It may be time to get a 4K TV, if you haven’t already. While TVs with 2160p resolution have been out for several years, a bunch of advancements and new gear out this year make several compelling reasons to upgrade.
Here are 5 of those reasons (probably guessed that from the title, eh?).
5) More content than ever.
More and more streaming content is available, way more than last year. Even better, Ultra HD Blu-ray is coming out later this year. Sure the players and discs will be expensive (to start), but they’ll unquestionably have the best looking 4K content.
4) Standards are finally lining up
Both the HDMI and copy protection standards had to be updated for 4K. Frustratingly, these finalized after the first 4K TVs started to ship.
However, they’re here, and should mean whatever 4K TV you buy this year will be compatible with 4K connectivity standards for years to come.
Specifically, I’m talking about HDMI 2.0 (and 2.0a) and HDCP 2.2. HDMI 2.0 allows for 4K resolutions up to 60 frames per second, using existing HDMI cables (High Speed cables, specifically, which you probably already have).
HDCP 2.2 is the latest version of the copy protection standard, but it’s a big change, and isn’t likely to be available in a firmware update. So all your gear needs to be HDCP 2.2 compatible.
3) Expanded Color
One of the more exciting upcoming advancements in picture quality is Expanded Color. Deeper, richer colors than what’s possible on today’s TVs. TVs that have this ability, plus content that takes advantage of it (4KBD) are available this year for the first time.
The other big picture quality advancement? Well…
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2) HDR
HDR, or High Dynamic Range, promises to greatly improve the contrast ratio of TVs, which means far more realistic-looking images. Brighter bright parts of the image, coupled with near total black blacks, makes an image that pops more than any TV you’ve ever seen (well, maybe other than OLED).
Again, content to take advantage of this will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray.
1) Lower prices (of course)
This is the big one. Other than a few 2nd and 3rd tier brands, 4K TVs have been quite expensive. And sure, if you want all the features (like HDR and expanded color), you’ll still need to pay a lot… but even that “a lot” is less than it used to be. It wasn’t too long ago $5,000 got you a fairly mediocre-looking 60-inch TV.
But if you want to step into the 4K TV game now, while the prices fall on the top-of-the-line features, there are a bunch of options.
Like Sharp’s UB30 series. The 55-inch is just $1,000.
Or how about Sony’s 65-inch KDL65W850C for $1,500.
Or Samsung’s 65-inch UN65JU6500 for $2,300.
Bottom Line
If you’ve been thinking of getting a 4K TV, now is the time. Prices have dropped significantly. The standards are lining up. There’s content (and even more soon). And if you’re willing to dish out a bit more, HDR and expanded color have the potential to be a huge improvement in overall picture quality.
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