Business -- 13 days ago
Tech – Will 4K change the way we watch television forever?
Words: Violet
Just as we were all getting acclimatised to HD and LED TVs something new comes up – it’s name; 4K. I know what you’re thinking – “Didn’t we just have the big TV revolution? I can’t be bothered with this new money spinner!” If the tech geeks are to be believed though, this is another big step forward and just as BlueRay, HD or plasma became a household prerequisites – 4K will become completely unavoidable.
The basic specifications of 4K can go a long way to explaining why it is seemingly a huge step forward. The resolution of a full HD TV is 1920 x 1080 pixels (though many people will probably have lower resolution HD TVs). The resolution of a 4K has a minimum of 3840 x 2160 making it the equivalent of two HD screens in height and length. In terms of pixels per frame then it is obviously a huge advancement.
The most exciting thing about 4K is how it can change the way we watch films. I’ve got used to hearing the term ‘home cinema system’ – though I’ve never actually seen one. The fact is, even with the big screen HD TVs, watching a movie just ain’t the same as being in the big screen. That may all be about to change – for real this time. Have you ever noticed that when you watch a great, visually spectacular film like The Bourne Identity at the cinema it just isn’t the same when you buy the DVD and watch it at home? Sure, a bit of that is due to to the size of the screen but it’s mainly because of the actual picture. 35 mm film and its digital equivalents can actually be converted into 4K resolution without losing much of the texture, saturation and colour refinement. With an HD conversion, you stand to lose a great deal of those subtleties – hence the traditional difference in quality between the big screen and the small. It may be film obsessives like myself then who end up being the first converts to 4K.
Unfortunately there are two great issues with 4K that have been little reported and may yet put a dent into the revolution. The first one is to do with the various industries that would utilise the 4K technology; broadcasters and studios. The internet is awash with rumours that many of these companies may forgo the advancement and wait instead to upgrade to 8K when it comes out in the distant future.
The main issue, however, is to do with how far one should sit away from their TV screens: this is something I wasn’t aware of but apparently, as a rule of thumb, you should watch your HD TV from the distance of three times the height of the television. For example if your TV is 60 cm high, you would watch it from 1.8 meters away. Now I suspect that most of us will actually watch their TVs from a greater distance and therefore it will come as a shock to hear that the recommended viewing distance with a 4K TV is only one and half times the height of the TV! Therefore, watching a 60 cm high, 4K TV you would have to watch from 90 centimetres away to get the ‘recommended’ experience!
It’s fair to assume that people are not going to be rearranging their living rooms just to accommodate 4K television. Therefore buyers that sit the regular distance away from the television may find that their viewing experience stays the same – or possibly even gets worse! It seems fair to assume that if that fact becomes common knowledge, many will think twice before purchasing a 4K TV. Having said that 3D, the most unnecessary and unwanted visual entertainment development in history is still kicking around so who knows…
By Guy de Vito
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