Samsung: 4K Ultra HD television adoption will happen faster than anticipated

Shawn Knight

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samsung ultra televisions 4k 4k ultra hd

Despite being tempted by a number of great deals on televisions during Black Friday, I’ve already made up my mind that the next set I purchase will be 4K Ultra HD compatible. I get that there isn’t much content available right now and prices are astronomical but according to HS Kim, executive vice president of Samsung's visual display business, pricing will drop and consumer adoption will take off faster than anticipated.

4K Ultra HD televisions are expected to be the next big thing in home entertainment. Unlike the short-lived 3D fad, 4K televisions will deliver real value with four times the resolution of current HD sets that populate the majority of households in the US.

Samsung is leading the way as it has increased its 4K television lineup from just three models last year to 10 this year, ranging in size from 50 inches up to the 110-inch monster that was on display at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Industry experts predict that just under half a million 4K sets will be sold this year versus just 60,000 during 2013.

Kim noted that people usually change their phones every two years because handset makers add new value but with televisions, that cycle currently sits at six years. The executive said Samsung wants to bring more value to televisions so consumers will be tempted to replace their sets every four or five years instead.

Joe Stinziano, Samsung Electronics America's senior vice president, added that he was unsure when 4K sets will gain widespread adoption but when it starts to happen, it’ll be a rapid transition. Once manufacturers start to hit key price points, old technology will no longer have a purpose in the marketplace.

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The executive said Samsung wants to bring more value to televisions so consumers will be tempted to replace their sets every four or five years instead.
I must be a minority, in wanting my TV to last more than 10 years. Whether it does or not is not the point, I still want it to last more than 10 years. If the damn things lasted, they probably wouldn't be replaced as often.

What that comment tells me is they want to engineer a plan of faster obsolescence. Thats right, feed us innovation at a slower rate. Pick our pockets for everything we have as we try to keep something that works.

I do hope I am looking at this all wrong!
 
I hope that he's not planning to make today's TVs obsolete in 4 years. That's just too soon to refresh. Even if I get more value for the same dollar, I'll expect the product to last or be upgradable to extend their use.
 
I doubt that 4K will be the success that Samsung is predicting, any more than 3-D was. One problem is that present sets are so good that 4K will not make much difference on anything but the largest sets. The market for the largest sets will not be huge because large sets tend to be expensive and many people do not have room for them. Also, 4K broadcasting will not happen quickly unless there is a way of broadcasting in 4K that is compatible with existing sets. Incompatibility is the reason why adoption of HD was so slow--and there is much less to be gained in quality in switching from HD to 4K than there was in switching from standard definition analog to HD digital.
 
Nope. My TV is almost 7 years old and I will use it as long as it will last. Most people don't get a new TV every 6 years. That's just silly to me trying to keep up with all the latest tech , especially as fast as it changes I also keep my phone longer than two years. TV's and phones cost too much money to toss aside just because something newer comes along.. I had rather keep the money in My pocket instead of putting it it in someone else's pocket.
 
I barely notice the difference between 720p and 1080p from my couch. Why would I get a 4K television then?

A 32-inch 4K monitor may be another story, it would be only 2 feet away from my face.
 
I barely notice the difference between 720p and 1080p from my couch. Why would I get a 4K television then?

A 32-inch 4K monitor may be another story, it would be only 2 feet away from my face.

Exactly where I'm at with it. 4K only makes sense on MASSIVE TVs (65+") for a living room setup, however a monitor I'm 3' away from it will be huge.
 
I barely notice the difference between 720p and 1080p from my couch. Why would I get a 4K television then?

A 32-inch 4K monitor may be another story, it would be only 2 feet away from my face.

sad that u can't see the difference, bright movies/shows can show the difference between 720p/1080p easily.
 
I barely notice the difference between 720p and 1080p from my couch. Why would I get a 4K television then?

A 32-inch 4K monitor may be another story, it would be only 2 feet away from my face.

Exactly where I'm at with it. 4K only makes sense on MASSIVE TVs (65+") for a living room setup, however a monitor I'm 3' away from it will be huge.

people will be swimming if they bought HUGE tv for their small to normal sized room.
 
LOL@all the people above with no interest in 4K and assuming no one else will have interest either.
Even more LOL@their reasons.
And Even more LOL@the guy thinking one guy/company can make current TV's obsolete in 4 years.

Am I siding with Samsung on the explosion of 4K? Not at all, but some of the reasons I've read here on why it won't are just plain ridiculous.

