But just as was the case with 3D, it's the chicken before the egg hardware software: there is no 4K content available to the consumer. However, if you listen to the industry, he will tell you that it's the last resolution you'll ever need. So what is 4K anyway, and what makes it different from high definition?
Digital resolutions: A primer
The latest in a line of broadcast and media resolutions, 4K/UHD to replace 1080i / p (1,920 x1, 080 pixels) as higher resolution signal available for movies and, perhaps, television.
Although there are several different standards, "4K" in general refers to a resolution of about 4000 pixels wide and about 2,000 pixels high. This is why it is the equivalent of four 1080p screens in height and length. Currently 4K is a catch-all term for a number of standards that are fairly close to this resolution, and the TVs we'll see this year labeled 4K will actually Ultra HD, which is defined below. But frankly, we think 4K is the catchier name.
Meanwhile, high definition (HD) itself has been with us for ten years and is used in Blu-ray movies and HD broadcasts. There are three versions of full 1080p HD: High Definition (progressive), 1080i (interlaced) and 720p (also called simply "high definition").
Most television programs and all DVDs are encoded in standard definition (480 lines). Standard definition is the oldest resolution still in use as it began life as NTSC broadcasts, switching to digital implementation of ATSC digital cinema debut 2007.The
4K roots are in the theater.
When George Lucas was preparing to make his long-promised prequels to the "Star Wars" films in the late 90s, he was experimenting with new digital formats as a replacement for film. Film is incredibly expensive to produce, transport and store. If theaters could simply download a digital movie file and display it on a digital projector, they could save a lot of money. At a time when cinemas are attacked by cablevision on demand and streaming video, cost reduction helps to maintain their competitiveness.
After the filming of "The Phantom Menace" partly in HD, George Lucas shot "Attack of the Clones" fully digitally in 1080p. This was great for the future Blu-ray release, but the boffins soon found that 1080p was not high enough resolution screens theater. If you're sitting in the front row of one of these theaters as it's displaying 1080p content, you may see a softer image or the lattice grid of pixel structure, which can be very distracting.
The industry needs a solution that might work if the public sat in the best "one and a half times the screen height" from the screen or more, and found that the necessary resolution higher than 1080p. Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) was founded in 2002 to establish a numerical standard. Based on these efforts, two new resolutions emerged: 2K specification, and later, in 2005, 4K.
The first large-scale 4K cinema release was "Blade Runner: The Final Cut" in 2007, a new cut and print masterpiece of 1982. Unfortunately, at this time very few theaters were able to show in full resolution. Should be one of Ridley Scott's contemporaries to truly drive 4K into your local cineplex.
4K 'standard'
"4K is at the point of diminishing returns." - Dr. Dave Lamb of 3M Laboratories
Despite the best intentions of the industry, there is still no single 4K standard - there are five or more resolutions shooting available. In film, you see projectors based on the DCI specification.
In August 2012, the Consumer Electronics Association has attempted to clarify the situation for the home by introducing the term Ultra High Definition resolutions defined as "at least 3,840 x2, 160 pixels." However, the next Sony muddied the waters by saying that it would call the technology "Ultra Definition 4K high."
The HDMI organization recently added two types of 4K support to its latest specification 1.4: the old "Quad HD" (3.840 strictly x2, 160 pixels) and 4K/2K, also called 4Kx2K (4,096 x2, 160 pixels). While only Quad HD conforms to the classic 16:9 ratio of modern television screens, both HD and 4K/2K Quad termed "Ultra High Definition".
Meanwhile, some industry experts have questioned the necessity of 4K home, given the lack of content and the need for very large displays to appreciate the extra resolution.
"There was a huge leap significantly from standard definition to high definition, but the difference between 1080p and 4K is not as marked," said researcher Dave Lamb of 3M Laboratories.
Lamb added that "4K is at the point of diminishing returns", but there could be some benefits for screens over 55 inches.Did you see James Cameron's "Avatar 3D" in the theater? So you've seen 4K in action. Movie Cameron on "giant blue dudes" helped drive high-resolution 4K Sony projectors into theaters around the world, and made a lot of money in the process. Movie studios keen to maintain that momentum have released a slew of 3D films - mostly converted from 2D - and continued the expansion of 3D cinemas.
However, this motion has not translated to a success for 3D TV at home.
"Manufacturers would have wanted 3D to be bigger than it was, they wanted him to be the next LED but it did not work," said Lamb.
Given the response so-far-mediocre 3D, and the charge and mass of active glasses, manufacturers have begun to look for an alternative, and 4K offers a way to improve the image quality 3D glasses passive or get rid of them altogether.
4K in the house, now and in the future
4K TVs will be big and expensive for the next two years.
Most companies have pledged to release 4K displays in 2013, and in the absence of 4K media to watch, the main advantage seems to be improving quality 3D. Disadvantages resolution LG passive 3D system can, in theory, be overcome by doubling the number of horizontal and vertical pixels, allowing 4K passive displays like the LG 84LM9600 (due this summer) to deliver 1080p to both eyes.
The first panel of consumer-grade 4K to hit the U.S. market was the 84LM9600 LG which has a resolution of 3840 UHD x2, 160 pixels and is currently going for $ 17,000. Meanwhile, 84-inch Sony XBR-84X900 TV will cost 25K. More TVs will be on your way in 2013.
Sony announced its 4K home theater projector, the VPL-VW1000ES, in September 2011, but do not make the product available on its website or stores and instead sells it directly to installers. Meanwhile, JVC announced four projectors in 2011 that upscale 1080p content to 4K but currently are unable to display native 4K content.
In the absence of 4K content, players and displays need to upscale 1080p or even standard definition content. To this end, Sony has a Blu-ray player, the BDP-S790, which will upscale to 4K. Sony has also announced that it would consolidate a server that has 4K movie movies stored on it with his television X900.
As for the future, Sony is apparently keen to have the forthcoming "Spider-Man" reboot become one of the first 4K Blu-ray, and is apparently in talks with the Blu-ray Disc Association to finalize the specification loads.
Tim Alessi, director of home electronics development at LG, said he believed that such a development was not only inevitable but also potentially valuable.
"I expect that at some point [4K] will be added [to the Blu-ray specification]. Having this content at home is what the average consumer wants," said Alessi.
Just when we thought we had everything, 4K may not even be the last word in resolution. Japanese broadcaster NHK was the first to demonstrate 8K in 2008 and at CES 2012, there were murmurs in the industry - and at least one prototype - dedicated to exceeding 4K resolution.
Conclusion
Is that the resolution offered by 4K make additional films better? One could say that it depends on the shape of the original film. For example, "The Blair Witch Project" and "28 Days Later" were both shot with standard definition camcorder, and it would probably be little additional benefit to buying either movie in a 4K native on DVD - depending on the quality of the scaling of your brand-new 4K screen, of course.
Even in respect of quality native 4K material, however, a 4K resolution TV or projector will not provide nearly the visible improvement over a standard 1080p model from standard definition to high definition makes. To appreciate it, you must have sat next to a big screen - a bit like being in the front row of a few theaters.
But if it's 4K or 8K, you can bet that manufacturers have not run out of cards when it comes to trying the next "must-have" feature in the coming crops of televisions.
February 15, 2011 Correction: The article originally stated that "in cinemas you see projectors based on the DCI specification, which supports 4K and 2K, while Sony sports its own standard (also 4,096 x2, 190 -pixel resolution) and a series of projectors. "In fact, Sony and projectors support the DCI standard, so that the second half of this statement has been removed.
