I believe more than ever that 4K is the future not only of digital cinema, but of television and even portable devices. Red Digital Cinema has firmly implanted 4K+ of pixels as a common acquisition resolution for cinema, especially now with the availability of Scarlet at a unbeatable price point while most other digital cinema cameras are still only HD. Now with Sony’s F65 promising “true” 4K, and Sony bringing a high end “consumer” 4K projector to market, I think the future is clear.
Another clear indicator in my opinion is the current trend of near full HD displays migrating to smaller portable devices. For instance, take the impressive AMOLED 720p screen on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus of only 4.65″, it’s only a small stretch to see that a 1080p screen at a similar size is only a matter of time. Four of those panels equates to a 4K screen at a portable size.
Youtube now supports streaming media at 4K. The technology is already in our hands.
The reason however is not necessity, the reason is that we can sell it and fuel untold billions (trillions even) of dollars of business in cameras, post, data transmission and networking infrastructure, televisions, new portable devices and of course content production.
Since when has need ever really fueled consumption in the digital age?
I was in agreement before I even read the piece. Only 2 out of 7 of our local Television entities (broadcast and cable) even accept HD commercials right now. I guarantee you they are in no mood to bump to 4K in this lifetime. Most people I talk to outside the video trades can’t seem to even get a handle on why HD is better than the old 3/4 analog. Really.
I laugh when I see all these mobile phone outfits showing people walking through crowded city environments while watching movies on their portable screen devices. Really????
I love technology and all but most of the “need” in the digital media universe comes from the people who are selling an ever more dizzying variety of devices. Maybe Hollywood can make money with this stuff but most people I know don’t even have Blu-ray players and most of them tell me it is because THEY CAN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DVD AND A BLU-RAY.
Man, when if confront that issue 4K has a long, long, way to go.
The 4K systems are a guaranteed win at the content creation end. Recall back to when you shot in HD but delivered in SD (in fact, doing that now) and its clear that 4K cameras will have a place even in HD/2K work.
From the manufacturer’s viewpoint, there’s a healthy “because we can” factor here. Given where technology is today, an HD to 4K jump is much simpler than SD to HD. Many cameras shooting HD already have 4K+ imagers… the next generation may need more DSP power for this, but most of the hardware is already close. If there is to be a consumer 4K disc format, BDXL is already out and ready for this, just a few upgrades and a new Bku-ray profile needed.
As for quality, certainly some consumers trade ease for quality… so iPods are popular, so is Netflix streaming. But I think at least part of that is habit.. if you’re used to SD, Netlix at 720p and 3.6Mb/s looks good. If you get used to HD in full on a good screen, this becomes less acceptable.
And thing do evolve. I have one of those Nexus Galaxy phones. If I can’t make out individual pixels on a 4.65″ 720p screen, I’m not sure what 1080p gets me. But, particularly when set fully bright, this is probably the best display overall I have on any device. You might question watching anything on a small screen, but if you have to, this is the one to do it on. Even this kind of tech invading phones tablets, and other computers over time will up the ante, and create more consumer demand for quality.
I agree with you, a time ago 720 SD used to be the TV and support format (DVCAM), now is HD for DVDs and Blu-ray, next step is 4K…
Yup… It’s pretty much a given. The tech is basically here already: big sensors, fast storage devices, high performance video encoders, large panel displays, BDXL discs if we don’t have fast enough networks to skip physical media for next generation consumer delivery. This its all so much more doable now than HD was when that work started.
As well, we have this modern consumer electronics engine at work. In the past, CE companies were content to sell the same model for several years, go with incremental tweaks to a TV or camera design every couple of years. Digital changed that. It was HDTV, followed up pretty quickly by second generation HDTV, Blu-ray, and now 3D. Similar dynamics on the pro side, plus the new factor of HDSLRs as a camcorder alternative. The industry is hungry for more rapid upgrades. 4K is an obvious next move.
And not a hard sell to the pro or videophile. But to the regular consumer? There is a kind of consumer satisfaction threshold that can make “better” a problem. Like better audio… They avoided SACD and DVD-Audio, but flocked to MP3. Blu-ray has done OK, but streaming video, even at a fraction of the quality, its the hot thing in consumer video these days.
You are right. While new sales will drive the companies to produce 4k products, I’m looking forward to the visual treat it will offer my eyes.
4k in my living room? Just be sure to bring the colors and gamut!
All this new tech. ony to sell, when the quality in image a reproduction on 35 .m.m. is the main objetive, sound like a waste of time.
The point is to kown what do you want to say.
Of course , we have to learn, and I hope for a good reason. But we can not forget the art and the reach of the craft in your hands.
Rather than propose simplenes everything became complicate in all the ways: capture , editing, proyection.
Thanks for the thoughts guys, I really appreciate the comments.