At the four front

The latest 84-inch 4K TV, also known as Ultra HD TV, comes with a great display and a steep price tag

 

So now that you’ve got yourself a 75-inch HDTV (high definition television), set up your home theatre and thrown in a comfortable leather couch or two, you think you can’t do better for that ultimate viewing experience at home. Or can you? Well, if you have the money (and that’s a pretty big “if,” as you’ll see later), you can up the game and install an 84-inch 4K TV, also known as Ultra HD TV. Hailed by manufacturers as THE big innovation in television, 4K refers to the 4,000 pixels distributed across the width of the screen and 2,000 across the height, working out to over 8 million pixels on your screen, or a resolution that’s four times that of normal HDTV.

With the advent of LCD and LED (okay, even the plasma screen), the pictures improved dramatically because of the resolutions possible. Standard definition (common non-HD channels) comes at a low resolution, usually 720 x 480 pixels. HD Ready offers 1,280 x 720 pixels, while Full HD has 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The clarity of Full HD transmission hints at the brightness, colours and crispness possible with the Ultra HD resolution of 3,840 x 2,160.  

 

The chatter at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year was reported to have been dominated by the various models of 4K TVs on display. But tech publications, while broadly agreeing that 84-inch 4K TVs offer great display, are a bit more cautious about actually telling you to go out and buy one. And you would agree when you see the price tag — Rs 17 lakh in India. “The prices are too high and the content choices too low for it to really make sense just yet” was the verdict from Wired magazine, while tech website CNET’s Geoffrey Morrison points out that while the 4K resolution is “awesome”, 4K televisions are not, simply because at the distance people sit from their TVs “it’s unlikely you’d be able to tell the difference between between 720p and 1080p, let alone 4K.” Morrison, however, agrees that 4K works well for passive 3D. And if you happen to sit close to your TV.

 

In India, Sony and LG have already launched 84-inch 4K TVs, while Samsung said recently that it would be launching its 85-inch Ultra HD TV in India, though the date and price are yet to be announced. There might be some good news on the price front as well — LG India’s director (home entertainment) Howard Lee confirms that the company would be introducing 4K TVs in other sizes in India this year, which should be priced lower. Sony has also announced that its new 55-inch and 65-inch 4K TVs to be out in stores in the US later this month, would be priced at $4,999 and $6,999, respectively (Rs 2.7 lakh and Rs 3.8 lakh, at current exchange rates), significantly lower than the $25,000 for its 84-inch Bravia KD-84X9005.

There is no clarity on when these variants would be launched in India or how much they would cost here but in a price-sensitive market like ours, it might only be a matter of time. LG India’s Lee also says the company has tried to address the issue of insufficient 4K-specific content by providing an Ultra HD Upscalar in the TV for images that are not high quality. The company would also be introducing its Ultra HD BluRay disc players this year.

SAMSUNG
Model: 85S9
Screen size: 85 inches (mounted on a special frame)
Backlight module: LED
Sound: Four concealed panel speakers of 120 W
Special features:
Active 3D modes, with converter to turn 2D viewing into 3D  
Smart Touch Remote — use gestures to swipe and navigate, speak into the remote's mike for recommendations
One Connect Feature, eliminates cable clutter by requiring only one cable to connect
Price: Yet to be announced

SONY
Model: Bravia KD-X9000 TV
Screen size: 84 inch / 213.5 cm
Backlight module: Dynamic Edge LED
Sound: Immersive sound with S-Force Front Surround
Special features
3D: Passive 3D
4K X Reality Pro: The XCA8-4K chip upscales HD (or lower resolution) images by analysing and refining images from all sources
SimulView gaming presents two separate full HD pictures — each player can watch independently through glasses that don’t need batteries
Price: Rs 16,99,999

LG
Model: Ultra HD 3D Smart TV
Screen size: 84 inch
Backlight module: Edge LED
Sound: 2.2 speaker system, with two woofers
Special features
3D: Depth control to control the level of 3D, 3D sound conversion and 2D to 3D conversion
Dual Play  Enables both players to play video games together in full screen.
A “Magic Remote,” sensitive to motion
Price: Rs 17,00,000



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