Ultra HD TVs Are On The Way......8 Gs Apiece.....

[Hardrock69]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/next-step-tv-evolution-paying-033800611.html


TOKYO—Persuading consumers to trade in bulky old-school televisions for slim, high-definition models was a huge success story for the TV industry. Now manufacturers are angling to kick off another buying spree.

They are gearing up to promote what the industry calls "ultra high-definition" televisions, or UHDTVs, which promise four times the resolution of existing TVs and are likely to be a hot topic at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Such TVs create images using more than eight million pixels, compared with about two million pixels of today's full high-definition televisions. At the moment, however, a major obstacle stands between consumers and sharper pictures: price.

Sony Corp. and LG Electronics, for example, have introduced 84-inch ultra high-definition sets priced at $25,000 and $20,000, respectively. Toshiba Corp. has announced a 55-inch set in Japan for ¥750,000, or $8,700. UHDTVs are expensive because they use a new liquid-crystal-display panel that requires a greater degree of precision from component manufacturers. So far, the manufacturing efficiency for such panels is low, but production quality is expected to improve over time.

The stratospheric price tags—often the case with new technology—don't worry some industry watchers, who recall that HDTV sets, cellphones and other products were initially out of reach of most consumers but became hits as prices declined. In this case, they add, consumers have come to appreciate the benefits of higher resolution on TVs, tablets and smartphones.

"If you're a consumer, you'll pay more for a technology that you understand," said Paul Gagnon, director of North American TV research at NPD DisplaySearch, a research and consulting firm. "And in the case of higher resolution, that's a very easy thing to understand."

That said, there are also reasons for skepticism. Since the HDTV sales wave crested in the last decade, TV makers have tried to slow the unrelenting fall in prices and profit margins by introducing premium models with new technologies such as 3-D or Web connectivity. Those technologies have become common features on mainstream TVs but haven't reversed the downward price spiral.

Very little content has been created specifically for home viewing on ultra high-definition televisions. Meanwhile, early adopters will have to settle for high-definition footage that is adapted, or "upscaled," for the new sets—though proponents say the results look better than upscaled programming first did on HDTVs.

The new format is arriving as consumers clamor for ever-larger televisions. When the early high-definition displays hit the market in the early 2000s, the main class of televisions was around 30 inches in size.

When the bulk of television sizes shifted to more than 40 inches and 50 inches several years ago, TV makers introduced full high-definition displays packing twice as many pixels. Now screen sizes are creeping above 60 and 70 inches, and TV makers again want to add more.

UHDTVs are also known by the moniker "4K" for the roughly 4,000 pixels in the screen measured horizontally, which is roughly twice the resolution.

The greater density allows viewers to sit closer without seeing the effect called pixilation that can appear at times on lower-resolution TVs. Also, it may allow viewers to turn to the television for new purposes, such as reading the news.

"As the trend to larger screen sizes continues, the ability to make that picture more and more realistic from any viewing distance is valuable," said Tim Alessi, director of new-product development at LG Electronics USA. "It's a natural transition."

By 2017, NPD DisplaySearch estimates UHDTVs will account for only 2% of all LCD TVs sold but will represent 22% of all televisions over 50 inches in size. (LCD is the current, widely used technology for TVs.)

Hollywood is beginning to embrace 4K video cameras and 4K movie projectors. Around 60 recent movies—including the latest James Bond film, "Skyfall"—have been offered in the higher resolution, but if a theater doesn't have the 4K projector, the movie will look like a regular HD film.

Sony, which introduced a 4K digital-video camera last year and controls about 10% of the digital 4K-projector segment, said it has built up the industry's largest database of 4K video through its work with Hollywood and its early research on the technology.

"From now on, we'll continue to move 4K from professional use to consumer use by expanding and introducing additional products," said Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai at a news conference in April.

A big question is how quickly television manufacturers will bring down prices. The introduction of full high-definition televisions in the mid-2000s provides a model for how quickly prices can decline. A 40-inch, high-definition television, which cost about $4,800 in 2005, sold for about $560 in 2012, according to NPD DisplaySearch.

There should be no shortage of competing 4K set makers to help push prices down, at least to judge by expected activity at the CES. Westinghouse Digital LLC is planning to show, besides conventional sizes, a 110-inch UHDTV set available for custom order in the first quarter; pricing hasn't been announced.

Samsung Electronics Co., Sharp Corp., and four Chinese manufacturers including Haier Group and Hisense Group also are expected to debut ultra high-definition televisions this year.

