4K Ultra HD TV shipments exceeded 1 million units in March

[Shawn Knight]

Shipments of 4K Ultra HD television sets are on the rise. Back in 2012 when 4K sets were still very new, the total number of units shipped during March didn't even surpass 150,000. Just two years later in March 2014, that number has skyrocketed to 1.1 million according to a new report from IHS Technology.

I don’t think anyone would argue over increased shipments but what exactly led to the sharp rise in recent shipments? As the firm points out in its report, vendors were likely doing some hefty pre-stocking in anticipation of China’s recent Labor Day holiday.

Another contributing factor was the upcoming FIFA World Cup which takes place next month. Soccer may not be a big sport in the US but it is absolutely massive in other regions. This year’s World Cup will appeal to technology buffs in particular as Sony has planned a number of 4K initiatives and will record three matches (including the final game) in Ultra HD.

4K Ultra HD television sets are still priced out of reach for most of us but the fact that shipments are on the rise is a sign that the technology is maturing. Some are indeed investing in the future of 4K and as that continues to happen, pricing will trend downward.

Do you plan on purchasing a 4K television set in the near future? If so, are you eyeballing a particular model?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/56782-4k-ultra-hd-tv-shipments-exceeded-1-million-units-in-march.html

 

[VitalyT]

Full market of 4K TV-s without content is a laugh Last time this happened almost a century ago when TV was invented

 

[wastedkill]

WHY???? Purchasing a 4k TV is like buying a new broadband package but you will only get to use it in 3yrs...

 

[VitalyT]

WHY???? Purchasing a 4k TV is like buying a new broadband package but you will only get to use it in 3yrs...

I don't know. When I got my last broadband package for 150Mbit and presumably no cap, the ISP tried to spank me the very next month for going over 4TB traffic in one month, telling me of a sudden "fair use policy". I told them it wasn't fair and never stated anywhere, but they didn't get it. Talking about under-using broadband...

 

[Cueto_99]

No doubt they look absolutely stunning... it's like changing from SD to full HD, but as VitalyT says, without content, there is no need for them for the common citizen... maybe in one year they'll become more mainstream...

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I couldn't be bothered with 4K. I'll let the tech mature for a couple more years then I'll take a look-see.

 

[TomSEA]

Wonder if these people even did 10 minutes of research. If they did, they would have found out there is pretty much zero 4k content for these TV's.

 

[Railman]

Wonder if these people even did 10 minutes of research. If they did, they would have found out there is pretty much zero 4k content for these TV's.

Bragging rights?

However quite a few TV productions have been produced in Ultra HD. Examples include House of Cards, Red Dwarf and Sanctuary. Then there are countless movies which are filmed using Red Eye.

I imagine the best platform for 4K TV will be satellite. Terrestrial TV being a no no due to lack of spectrum.

 

[EchtoGammut]

I forgot they were bringing Red Dwarf back... damn, I had work I needed to do tonight. You have totally made my day Railman.

As far as 4K goes, I have seen a fair number of 4K displays and I wasn't impressed unless the screen was massive (like 100" or better). At 55-65" (which is the size of most 4K screens on the market), you can't tell the difference between HD1080 and 4K when you sit at a normal viewing distance, assuming both screens are of equal quality.

I did see a 4K projector that blew me away, but it also cost more than a lot of people's homes.

 

[Guest]

There isn't a lot of content out there in terms of TV shows and movies that are released in 4K resolutions (like previous posters have states). There is however a lot of games that can run at such high resolutions,provided you have a beefy computer with dual card setups that can handle the games at playable +30 fps framerates. Almost every PC can be programmed or tweaked to do it.

The usual content is bound to increase though and having the latest and best technology will sure make your setup stand out compared to other people (feeding our bloated egos)! At what cost though? Not everyone is filthy rich to afford such a technology.

Just like LCDs, Plasmas and LEDS before it, the price of new technology always starts off high but as the technology matures, parts become cheaper (thanks to Moore's Law of computing) and more and more content providers sign on, the technology is bound to become mainstream one day.

Gotta love technology! I'm excited to by it when it comes down into the $2,000 price range. Imagine porn in ultra hd 4k resolutions running at 120 HZ. Damn, gonna need to purchase a bigger tissue box

 

[Guest]

WHY???? Purchasing a 4k TV is like buying a new broadband package but you will only get to use it in 3yrs...

Mine is bigger than yours.

 

[Railman]

There isn't a lot of content out there in terms of TV shows and movies that are released in 4K resolutions (like previous posters have states).

I never stated that that there was much in the way of content released in 4k. However there is a fair deal of productions recorded in 4k or have the potential to be released in 4k. The BBC have started recording certain nature programs in 4k so they are future proofing themselves. There are some surprising sources of material. Who would have thought that the original Star Trek series would be released in HD?

 

[Guest]

If more people have 4K displays, then the content producers will produce more 4K content for them.

Plus, as far as I know most PCs games can run at 4K.

 

[Railman]

If more people have 4K displays, then the content producers will produce more 4K content for them.

But the major issue is not content producers but content providers. At the moment there is no terrestrial or satellite broadcaster transmitting 4k. No one is selling 4k media (bluray needs adapting). The only source is the Internet but bandwidth issues preclude most users.

Plus, as far as I know most PCs games can run at 4K.

But only a hand-full of PCs are capable of running PC games at 4k.

I don't doubt that 4k will become common in a few years but I cannot see any logical reason for buying a 4k TV at this stage of the product cycle.

 

[xykz]

It would be much appreciate if his story would be accompanied with real graph and stats in time domain over crappy flat sixth mouth story telling. A million- a billion- a zillion woooov

Purchasing a 4k TV is like buying a new broadband package but you will only get to use it in 3yrs...

Good motto .... except a tidbit issue that even unproperly utilized electronics expires over time

Bragging rights?

Definitely

Some shady private firms obviously have lot of money to waste with their board deeply greased with bonuses. Call it surpluses over rigged financial reports.

I imagine the best platform for 4K TV will be satellite. Terrestrial TV being a no no due to lack of spectrum.

We're well passed over analogue era which was accompanied with spectrum issues. If over time displays (not these preview issues) become equipped with more adequate NewGenTuners they should play well with improved broadband encoding methods along with h.265 content chain. Didn't dig to deep into this thing, as we're in more than a decade into domination of obfuscated consumeristic spam over real technical specifications, but I guesstimate these kitties obviously wont be compatible with real 4k DVB/ATSC streams once they become reality without additional HotFixUp 4k-Set Top Boxes

 

[Guest]

But only a hand-full of PCs are capable of running PC games at 4k.

If I had the money to buy a quad high-end graphics card setup, I would buy a 4K TV. While I have not checked, I was under the impression that all PC games produced over the last couple of years, say since Skyrim, can run at 3840 x 2160. Can't see why not.

 

[Guest]

Don't need quad, dual 290x or dual 780ti is enough.

 

[Guest]

A 4K TV for £1,999.00 or less. assuming that it can do the refresh rate, would be good for gaming. Not sure about Desktopping though.