Thanks for the laughs guys.
 
Unless they are going to give me one for free, I can't see me owning one anytime soon ;P
(Not that I really care)
 
A 47" screen at 4K would enable me to ditch desktop monitors all together. If the price is right in the future, I'll jump on that bandwagon with enthusiasm.
 
I had my (and still have) fullHD TV for about 6 years before there were any terrestrial broadcasts available in fullHD. Won't be adopting 4k until the content is available.
 
I did get to see a 4k TV just before Christmas showing UHD. The picture quality is very good but I also saw a HD Panasonic TV with excellent picture quality and I felt the difference was minimal. If I needed a new TV I would have gone for the 40" Panasonic especially as it had built in Satellite and Terrestrial receiver. 40" is a more sensible size than 50" in my living room and the cost far more reasonable.
 
"Unlike the short-lived 3D fad, 4K televisions will deliver real value..."

I guess the real value is for the manufacturers, because at the common TV and living room sizes already no one is able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, let alone the much smaller one between 1080p and 4K.

4K - just like 3D - is a showroom fad. You go up to the screen, you marvel at the unstoppable advance of technology, and you convince yourself to buy into the next generation that you don't really need.

But at least with 3D, there was some effect (even if nauseating and overrated) that you could see with your own eyes. With 4K, the only discernible effect is on your credit card bill.
 
Your not alone. I want my t.v to last a 10 year cycle as well. We had a floor model t.v growing up, it lasted 16 years. They don't make them like that anymore. Every thing is made cheap and will break within 3 to 5 years anyway, so Samsung will get what they want. I have had 3 lcd flat panel t.v, all Samsung and and out of the 3, one is still working. I got 3 years out of the other 2. After dropping over 500 per tv, I just don't want to do that every 5 years. They also have 8K tvs coming, so when you get a 4k, a few years later....oh now you need a 8k tv. Good for the companies, bad for your wallet. Just because it's the latest, doesn't make it the greatest. Miss that old floor model tv.........
 
What?

Considering that 1080p is still not the standard for TV, I don't think we will be seeing all channels 1080p, then current "HD" channels 4K for at least 10 more years.

How can we replace something that is still only about 5% phased in, that has taken 5 years to phase in already?
 
Your not alone. I want my t.v to last a 10 year cycle as well. We had a floor model t.v growing up, it lasted 16 years. They don't make them like that anymore. Every thing is made cheap and will break within 3 to 5 years anyway, so Samsung will get what they want. I have had 3 lcd flat panel t.v, all Samsung and and out of the 3, one is still working. I got 3 years out of the other 2. After dropping over 500 per tv, I just don't want to do that every 5 years. They also have 8K tvs coming, so when you get a 4k, a few years later....oh now you need a 8k tv. Good for the companies, bad for your wallet. Just because it's the latest, doesn't make it the greatest. Miss that old floor model tv.........
Quite a few consumer items are made from poor quality components. When I bought my TV I paid extra for quality. Five years on it is still working fine. About a year ago our washing machine finally broke down and we bought a new one with a 10 year guarantee. The previous one lasted 16 years. You can still get quality well made items provided you dont mind paying extra.
 
I barely notice the difference between 720p and 1080p from my couch. Why would I get a 4K television then?

A 32-inch 4K monitor may be another story, it would be only 2 feet away from my face.

sad that u can't see the difference, bright movies/shows can show the difference between 720p/1080p easily.
Being able to see the difference isn't enough for me to wanna rush out and waste money on a new TV. The only time I buy a new TV is when the one I'm using breaks down and costs more to repair than replace.
 
"4K only makes sense on MASSIVE TVs (65+") for a living room setup, however a monitor I'm 3' away from it will be huge."

It's worse. You need a TV with a diagonal of at least 84" to start to seriously notice a difference between 1080p and 4K at normal living room viewing distances.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57566079-221/why-ultra-hd-4k-tvs-are-still-stupid/

Where 4K makes the most sense are PC monitors, specifically 28-32 inch sizes. The problem is Windows at the moment has horrendous native PPI scaling. It'll make reading text very uncomfortable for most people. The second problem is in current titles, even 780Ti in SLI gets crushed at 4K. That entails a very expensive GPU sub-system to actually take advantage of 4K. I think it's still 4-5 years away even if 30 inch 4K PC monitors come out at $1000 soon, not many people will want to keep buying $600-700 GPUs in SLI to keep up with such a demanding resolution.
 
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