While hopes run high, manufacturers don't see UHDTV as a silver bullet to cure the industry's ills. Without changing how consumers see the television and its value, 4K—like 3-D before it—may not do much to help TV makers, said Atsushi Murasawa, general manager of Toshiba's strategic-planning division.

And no one is assuming a surge of the magnitude that accompanied the advent of high definition, when revenue from U.S. wholesale sales rose nearly fourfold between 2003 and the 2008 sales peak, says the Consumer Electronics Association.

"HDTV was like your first love," says Gary Shapiro, the group's chief executive. "Nothing will be as good as that."

[Hardrock69]

Do NOT buy Westinghouse LCD or LED TVs. They suck fucking ass! Buy Sony or Samsung.

[DONNIEP]

Sony rules and rules ALL!!

[Little Texan]

Are Sanyos still good tv's? We had one that lasted over 20 years and is just now starting to crap out, but it is a crt. Sanyo never had the best picture but they lasted forever. I don't know anything about the new flat screen Sanyos.

[Hardrock69]

Well, don't try to sell your CRT.

You can't even give them away now.

Seriously.

But Sony and Samsung build the highest-quality LED and LCD TVs these days. I don't even think Sanyo is in the market for TVs anymore.

[Nickdfresh]

Sony rules and rules ALL!!

In 1998, maybe...

[Little Texan]

Well, don't try to sell your CRT.

You can't even give them away now.

Seriously.

But Sony and Samsung build the highest-quality LED and LCD TVs these days. I don't even think Sanyo is in the market for TVs anymore.

I gave it to my mom and she's been using it in her room, and it's started to crap out on her since she's had it. My tv is an RCA that I bought at a garage sale for $2 and paid to have fixed, and it's still working fine. I don't know if I even want one of these new tv's. I understand they aren't really worth having unless you have HD programming.

[ashstralia]

yeah, we only have digital now. i gave my old toshiba crt to a mate and he hooked up a 49 buck set top box, still goes great.

and his grandkids use it for gaming when they come over. at least it's not landfill!!

[Hardrock69]

If you get an HD tv, yes, you need to get a high-quality one. SD content will look like shit on a low-end HD TV (like Westinghouse).
A higher quality HD TV will have better conversion circuitry for displaying SD stuff, and it will look fine.

CRT screens are fucking great quality. Just too damn heavy and use too much electricity.
I could not even sell my 27" Phillips CRT, which I bought brand new in 2007 for $350, for 20 fucking dollars a couple of months back.
I gave it to a good friend.

[twonabomber]

Retro gamers will be looking for those old CRT's. The old Ataris and ColecoVisions sometimes don't look right on an LCD.

I still have a 21 inch stereo Magnavox that I bought in '91. The tuner went bad but the composite input still works, so it's not completely useless. Works well as a guest bedroom TV.

[Nickdfresh]

yeah, we only have digital now. i gave my old toshiba crt to a mate and he hooked up a 49 buck set top box, still goes great.

and his grandkids use it for gaming when they come over. at least it's not landfill!!

I still have my old Toshiba SDTV. It had a pretty good picture that rivaled HDTV's, but still massive and needs to go!

[Nickdfresh]

If you get an HD tv, yes, you need to get a high-quality one. SD content will look like shit on a low-end HD TV (like Westinghouse).
A higher quality HD TV will have better conversion circuitry for displaying SD stuff, and it will look fine.

CRT screens are fucking great quality. Just too damn heavy and use too much electricity.
I could not even sell my 27" Phillips CRT, which I bought brand new in 2007 for $350, for 20 fucking dollars a couple of months back.
I gave it to a good friend.

LOL I just learned to use an HDMI cable!

[envy_me]

Not to generalize, but why are the men always the ones obsessed with these things. Resolution, sound, big screen.. I liked the old TVs better. I see no difference in anything except that my cats could sleep on the back of those old tvs when they got warm.
I also miss VCR.

[twonabomber]

Because nothing exceeds like excess. Or, to dumb it down, too much is never enough.

[envy_me]

Because nothing exceeds like excess. Or, to dumb it down, too much is never enough.

Oh.. Like with shoes? :D

[twonabomber]

As long as I'm not buying them, sure.

[Nickdfresh]

Not to generalize, but why are the men always the ones obsessed with these things. Resolution, sound, big screen.. I liked the old TVs better. I see no difference in anything except that my cats could sleep on the back of those old tvs when they got warm.
I also miss VCR.

