Good morning folks, today on my Global TV Sunday Morning News Tech Talk segment I showed a Sony 65” XBR-65X850A Ultra HD TV.
Ultra HD TV, also called UHD and 4K, was shown last January at the 2013 CES show in Las Vegas. It’s basically like watching from four same screen size current HD TV screens squeezed into one. Upon close inspection you will notice how tiny the red green and blue pixels are.
In number terms, a UHD TV screen has 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, compared to the 1920 x 1080 HD screen of your current flat screen TV.
You may not see how sharp it was on our show, but my co-hosts Shane and Kevin can attest to how sharp and clear the images where on our live 65” UHD Sony demo.
I also had a Sony supplied 4K media box connected with samples of the new larger 4K format which are simply breathtaking.
As you may have heard, there is little, practically none for us Canadians, UHD content to watch from any of our subscription TV providers. Many content providers are talking about UHD content but it’s a hard sell to all aspects of the industry. Much of the TV and movie industry completed the upgrade HDTV not very long ago and many parts of the world still broadcast standard (think tube TV) definition TV.
Current HD TV sales are reaching a saturation point despite the introduction and intense marketing campaign of 3D TV, now considered a standard feature.
Prices for UHD TVs from Sony, Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Panasonic and Sharp start at just over $4,000 for a 55-inch screen more than $25,000 for the Sony 85” XBR 4K Ultra HD TV.
How much better is UHD TV? Undoubtedly, original 4K content shows much sharper. But in some of the samples, I found the difference more apparent when only several feet from the screen. Stepping back to the end of a room resulted in less difference in quality between UHD and HD screens.
Still, medium viewing distances showed a sharper image on UHD, especially for folks, more guys than gals, who are big on visual quality. While I was setting up the Sony UHD set this weekend, more than a dozen GlobalTV staff passed by. All the guys stopped and commented on the sharper picture. Of the two women who saw it, one first noticed the simple elegant stand while the other noticed the large screen size first.
Up to now, the industry average recommended viewing for a 65” screen is between two and five meters. But will a shaper screen physically bring viewers closer to it? It’s hard to resist, but from up close it’s hard to take in the whole screen.
To buy or not to buy?
You have to ask yourself what visual payback you get with a UHD TV, today. From my experience, and seeing dozens of UHD demos from several top TV makers, there is indeed a noticeably better screen experience on UHD TV on all your current video sources. Here are the highlights:
-Current HD content looks better, when up-converted by a UHD TV. On the Sony UHD, HD content was smoother and less jagged, since four smaller pixels now do the job of one pixel.
-Blue ray also looked sharper with clearer detail in busy scenes.
-The least amount of improvement was on much poorer original quality YouTube videos. But when looking at YouTube samples of Sony 4K video in original quality, the difference was apparent.
-The most striking improvement on visual quality on UHD is looking at your digital photos. UHD resolution is equivalent to an 8 megapixel camera, compared to a 2 megapixel camera of full HD screens, so even most smartphone pictures today will look much sharper on UHD.
The push for UHD is just starting, but I expect it to be in full blast in 2014 with newer and cheaper models from all makers.
Last May Sony Canada’s availability announcement of the 3D UHD XBR-55X900A (55-inch) at $5,499.99 and UHD XBR-65X900A (65-inch) at $7,699.99 are now down to $ 4,499.99 and $5,499.99 respectively.
On a positive note, the Sony UHD models come loaded with the best tier-one technology found in its most expensive HD line. This includes TRILUMINOS display for more vivid picture, Motionflow XR 960 for smooth screen action and beefier X-Reality PRO (and higher 4K X-Reality PRO processors) for better image processing. A similarly loaded HD Sony 55″ W900 Internet TV costs $2,299.99. That’s still a price difference of $2,200 for technology that is ahead of its time for most consumers.
If you are itching to upgrade from your first HD TV, hang on to it a bit longer till next spring.
But then, you should, just for fun, check out a UHD in a store near you. That should fuzzy up your retinas for the 84″ XBR 4K Ultra HD TV showing at the Sony Store at WEM phase 1, starting at $24999.99!
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