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It could be the next big thing in television.
Kaz Hirai, CEO, Sony "Today I'm delighted to introduce to you Sony's
84-inch Bravia LCD TV."
This TV, unveiled on Wednesday at the IFA electronics show in Berlin, has a resolution
four times that of today's high-definition TVs.
Called 4K, the format boasts twice the horizontal and twice the vertical number of lines, leading
to a more detailed images, and the TV will be on sale before the end of 2012.
Kaz Hirai, CEO, Sony "If you remember being awestruck by the shift
from standard to high-definition, 4K, with four times the resolution of full HD, will
rekindle or even exceed that sensation. It virtually eliminates the line between television
and reality to offer an unprecedented and revolutionary viewing experience."
Impressive stuff then, but don't get too excited. While 4K exists as a format in the movie industry,
thanks the backers like Sony, there isn't a consumer format yet so that new 4K TV won't
have any native content to play -- except of course for photos from your camera.
There's an upscaler in the set, which runs high-def through a software algorithm to increase
it to 4K resolution, but it's too early to tell if that trick will really result in a
better picture. At the IFA news conference, Sony only showed a static image on the set.
There's no price yet, but a Sony 4K home theater projector costs about $25,000, so the TV probably
won't be cheap.
At IFA 2012 in Berlin, this is Martyn Williams, IDG News Service.