I only have a 22" HDTV, but it's 1080. It's not the size, it's how you use it! I'm not paying the excessive cable bills here without at least maximizing the experience. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of staring at a TV all night...

[Hardrock69]

Well, I can't have HD DirecTV, so for now I am limited to SD programming. I also joined the Blu-Ray nation in the past month. So for movies I can have HD. And a friend is sending me a Roku box. Boy I am gonna have fun with that.

[Zing!]

Looking to put a new 40" or so TV in the basement- would like it to be Netflix capable. Any suggestions on what's best for around $400-$500 range?

[chefcraig]

Looking to put a new 40" or so TV in the basement- would like it to be Netflix capable. Any suggestions on what's best for around $400-$500 range?

Your truest bet is to go to a local library and ask for the December issue of Consumer Reports. It was a "best-of" issue, yet failing that, if you look in the back of the magazine, there is an index that will tell you which month a more in depth study was performed. Then you simply have the librarian dig that issue out for you.

Unfortunately, the magazine's evaluations are not available on line, and to me, CR is the authority on electronics.

Hope this helps ya out.

[Hardrock69]

Google. But in general, Sony or Samsung are the best brands to get. And these days you can get wi-fi capable blu-ray players for under 70 bucks. So even if your TV is not a smart TV, you can always get a blu-ray that will do the job.

[ZahZoo]

Well, I can't have HD DirecTV, so for now I am limited to SD programming. I also joined the Blu-Ray nation in the past month. So for movies I can have HD. And a friend is sending me a Roku box. Boy I am gonna have fun with that.

One thing to consider if you don't want to spring for HD satellite/cable service... a lot of the newer home theater receivers have an up-covert circuit built into it. This will covert any SD signal to something much closer to HD no matter what the source is. You can find decent ones in the $300-500 range.

This is also becoming standard on a lot of low-end DVD/Blu-ray players... which improves your old pre-HD DVD picture quality.

[Nickdfresh]

Your truest bet is to go to a local library and ask for the December issue of Consumer Reports. It was a "best-of" issue, yet failing that, if you look in the back of the magazine, there is an index that will tell you which month a more in depth study was performed. Then you simply have the librarian dig that issue out for you.

Unfortunately, the magazine's evaluations are not available on line, and to me, CR is the authority on electronics.

Hope this helps ya out.

Meh, maybe for TV's. But the buffoons at CR know as much about audio as the farts coming out of their ass. They have no clue when it comes to high end stuff like speakers and receivers and I've learned to strongly suspect them as arbitrary and unqualified on many things at best, and possibly very biased and corrupt at worst...

[ELVIS]

Well, I can't have HD DirecTV, so for now I am limited to SD programming.

Maybe if you pay your mommy the rent you owe her she will let you have HD...

[ELVIS]

the buffoons at CR know as much about audio as the farts coming out of their ass.

Something we agree on...:biggrin:

[ELVIS]

BTW, 1080 is a selling point...

99% of all programming, be it satellite or cable or air is broadcast in 720...

Only Blue Ray and a a few select games as well as select programming is 1080...

If a program is broadcast in 1080 they advertise it during that particular program, like the Super Bowl, for example...

I have a 52" Samsung plasma 720 that was one of the highest rated affordable TVs early last year and it's awesome...


:elvis:

[Hardrock69]

I am well aware of the upconverting capabilities. My blu-ray has this.

And Elvis, shut your fucking asshole. You are a worthless fucking piece of shit.

[ELVIS]

Isn't that your mom calling ??


















Softcock!!!!!

























I think I heard it again...












































Softcock!!!!!!!!!
















:biggrin:

[Hardrock69]

I cannot have DirecTV HD at my house due to line of sight issues. Too many trees.

[ELVIS]

Cut 'em down...

[Hardrock69]

Check THIS SHIT out.....

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130201PR204.html



Ultra HD TVs to have breakout year in 2013; market forecast to reach 7 million in 2016, says DisplaySearch
Press release, February 1; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Friday 1 February 2013]

More than half a million Ultra HD (3840 by 2160) TVs are forecast to ship worldwide in 2013, growing to more than seven million by 2016, according to research firm DisplaySearch. The Ultra HD TV trend was first seen at IFA 2012 and continued at the 2013 International CES, as TV manufacturers search for the next technology transition to attract consumers to upgrade their current TVs.

