 4k resolution with any reasonable quality. It would require about 200 mbits / sec to sustain that resolution with good quality. No media and very, very few broadband connections support those speeds. The only hope is using fast memory sticks and / or SSDs to store content, which makes this set an even more expensive and fringe proposition. Then, there will be those who would try to use Blu-ray-level bitrate encodes to cram a 4k release.
The expense of converting even 1% of 'recent' movies to 4k is one that the studios will simply not deem it economical to take.
The expense of converting even 1% of 'recent' movies to 4k is one that the studios will simply not deem it economical to take.
08-30-12 | 03:33 PM
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From: Canada, BC
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
I wonder if a firmware upgrade to existing blu ray players would allow us to play 4k media. I'm guessing it will be years before it becomes affordable, so I'll keep buying blu rays for now.
08-30-12 | 03:34 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sony introduces ultra-HD '4K' TV
As admirable as this is, it is doomed to failure, if only for the reason that existing bandwidth will not support a 4k resolution with any reasonable quality. It would require about 200 mbits / sec to sustain that resolution with good quality. No media and very, very few broadband connections support those speeds. The only hope is using fast memory sticks and / or SSDs to store content, which makes this set an even more expensive and fringe proposition. Then, there will be those who would try to use Blu-ray-level bitrate encodes to cram a 4k release.
The expense of converting even 1% of 'recent' movies to 4k is one that the studios will simply not deem it economical to take.
The expense of converting even 1% of 'recent' movies to 4k is one that the studios will simply not deem it economical to take.
It might take some sort of flash storage. I still think solid state is too expensive for a mainstream format, but since this would likely be another laserdisc-level niche, high media costs might not be a big problem.
