Pixel Madness and Other Ramblings

When the subject turns to the ever evolving world of digital media, I am often asked about 4K and how do I feel about it replacing 3D.
My simple response is that it hasn’t. 4K and 3D play very well together. They are intertwined. 3D is not exclusive of 4K. In fact, many 3D productions are recorded using 4K cameras.

I love 4K and I love 3D. BTW, all the 4K sets feature 3D and the ability to upscale regular old HD (1920×1080) to glorious 4K.
And 4K isn’t new. RED pioneered 4K.  Sony, Canon, JVC and even GoPro have 4K cameras. Blackmagic is just about to start shipping the most affordable 4K camera on the market so far.

One could say that pixel madness is sweeping the country.
To me more precise, pixel madness is the newest marketing darling.
What is driving this?

One thing, for sure, is sales. The good old fashion mentality that,  “everybody needs (and will buy) the newest whiz-bang tech”, grab for the dollar( insert, pound, euro, yen or currency of choice). Manufacturers desperately need ongoing sales. In defense, companies have to fuel their bottom line to stay in business.
I love new tech. But how far does this go?

Never mind that 4K is 4096x 2304 pixels and  UltraHD is 3840 x 2160 pixels. What’s a few pixels between friends?
Are manufacturers  pushing new tech too fast and too soon?
Should 4K have been held at bay until we actually have a way of broadcasting it?
Where is 4K Blu-rays ? Maybe they will have to rename them Platinum-rays?

How do you compress it to a reasonable rate to stream it via the existing infrastructure?
How do you store and edit the huge file sizes?
Unless you are living in a tech vacuum, you have heard about H.265.
But it still has development issues and has not been implemented yet. No doubt it will be rolled out before it is fully ready and you and I will pay for the privilege of paying to be beta testers.

The TV sets are chugging out slowly and at prices meant to recoup large percentages of the R&D dollars  spent.
LG laid claim to, “the First 84” Ultra HD”. Priced initially at $24,000 then soon dropping to $19,000. Right now, Amazon lists it for $16,999.
Sony is charging hard with 55″ ,  65″ and 85″ XBR Ultra TV’s with prices starting at a mere $4999. The 84″ though goes for $24,000.
Samsung lists an 85″ Ultra HD marvel at a whopping $39,999. In many countries, you could buy a house for that. Not to be outdone, the tiny 55″ and 65″ will cost “below” $10K.

Sharp has bypassed 4K for the present, instead opting to promote a monstrous 90″ HDTV retailing for $10,999.99. Along with that are baby brothers  the 70″, 60″and 50″.
Amazon won’t show you the price unless you add it to your cart. Then they reveal the $7887.21 price. (Whoops, I think that’s a spoiler).
The one exception is Seiki who is skipping the early adopters and going straight for the smaller wallets with 4K TV’s starting at  $699 for a 39″ 4K set.

Pixel madness at it’s finest…
I can’t wait, 8K is fast on 4K’s heels.
What’s over that next hill, 16k?
Why not just jump to 24k, then it’s all pure gold, isn’t it? — Al Caudullo