The display industry is racing to launch more Ultra HD screen sizes and to mobilize production in larger volumes, with even OLED Ultra HD sets being demonstrated. Sony, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, and Sharp are all moving forward with this technology, along with other Japan-based brands, the six leading China-based brands, and value-oriented brands such as Vizio and Funai. In addition to vertical integration by the major players, merchant panel suppliers such as AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux Corporation are working with several manufacturers on Ultra HD technology. Initial efforts in test broadcasting and standardization are also underway, said the firm.

"The efforts throughout the supply chain for Ultra HD have begun to align," said DisplaySearch researcher Paul Gray. "Panel makers are producing Ultra HD screen sizes ranging from 50- to 110-inch, and there is also a push to increase TV content. The availability of content is key to consumer adoption of Ultra HD TVs, and TV manufacturers are anxious to prevent any potential delays that could stall adoption, as was the case with 3D TVs."

Gray added, "As a result, investments are beginning to ensure that Ultra HD content is readily available to consumers. Several announcements about proprietary Ultra HD streaming and download services were made at CES; however, satellite and cable services from established providers will take some time."

China is forecast to lead in demand for Ultra HD TVs, with shipments forecast to grow from 333,000 in 2013 to more than 2.6 million in 2016. North America is forecast to follow, with just over two million forecast to ship in 2016, noted DisplaySearch.

"Initially, we expect to see the highest Ultra HD adoption in China, Japan and Western Europe, as these regions typically prefer the latest highly-featured products," noted Gray. "On the other hand, North American consumers are generally more likely to delay purchases of new technology, like Ultra HD, until prices fall. However, because demand is heavily skewed towards large screens in this market, there is a significant opportunity."

[Hardrock69]

http://www.zdnet.com/will-you-watch-super-bowl-xlvii-in-4k-ultra-hd-7000010710/


Will you watch Super Bowl XLVII in 4K Ultra HD?

Summary: The answer is "no", but not for the reasons you might think.


The Dawn of Ultra HD

This year’s International Consumer Electronics Show was dominated by the rollout of Ultra High Definition TVs (UHD). These new TVs are capable of rendering content at as high as 3840x2160 lines of resolution, or 4K, with some TVs in the $25,000 range. We even saw TVs at 7680X4320 resolution, or 8K.

Every TV manufacturer of note showcased some type of UHD technology at the show. Early reports state there will be 7 million UHD TVs in the market within the next three years (NPD). And while it may take a while for prices to come down for widespread market penetration, companies like Westinghouse are already touting units for as little as $2,499 for a 50" set, as reported by TWICE.

Is it Real?

As with most new technology rollouts, the viability of UHD is being hotly debated. Skeptics seem to view UHD as an unnecessary marketing ploy by consumer electronics companies focused on getting consumers to buy bigger and better technologies they don’t really need.

Arguments from this camp rally around things such as a lack of UHD content, the consumer’s inability to perceive appreciable quality differences in home viewing settings and a dearth of enabling technologies needed to make UHD a reality. For the skeptics, UHD smells like 3D TV all over again.

Proponents of the technology appear to view UHD as the next logical and indeed inevitable evolution of the TV viewing experience and have made the argument that UHD has broader applications than 3D as there is no special equipment necessary and it is not constrained to specific content genres.

Additionally, UHD provides a superior viewing experience more closely matched to commercial content capture and already has sufficient content because existing HD content can be up-scaled to look even better on UHD TVs.

Proponents also admit that the rollout out will take years, but that UHD is as inevitable as HD was many years ago.

Having seen many of the UHD TVs on the CES show floor, I can report that they looked good – really good. Even 1080p content up-scaled on higher-end UHD TV’s looked noticeably better, giving companies with superior scaling algorithms a distinct advantage.

I was also surprised by the number of manufacturers on the floor showcasing market-ready 4K cameras for the pro, prosumer, and home consumer segments.

It would appear that content availability won’t be the largest limiting factor in the UHD equation. In fact, CBS is already shooting in 4K and will be using six 4K cameras during its coverage of the Super Bowl XLVII this Sunday, as reported in TV Technology.

These 4K cameras will be capturing all the vital moments of the game and serve as the most sophisticated replay system to date; making it possible to capture close-ups in fine detail without blur or pixilation and ensuring the officials don't blow a call.

If memory serves, it was the NFL’s and other sports leagues deployment of HD that was the key catalyst for market adoption of that technology.

