CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2014 ushers era of 4K Ultra-HD

CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2014 has officially ushered in the era of 4K (Ultra-HD). While the video format also known as Ultra HD made its first big splash at last year's show, the TVs were expensive, the technology wasn't fully formed, and the question of content hadn't been properly answered.

The 4K picture is now much clearer. All the major TV manufacturers unveiled notable 4K TVs at several screen sizes (including a monstrous 120-inch set). Prices have ramped down, with entry-level sets as low as $999 (and from brands you've actually heard of). The sets now sport HDMI 2.0 connectors, meaning they're fully compatible with everything the 4K format can throw at them, including frame rates up to 60fps.
 
Most importantly, we got more content. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was arguably 4K's biggest evangelist, popping up at the press conferences of LG and Sony. Hastings didn't show up just to promote the availability of 4K on Netflix, but to announce the company would stream it in a way that doesn't choke the Internet.

We also saw Sony step up the native 4K offerings in its Video Unlimited downloading service. Amazon and M-Go both promised they would begin offering 4K content this year. Comcast announced a partnership with Samsung to bring 4K to its TVs. Even YouTube got in on the action, announcing a way to stream 4K using less bandwidth and lining up hardware partnerships to make it happen.

While it'll be a few months before most of the new TVs go on sale, and even longer for the content to truly arrive, the trend line is clear: 4K is on the rise. At CES 2014 the format has achieved a kind of critical mass — the question is no longer if 4K will ever become commonplace, but when.

That inevitability was never a given. Just a few years ago, 3D TV was the darling of CES. Manufacturers created impressive technology, brought many 3D TVs to market and even managed to ink a few content deals. However, the buying public never rallied behind 3D, and the tech — though still around — is downplayed as a mere feature rather than a highlight in the sets that have it.

4K is a different animal, though. Increased pixel resolution bestows a clear benefit to an image that everyone can understand, and Retina-level screens on phones and tablets have shown those benefits to users. It also helps that most content coming out of Hollywood is already shot in 4K (or even higher resolution), so the format isn't starting from scratch.

There are still important questions to be answered about 4K, though. Although more content is slowly becoming available, there's still no broadcast standard for 4K (there isn't even one for 1080p), nor for cable and satellite. There's also no disc format, which would be the most reliable way to get a 4K picture (so-called 4K Blu-ray discs are still 1080p, "remastered" from a 4K original).

It's also questionable whether consumers will really understand the benefits of 4K. Certainly, more pixels translate into a sharper picture, but at smaller screen sizes, the difference is negligible. You really need a 65-inch or larger set to see any benefit from the format — that is, unless you're going to watch with your face right up to the screen.

Those issues need to be addressed, but they won't hold 4K back from becoming the future of video. Will every screen be 4K in the future? No. But it will become the new standard in high-res video, what 1080p is today. And CES 2014 will be looked back upon as its point of no return.

Culled from Mashable!