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Comments on news posted 2016-04-06 08:30:02: DirecTV will soon be offering three new 4K channels, but that content is coming at an extremely expensive premium. 4K users already had to shell out for a new television, and probably a new audio receiver capable of HDMI 2.1 and HDCP 2.2. ..

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ILikeTech
join:2015-03-09

ILikeTech

Member

Adoption..

This isn't going to hurt really adoption. The fact that its actually even available through broadcast is a pretty huge step. With the amount of money it costs the company in upgrades and the fact that they are first to market with a broadcast 4k channel is why they are/can force you to the higher tiers of service..

Give it a little and more channels will be available and they will drop requirements for the top tiers.. I wouldnt be surprised to see a 4K package they put together for those people.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

I would love to agree, but this is starting to smell a bit like the 3D fad.
captinkirk
join:2012-12-12
Tucson, AZ

captinkirk

Member

4K is already live!

Correction... Not soon, DirecTV already launched. The channels were available to customers as of yesterday.

104 DirecTV 4k Channel
105 DirecTV 4k PPV
106 DirecTV Events Channel (This is where the masters will be)

You can find out more at DirecTV.com/4k

Also, DirecTV is more in line to offer 4k content than any other provider. An LNB swap will be required due to new reverse band frequencies that will be used to deliver 4k content in the future. Now bring on Nasa 4k and ESPN 4K!
jorcmg
join:2002-10-24
USA

jorcmg

Member

Treadmill

I'm holding out for the far groovier 8k...or maybe 16k. 4k is so 2014. Anyone seen my 3d goggles.
Chuck_IV
join:2003-11-18
Connecticut

Chuck_IV to ptrowski

Member

to ptrowski

Re: Adoption..

I agree with you ptrowski. Going from SD to HD was a BIG change visually. HD to 4K not so much. That's not to say it's not a jump, just not like going from SD to HD.

I just don't see a big demand for it unless you see the providers start to degrade their HD either on purpose to push people to 4K or even just because they will now need a ton more space to do more 4K.

Harddrive
Proud American and Infidel since 1968.
Premium Member
join:2000-09-20
Mission, TX

Harddrive

Premium Member

I think it's about time...

to go buy a couple of HD antennas and just go with OTA HD from my local stations. Your "entertainment services" are almost as much as a lease payment on a car.

bobjohnson
Premium Member
join:2007-02-03
Spartanburg, SC

bobjohnson to ILikeTech

Premium Member

to ILikeTech

Re: Adoption..

said by ILikeTech:

This isn't going to hurt really adoption. The fact that its actually even available through broadcast is a pretty huge step. With the amount of money it costs the company in upgrades and the fact that they are first to market with a broadcast 4k channel is why they are/can force you to the higher tiers of service..

Give it a little and more channels will be available and they will drop requirements for the top tiers.. I wouldnt be surprised to see a 4K package they put together for those people.

Old DirecTV would have made it a $5 add-on or something, T's version not so much. This does set the standard for the other providers and will hurt adoption in the long run.

BroadcastOp

Anon

1080p???

"Still, DirecTV's 4K's efforts are well ahead of most cable operators, many of which are still struggling to even offer 1080p HD content."

stuggling???? There's no effort or desire from networks or cable companies to even offer something that has little compatibility with large installed base of "up to 1080i" cable boxes and TVs. 1080p is not on the roadmap for any linear content provider PERIOD!!!!!!

scots
Are we there yet??
Premium Member
join:1999-12-06
Raleigh, NC

scots

Premium Member

Didn't cost me anything extra

DIRECTV replaced my HR34 Genie with the HR54 and installed the C61K (I didn't need the C61K, but that's a whole other story) at zero cost and no contract. Plus, I was already subscribed to the Ultimate programming package. The 4K channels have been live for 2 or 3 days now.

SteelersFan
join:2001-02-12
Rockwall, TX

SteelersFan to Chuck_IV

Member

to Chuck_IV

Re: Adoption..

They also say by the time 4K becomes big, 8K will be in full swing. I recently bought a new 65" TV, but just couldn't justify the additional $500 for a 4K set right now. Besides the fact that the picture was so sharp it kind of hurt my eyes. Go figure.
InternetJeff
I'm your huckleberry.
join:2001-09-25
.

InternetJeff

Member

Dubious ...

3D all over again. Very little is produced in 4K, not unlike 3D. And the bandwidth required for transmission is lacking. It will remain a niche curiosity, and if more widely adopted it will be compressed out the butt as HD has become. Next.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena to jorcmg

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to jorcmg

Re: Treadmill

said by jorcmg:

I'm holding out for the far groovier 8k...or maybe 16k. 4k is so 2014. Anyone seen my 3d goggles.

It's Japan's plan to have 8k live to many households before the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which are going to be recorded/broadcasted in 8k.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop to ptrowski

Member

to ptrowski

Re: Adoption..

I don't think it's the same. 4K will catch on but at a much slower rate than HD did. The price of 4K TVs will come down to the same price as an HD TV and then as people replace their existing TVs they will buy 4K TVs.

This is just part of the early adopter tax. If you want it right now, right this minute, you are going to pay for it.

