OVERTHEPAST20
years, the“parlorwall”
TVfirst imaginedby
writerRayBradbury
in the1950shascome
to fruition.Thenew
state-of-the-big-screen-art isUltraHigh
Definition (UHD),or“4K” television.UHD
is the latestandsharpestdevelopment
inaresolutionrevolution thatprovides
evenmorepixels,or tinypictureelements,
onyourscreen.4KTVprovidesareso-
lution3,840pixelswideby2,160pixels
high— four times theresolutionofyour
previouslyacceptable1080p full-HDTV.
SoshouldyouditchyourcurrentTVset
in favorofa4Kmodel?Even ifyoudon’t, is
everyoneelsegoing todoso?Theanswer is
adefinite“maybe.”
CHALLENGESTO4K
Whatwasa trickleof4KUHD televisions
hasbecomeacrestingwave.According to
theConsumerElectronicsAssociation,
shipmentsof4KUHDdisplayswereex-
pected toreach fourmillion in2015, a208
percent increase from thepreviousyear.
In fact, growth in4KTVsales isexpected
to followaclassic“hockeystick”curve.
U.S.4KTVownershipwillgrow from just
1percent in2014 to10percent in2016 to
nearly50percentby2020, according to
StrategyAnalytics.
BlackFridaymayhavepushed the
curvehigher.AsInternet“blockbusters”
andshopping trips toCostcoandBest
Buyshowed,majorretailersarealready
dumping theirnewbut“obsolete”1080p
HDTVsets in favorofUHDmodels. (At
Thanksgiving,Costcowasblowingouta
48-inchSamsung1080pTV thatnormally
retailedat$579 for just$379.On theUHD
TheNextBigThing
Anewgenerationofhigh-defTVspromises todrawusaway
fromourpersonaldevices—maybe
TECHNOLOGY
ByMichaelGoldstein
4K iscertain tobecomeasubiquitousasHD.
ILLUSTRATION
HARRYCAMPBELL
66
FEBRUARY2016
AMERICANWAY