The Real Problem

So if UHD TVs are ready to ship and the broadcasters are ready to shoot in 4K, when we will we actually watch the game in UHD at home?

Not soon.

Admittedly there are some foundational technology challenges with data compression, chip design, device heat dissipation and so on. However these problems are fixable and solutions are already in the works.

The problem is delivering the signal.

Those that recall the rollout of digital television will recall a jumble of numbers and letters: 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p -- it was enough to make your head spin. These different formats represented the variety of resolutions possible with the new digital format.

Simply put, the higher the resolution the better the picture and the bigger the signal. A big issue at this time was that the pipes that delivered the TV signal to your living room could only handle so much information. Stakeholders battled over a trade-off between picture performance and maximizing bandwidth. The result was a very messy rollout.

The good news is that a resolution standard has been set for Ultra HD, so manufacturers and content creators can rally behind 4K and make the appropriate investments.

The bad news is that bandwidth is even more of an issue for UHD. Four times the issue. In fact, the current infrastructure will simply not be able to handle the data size required to deliver a 4K signal to your home.

Here at the BitTorrent tower, we've tackled this issue before. The BitTorrent protocol was invented to solve problems exactly like this – to create a more reliable, durable, and efficient Internet capable of delivering vast amounts of data.

The application of BitTorrent to UHD is obvious – and may be the only viable solution for delivering 4K broadcasts with fidelity and efficiency in existence.

This dovetails nicely with the fact that we’ve been working with the consumer electronics industry since 2008 through our BitTorrent Certification program, helping manufacturers to leverage the speed of the BitTorrent protocol and key downloading, transcoding, sharing and media-shifting features. As the introduction of UHD starts to take shape, we look forward to working with the industry to make this a reality for consumers.

So no, we won't be watching the Super Bowl in Ultra HD this year. But maybe the FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil in 2014, even if it's in 8K.

[Nitro Express]

China has surpassed the US as being the world's biggest car market and they will continue to be a big consumer goods market. The US made the mistake of becoming a war economy and like Eisenhower warned,"We will go broke trying to keep us safe." Every time I go to Shanghai the city is better. It's clean. People drive new cars. The people are dressed nice. No bums or beggars in the streets. The service is good. I even think the pollution has gotten better than it was. It's a far cry from what it was in 1981. China has high speed rail all over and in 81 it was coal burning locomotives and hardly anyone had a car. They were still wearing the Mao suits.

[Nitro Express]

Not to generalize, but why are the men always the ones obsessed with these things. Resolution, sound, big screen.. I liked the old TVs better. I see no difference in anything except that my cats could sleep on the back of those old tvs when they got warm.
I also miss VCR.

It's just the opposite at our house. I could care less about watching TV or movies and my wife has to have the home theater with the big comfy chairs and big sound system and she's into all the technical stuff. She did buy a Sony TV.

[Nickdfresh]

BTW, 1080 is a selling point...

99% of all programming, be it satellite or cable or air is broadcast in 720...

...
:elvis:

This is true. But Monday Night Football looks gorgeous, prolly so will the Superbowl if I don't get inebriated and watch is somewhere else...

[Nickdfresh]

China has surpassed the US as being the world's biggest car market

No shit! They have about a billion more people than us...


...and they will continue to be a big consumer goods market.

You make that sound ominous, like it's a bad thing. That's great! The Chinese authorities are already worried that now production is moving offshore to smaller, cheaper countries. And with the rise of fuel prices, more production will come back to the States as shipping costs will make importing goods more expensive...


The US made the mistake of becoming a war economy and like Eisenhower warned,"We will go broke trying to keep us safe." Every time I go to Shanghai the city is better. It's clean. People drive new cars. The people are dressed nice. No bums or beggars in the streets. The service is good. I even think the pollution has gotten better than it was. It's a far cry from what it was in 1981. China has high speed rail all over and in 81 it was coal burning locomotives and hardly anyone had a car. They were still wearing the Mao suits.

Shanghai is "clean?" LOL!

And China is dramatically increasing its military spending and building a blue-water navy...

[Kristy]

Also known as "Organic LED" TV.

$10,000 piles of shit.

[Hardrock69]

Krusty - $2 pile of shit....

[Kristy]

Fuck you, 'tard boy.

[ZahZoo]

Hmmm a thread for F A T Failed TV Viewers...?

[Nickdfresh]

How about losers that claim to be in their 20's and female that stay online 'til Midnight on Saturday night?

[Dan]

Sony,Sony And Sony:D