The first HDTV broadcast took place almost 19 years ago. Based on the dearth of content announcements at CES last week, it seems like it could be another 19 before 4K broadcasts arrive in your living room.
On one hand, TV makers seem to view 4K TVs as an inevitability, confident that consumers will embrace the higher-definition televisions more enthusiastically than they did the gimmicky 3D models that were the last “next big thing” in home entertainment. On the other hand, many consumers consider 4K hardware a tough sell because the hardware is so far in front of 4K broadcast content.
Are 4K TVs worth buying now? They are if you’re willing to commit several thousand dollars without concern for when mainstream broadcast TV makes the switch. For now, you’ll be limited to small collections of movies and a few TV shows. 4K TVs will also display today’s 1080p content just fine; in many cases, they’ll upscale it to something that looks close to 4K.
4K TVs: (Still) the next big thing
The hardware is certainly available. All the major TV manufacturers announced high-end 4K models at CES this year. One bonus: while 1080p content tends to look worse on larger screens, 4K content should help keep images looking sharp as screen sizes increase.
Sony launched nine 4K models with up screens up to 85 inches; Sharp launched its 4K line with models from 43- to 80 inches. So did Panasonic. Samsung committed to 4K with a technology it calls SUHD, announcing three categories of TVs with screen sizes ranging from 48- to 88 inches. And LG is bringing its OLED and “quantum dot” technology to the 4K generation.
Many of the 4K televisions being sold are “smart TVs,” meaning they have Internet connectivity and graphical user interfaces for…
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