CALGARY- Move over 3D: the new television in town is all about 4K.
New technology has recently hit the market, which is all about a sharper and clearer image. 4K has a higher screen resolution than HD, and four times as many pixels.
“The TV does do its best to do some up conversion and bring it up to near 4K,” explains Sony’s Joey Jacob. “It is definitely better than watching on a non 4K set for sure.”
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The upgrade doesn’t come cheap. Sony’s 55 and 65 inch models are $5,500 and $7,700 respectively, or an 84 inch version that goes for a staggering $25,000. Programming choices are also limited at this point.
“There’s a few things available. If you go to YouTube and look up 4K there’s some content you can stream,” Jacob suggests. “The TVs do a really good job of upscaling any non 4K content, so putting a Blu-ray disc in for example and just playing it, and letting the TV do the up conversion.”
Tech experts add that the industry is working to make 4K more accessible.
“The trouble is delivering it to the consumer. Right now, the free HD over the air doesn’t have enough bandwidth for it, even through the cable, telco or satellite companies,” explains SAIT’s Wayne Watson. “It’s a lot more bandwidth for them to deliver, which might mean they can’t deliver as many channels.
“So it’s a little ways away from delivery to the consumer yet.”
Currently, Sony is the only major company offering 4K TVs for consumers, but as the technology grows more manufacturers are expected to follow suit.
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