4K Ultra Definition TVs: The Next Big Thing?

At the recently held Home Entertainment Show in New Delhi, LG finally revealed its much awaited Ultra Definition TV, which boasts of a humongous 84 inch screen and a screen resolution that is four times the number of pixels in a conventional HD TV (that is, 1920X1080) – or 4K as it is popularly called. This release generated quite a buzz at the LG stalls, and I personally noticed many a gentleman gawking at the TV in silent amazement – the 84 inch screen was really impressive!

As far as I know, the launch of the LG 4K TV – the model is named as LG 84LM9600 - in India has been concurrent with its global launch, making it the largest flat panel TV that sports a 4K resolution – at least for one full month – as Sony is also expected to launch an 84 inch screen 4K TV – called the Sony XBR-84X900 by November end, 2012. Still later, and over the next year, more TV makers – JVC, for example – are also expected to join the fray.

Here is another interesting piece of information – all these 84 inch giants have one thing in common – they are all passive 3D TVs. When viewed together with the intricacies of the technology and the attendant costs involved, many observers suspect that the panels for all these brands are being supplied by one company – LG. Of course, LG representatives have refused to confirm this, only asserting that the panels in LG 4K 3D TVs are made by LG. Make your own interpretations!

Now coming to the all important question – is it the right time for 4K TV? Is the TV viewer ready for an ultra definition TV that has a huge screen size and is priced to match? Well, look at it this way – when HD made its debut many years back, it had its fair share of skeptics. The world is not ready for this yet – they said – and no one is going to pay this much for a TV. But look at where we are today – HD TVs are commonplace, and much more affordable. Going still back in time, top of the line Plasma TVs cost as high as US $ 5,000 or more when they were introduced.

In other words, this is what happens with every new technology that is adapted for consumer use – the initial prices are too high for general users, but some dedicated band of power users just cannot wait, and do the buying. This increases production, gradually making things cheaper and more affordable for general users.

As far as the giant size of the screen – 84 inches (that is 7 feet!) – is concerned, a 4K resolution actually demands such a large screen. The average screen size of TVs is increasing – people are buying larger screen sizes, and the trend is clearly in favor of larger screens. When one moves to screen sizes 72 inch and above, the picture quality on the screen actually demands more pixels – hence the need for 4K resolutions.

I can still envision some skeptical observers, those who will point out that ours is a country that has not yet even adopted digital broadcast, and even “normal” HD TVs are out of reach for a huge majority of viewers. Yet, I can safely venture that 4K IS the future of TV watching – even if that future takes a long to come to fruition.