Cellcom |
find my iphone |
first iphone |
iphone 4 |
how much is iPhone |
samsung s4 |
iphone 5s |
iphone 5c |
iphone 5 |
samsung galaxy s3 |
TV lovers, get ready to clear space for new, bigger, curved Ultra HD TVs.
Bigger and wider TVs are on the way.
LG Electronics and Samsung have each announced new 105-inch Ultra HD TV displays, which the Korean-based TV makers plan to officially unveil at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 5.
Both call their new displays the first and largest curved Ultra HD TVs so far. Each of the LCD displays has 11 million pixels, compared to 2 million in current HDTVs — providing improved resolution over current HDTVs. And the rectangular 21:9 aspect ratio, a shape similar to that of CinemaScope theater screens, is wider than current 16:9 widescreen HDTVs.
The extra territory will let viewers watch films in a format more similar to theatrical viewing. Or a portion of the screen will allow information such as social networking updates and smart TV functions to be displayed to the side without eclipsing broadcast footage.
LG's new TV "makes a dramatic statement about what the possibilities are for home entertainment," says Tim Alessi, LG Electronics USA's director of new product development. "Its ... picture resolution and sheer size will deliver a truly cinematic experience."
Neither LG nor Samsung announced pricing or availability. But Samsung's current 85-inch Ultra HD display is priced at $40,000, while LG has a 84-inch Ultra HD display priced at $17,000.
"There will be customers for these, regardless of whether the price is $10,000 or $40,000," says Richard Doherty, director of the Envisioneering Group, a tech consulting firm.
What buyers get from Ultra HD, sometimes referred to as Ultra HD 4K, is four times the resolution of current HD displays. Ultra HD sets will upscale current HD content — on broadcast TV and Blu-ray Discs — to higher resolutions. And Hollywood has begun producing movies and TV series in Ultra HD quality.
Sony currently sells a $700 Video Unlimited 4K movie server that comes with 10 4K movies (The Amazing Spider-Man among them) and lets you rent or buy others. The final season of Breaking Bad is coming soon to the service. Meanwhile, Amazon has announced that all of its 2014 series including The After from Chris Carter (The X-Files) will be shot in 4K.
Netflix will be making the second season of House of Cards available through new 4K TVs expected in stores this March. "We need to solve the chicken-and-the-egg problem," says Netflix chief product officer Neil Hunt. "Until we've got a material base of appropriate devices, it's hard to pursue people to make the content and until you've got a lot of content, it's hard to persuade the device vendors to follow along," he says.
Hunt asked executive producer David Fincher "to really make a statement here and let's get out in front and make (House of Cards) a 4K piece. He was very excited about that."
More content and lower-priced Ultra HDs will drive consumer adoption, Doherty says. "You are going to appreciate this in the average sized living room," he says. "I think it's safe to say that any household that can afford a $3,000 4K set (will have access to) tens of hours of content this (coming) calendar year."
These aren't LG or Samsung's first curved sets; both along with Sony have delivered curved displays. And, despite the newly announced displays' size, they are not the biggest TVs ever — Panasonic has brought a 152-inch plasma display to market. AndVizio began selling a wider 21:9 display last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment