4K televisions look like tech from a science fiction movie—but they're real. At an ultra high resolution of 3840 x 2160, 4K TVs offer a resolution double that of current high-end 1080p displays. Many of them are as large as 84 inches diagonally and the prices are every bit as outlandish as you can expect, reserving them for fancy offices and the homes of people with more money than sense—with many of them costing upwards of US$20,000. And that's just a conservative figure.
Despite their large resolution, the image quality on these things is about the same as current TVs, and they aren’t available in OLED displays. That said, they’re impressive because of their size and the detail they offer is unlike anything we’re used to.
You shouldn’t expect the displays to be fully supported by any next-generation console, especially with developers pointing their focus on delivering 1080p experiences at 60 frames-per-second. The requirements imposed by a 4K resolution would make it unlikely to see support from any device short of a full fledged PC gaming rig.
It goes without saying that content delivery is going to be a problem for these devices, as movies (and foreseeably, games) require double the amount of space of current HD content due to the increased resolution. With that in mind, Sony has announced plans to release a solution in the form of a “4K Ultra HD Video Player,” which is a server with plenty of disc space. Sony plans to loan the device to anyone who purchases one of the pricey 4K TVs, in addition to an Xperia Tablet S for use as a remote control.
According to The Verge, the server is set to come preloaded with movies in the 4K resolution from Sony Pictures, including The Amazing Spiderman, Salt, and Taxi Driver. Other movies will be sent to 4K TV owners via the internet, or in the form of Blu-ray discs, which they can then upload to the server.
As for now, 4K displays—much like 3DTVs—are made mostly of hype, and it’ll be a few years before we can expect to get any realistic uses out of them. Don’t hold your breath for any PS4 or next-generation Xbox support for 4K TVs.
