Ultra HD displays are the new face of television. They are the new wave of high definition televisions set to overtake the old Full HD models. They offer more megapixels per image and a drastically higher screen resolution. In this article we will be looking at the differences between two types of displays (the Ultra HD and the 4K). We will also try to answer the question of whether or not Ultra HD is necessary. And finally, we will be looking at the future of Ultra HD.
Ultra HD vs 4K: What's the Difference?
What defines a Full HD television is its 1920 x 1080 screen resolution and the 2 megapixels it uses for imaging. The new Ultra HD and the 4K will be able to beat this by 4 times, offering 8 megapixels for the images they project. The screen resolutions on both the Ultra HD and the 4K are also significantly higher than that of the old Full HD. The Ultra HD has a 3840 x 2160 screen resolution while the 4K has a 4096 x 2160 screen resolution. Currently the Ultra HD boasts the largest television screens in the industry, coming in at a whopping 84 inches. However, this will be subject to change in the very near future.
Is Ultra HD necessary?
The Ultra HD can provide you with a lot of picture information. In fact, way more than the standard definition format offers. This can mean 2 things: first, that you can have a better image quality as the more pixels it can show the smoother the image becomes and, secondly, the image can be made bigger without losing the quality. You have to ask yourself though, what's too big? Do I need a theater sized television in my house? Can I fit one in there? Apparently the Ultra HD's picture quality is so good though that you can sit up to 1.6 meters from the screen without losing picture quality.
The Future of HD
The Japanese television broadcaster NHK has created a new format known as Super Hi-Vision, which offers around 32 megapixels in imaging and has a pixel resolution of 7680 x 4320. So, as you can see it outnumbers the Ultra HD and 4K significantly. The future of the Super Hi-Vision is somewhat unknown at this time. It has only been used by the BBC for the 2012 Olympics so far (outside of Japan). Whether it becomes a standard format in the future is questionable. As far as the future of Ultra HD is concerned it is hard to say whether it will fully catch on. There are television stations that broadcast it and now Blu-ray players are capable of meeting the specs. However, there will have to be fairly substantial changes made in the very infrastructure of the entertainment and broadcast world in order to ensure its mass compatibility. It is most likely that Ultra HD will enjoy fame among photographers before film enthusiasts as companies are already offering to meet its specs for digital still images.