4K TV’s Have Arrived. What Does This Mean for You?

So here in the land of 2013 most people have moved from their old clunky low resolution TV’s, have a fairly large, flat 1080p screen sitting in their homes and are for the most part pretty happy with their pixel enriched existences. Well wouldn’t you know that just when the average TV consumer has caught up with the best commercial television experience available a brand new technology comes careening around the corner to change the television watching game once again? 4k TVs have arrived and they’re going to change the way you feel about your suddenly old school 1080p TV.

 So what exactly are the new 4k TVs and what does it mean for you?  

Unlike the introduction of HD digital televisions which required a switch from analog to digital broadcasting there will be no new shift in TV broadcasting that will actually require you to ditch your current TV. You’ll be able to use your TV for years to come if that’s what you want. However, if you’re into having the latest TV tech in your home you’re going to love the new 4K experience.

At its most basic, 4K TV is a new TV technology that has 4 times the resolution of current 1080p HD TVs. The way it accomplishes the extra resolution is by holding 4 times the pixels of current 1080p screens. So right now, while you’re 1080p screen is rocking 2 million pixels an 4K TV has 8 Million pixels. A pixel is simply a point of illumination. What this means to people like you and me is that with more pixels there are more points inside the picture that are able to hold the picture. More pixels means more detail, more depth and color so 4K TVs have 4 times the detail, 4 times the depth and 4 times the color of a 1080p TV.

One of the benefits of the extra depth is that you can sit closer to the TV set if you choose and still be able to clearly see what’s happening on the screen. In addition to being able to sit close if you’re about to drop some big bucks on a super big screen 1080p screen you might want to wait for the 4k screens, here’s why: The extra pixels in 4K TV’s are way better on super large TV’s.  In effect there are more pixels to fill the screen. With say a 100 inch 1080p screens containing only two million pixels there can be a sense of loss when it comes to color and depth of field while the 4K TVs and with their 8 million pixels really fill the screen really well.   

Naturally, since there are precious few movies or TV shows actually shot in this brand new medium the good folks at Sony have promised us that it will automatically up convert older images into the 4K standard. In addition, Sony is pushing for the creation of native 4K content that will be streaming to your TV in the near future. 

If you’re an early adopter who likes to get the latest TV  technologies into their homes as soon as it hits the local retailer then you should be pretty darn delighted by the new technologies however, if you like to stand on the sidelines and wait for the game to play out a bit before you jump in you might be able to win the game as well, here’s why: 8K TV technology has been developed and could soon displace 4K TV’s the way that 1080p replaced 720p HD TV’s a few years back. 

Amber Chalmers is a professional blogger that provides consumers with advice and information for home entertainment and security systems. She writes for Phoenix Home Entertainment, a Memphis home entertainment services company.