If 3D TVs failed to entice, chances are you’ve been hanging out for 4K (or “4096p”, if you want a direct comparison in pixels). The prices might be prohibitive today, with $US20,000-$US25,000 quoted for models from Sony and LG, but when you do eventually walk into Harvey’s (or hit up your favourite price aggregator), you’re going to want to know the precise term — because it won’t be “4K”.
Nope, what you’ll want to quote to the salesman / type into the search box is “Ultra High Definition” or “Ultra HD”, as this is the tag the Consumer Electronics Association has applied to the resolution, according to Home Media Magazine. Unfortunately, it’s not that clear cut, the specification providing some leeway for “Ultra HD” projectors to spit out 3840 x 2160 at a minimum. TVs will need to output an aspect ratio of 16:9 and support “native” video at 4K.
I’m not entirely sold on the “Ultra” moniker. Sure, it makes some sense relative to what we have now, but in the future? I just see the CEA writing itself into a corner like the USB guys did. Anyone remember the Hi-Speed/Full-Speed debacle? We already have “Full HD” and “HD Ready”, which are a clear as, say, “Wi-Fi Ready”.