To 4K or not to 4K

Recently screen manufacturers have been pushing sales towards their shiny new 4K resolution screens (also known as Ultra HD or UHD for short) and telling us how they’re the next big thing. However, with very little content available at the moment and for the foreseeable near future, is now really a good time to be shelling out for a 4K screen when you may not even see the benefits anyway?

4K comes in two resolution formats, 3840 x 2160 or 4096 x 2160 pixels. This equates to 4 times the resolution or approximately 8 million pixels compared to the 2 million pixels or 1920 x 1080 of Full HD. The following image shows the most common resolutions currently available.

Well, it all boils down to your viewing distance from your screen and the size of the image.

There is a finite amount that your eye can perceive at a set viewing distance. 

If we use Full HD (1920 x 1080) as an example, the amount of pixels is always constant regardless of screen size, be it 32″ or 85″, the resolution always stays at a constant 1920 x 1080 pixels. However, the physical size of each pixel will naturally increase when the image is blown up to fill a larger display area. This is where the viewing distance and the size of the screen come into play because as you increase the distance from yourself to the screen, the pixels will appear smaller leading to the increased perceived detail in the image. The following image shows an example of two screens of equal size, with the right-hand screen being of higher resolution or more pixels.

Basically, there will only be a benefit in you going for a 4K resolution screen if you sit fairly close to a particularly large image, usually 65” and above.

The next image of the honey bee shows a side-by-side comparison. The image on the left is Full HD and the image on the right is UHD / 4K. If you look closely at the image, you’ll see the increase in detail on the UHD / 4K image. However, as you gradually move away from the image, there will be a point where your eye will be unable to see the difference in the level of detail.

The following chart is a good guide relating to viewing distance and screen size to see if you’ll get any real benefit from your normal viewing distance for the size of screen you were thinking of purchasing.

At the moment yes, all the new screens are backwards compatible with existing formats of High Definition and Standard Definition. However, until there is a set standard for 4K sources for domestic use (Blu-ray, video streaming etc.) there are still some compatibility issues in the near future, the main one being the gradual implementation of HDMI 2.0 on the majority of electronics. This is the latest standard for the HDMI format that allows for the higher bandwidth needed and secure transmission of the higher quality formats of UHD / 4K.

It’s still a minefield out there at the moment, so if you’d like to have a chat about 4K before taking the plunge, please contact us and we’ll be more than happy to help with any questions or uncertainty you may have. We’ll also aim to provide further updates as the format evolves and the new screen technologies (including OLED) emerge but more on that another time…