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The road to high-definition programming in much of the world was long and arduous. Cable companies didn’t know how to react to it and with the HD DVD/Blu-Ray format war going on, there was no clear option to enjoy HD content at home. Of course, Blu-Ray has been the winner for years now, and full HD content is everywhere. The HD landscape is now stable and settled, but full HD didn’t offer the same sort of boost as regular HD did over standard-definition content. As such, the industry has been waiting for the next big thing, and that next big thing is 4K.
Industry players like Samsung and Sony will sell you a 4K TV, complete with a resolution of 3840 x 2160, which is four times that of traditional 720p content. Whereas full HD barely caught on with game consoles and Blue-Ray, 4K content is slowly growing in number and our smartphones are going to help the 4K TV creep into our living rooms.
Smartphones Can Record and Transmit 4K Content
With studios and production houses wondering just how they can make the move to 4K, smartphone manufacturers know exactly what to do. Samsung and Sony have produced smartphones that can record 4K content. The home movie certainly isn’t dead, it’s just shifted to our smartphones and with that comes the ability to create much more content on the go. That means more footage of your baby’s first steps, your friend’s wedding, your son’s graduation and so on. With 4K quality, you’ll be able to relive them in the clearest and sharpest detail yet.
Sony’s latest smartphone features the ability to output 4K content directly to TV sets, albeit with use of a cable, and it also charges your smartphone as well. This is a real big step for 4K in our living rooms; sharing content has become bigger than ever and the TV is the main screen once more. With the ability to share your own content at 4K resolutions in your living room, there’s no reason not to be excited about 4K TV.
4K TVs Will Soon Become Must-Haves
With 4K-capable sets priced below $1,000, there’s a healthy amount of consumers that can easily afford one of these new TVs. Attendees of real estate conferences know that a good-looking TV helps sell houses because they’re desirable. 4K TVs will catch on for the same reason as the first flat-screen TVs did; people will want them. We’ve all been there, when our friends have bought a new set and it puts ours to shame, so we immediately want something similar. That’s human nature and that will work in favor of TV giants that are looking to sell us expensive 4K sets.
New, 4K TVs Will be Fully Connected
Smart TVs have been on the market for a while now, but they’ve been a hard sell for those that already have good-looking full HD sets. After all, you can pick up a Chromecast for just $35 and turn your dumb set into a Smart TV. 4K TVs, however, will be connected to everything, our smartphones, the Internet, our tablets and more. As a result, it’ll be easier for consumers to spend the extra on a 4K set versus a Smart TV. For the 4K TV to prove itself to consumers, connecting to our devices is a must. We don’t expect the need to plug in another box to get our music on our TV; we expect our smartphones to have everything we need.
Right from the onset, 4K has had to rely heavily on the Internet for content and that’s not going to change any time soon. That’s not a bad thing, however, as being connected has made cable shows more accessible thanks to social media and extras. With such large displays and high-resolution, being on the Internet will help 4K TVs.
Stunning definition and large screen sizes are of course the main draws of 4K. However, with smartphones being able to record in 4K, play back 4K content and more, our mobile lives are about to settle down on the couch. Thanks to our smartphones, 4K TVs will creep into our living room and we can’t wait.