Does anyone remember the $1200 CD players that were a fad? What about the $1000 DVD players? How many said they would never give up their VCR for a DVD player?

Eventually in the next few years you will not be able to buy anything but 4K.

juilinsandar
Texas Gooner
Premium Member
join:2000-07-17
San Benito, TX

juilinsandar

Premium Member

This is niche like 3D tv

Until all channels available, not just a few select ones, are broadcast in 4k, then this will stay a niche gimmick for videophiles.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop to SteelersFan

Member

to SteelersFan

Re: Adoption..

I've not bought a 4K TV yet because there isn't anything wrong with my current HD TV. When that TV dies I will replace it with something that's 4K but I'm not going to replace it just for the sake of replacing it.
battleop

battleop to InternetJeff

Member

to InternetJeff

Re: Dubious ...

It's use will be in special events (Super Bowl, NCAA Championship games) and movies. I think it will be a long time before it see it pop up on the Discovery Channel, History, etc.
jorcmg
join:2002-10-24
USA

jorcmg to maartena

Member

to maartena

Re: Treadmill

The minute I heard they were developing 4k and 8k at the same time I knew they were boning the consumer again. And at this point half the country here can't get a 720p picture without it stopping to buffer.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad to Chuck_IV

MVM

to Chuck_IV

Re: Adoption..

said by Chuck_IV:

I agree with you ptrowski. Going from SD to HD was a BIG change visually. HD to 4K not so much. That's not to say it's not a jump, just not like going from SD to HD.

Yes, actually the biggest changes with "HD" that pushed people to replace their old SDTVs was not the higher resolution/definition, but the wider 16:9 aspect ratio and the flat panel "hang-on-the-wall" design of those first LCD HDTV sets.

With the new 4K/UHD panels, those physical aspects remain unchanged from the older HDTV sets. The only really noticeable change, if you move some distance away from them, is the introduction of "High Dynamic Range" (HDR) with most of them: »www.techradar.com/us/new ··· -1280990

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

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Oh I think it will get there eventually, but we put the cart before the horse here with a lack of content. It's getting better but right now I see no reason to upgrade my 1.5 year old plamsa TV plus a new receiver.

Still Anon
@atlanticbb.net

Still Anon to battleop

Anon

to battleop
DVD-As and SACDs were thing that never took off. The next big thing might be HDR as opposed to UHD.
DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Plano, TX

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Member

to maartena

Re: Treadmill

I've seen NHK's 8k demo a couple of times at tradeshows and it is certainly impressive. Not only the video, but also the audio, which is something like 22.2 (22 surround speakers and two subwoofers) if I remember correctly.
joeMI
join:2006-08-15
Mcmillan, MI

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Member

to maartena
if the Olympics are going to be recorded in 8K, maybe the IOC will have some pull in getting America rewired with fiber so we can watch it.
DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Plano, TX

DMS1 to telcodad

Member

to telcodad

Re: Adoption..

said by telcodad:

Yes, actually the biggest changes with "HD" that pushed people to replace their old SDTVs was not the higher resolution/definition, but the wider 16:9 aspect ratio and the flat panel "hang-on-the-wall" design of those first LCD HDTV sets.

I remember reading a survey several years ago in the UK that highlighted how many people were "amazed" by the improved picture quality of their new HDTVs even though it turned out they only had them connected through coax or composite and were really watching SD. The UK had gone to 16:9 with CRT TVs several years before, so it was probably the flatness, and the corresponding option for a larger screen size, that gave the "wow" factor.

chuch
join:2001-04-11
Tampa, FL

chuch to Harddrive

Member

to Harddrive

Re: I think it's about time...

said by Harddrive:

to go buy a couple of HD antennas and just go with OTA HD from my local stations. Your "entertainment services" are almost as much as a lease payment on a car.

Not to mention getting OTA is uncompressed as opposed to anything that comes from dish or cable.

Simba7
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT

Simba7 to captinkirk

Member

to captinkirk

Re: 4K is already live!

said by captinkirk:

Now bring on Nasa 4k and ESPN 4K!

ESPN just needs to die. They're the reason most of our cable/sat bills are ridiculous.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV
·AT&T FTTP

djrobx

Premium Member

4K TV's aren't really that expensive

If you've shelled out that kind of money for 4K this may not be that big of a deal

Last year my Samsung 1080p plasma TV died (it was only two years old! grr). I had to replace it with something. The 4K TV I bought was about half the price that I paid for the plasma just two years prior, and was about the same cost as upper-end models of some other 1080p TVs. On sale it was less than $1000 for a 65" TV.

I'm sure DirecTV will eventually make a Genie that has built in 4k support. You don't need the Genie Mini if you have a DirecTV RVU compatible 4k TV.

Myself, I don't really care. I've seen some 4K content. It's good but it's a very incremental improvement, nothing like when we went from standard definition to high definition. I think they should just allocate more bandwidth to the existing HD streams if they care about quality. I'm reasonably happy with DirecTV's picture quality though. The only exception is AMC / The Walking Dead; that looks like total garbage. I believe that's a source (AMC) problem though.

TheTechGuru
join:2004-03-25
TEXAS

TheTechGuru to Harddrive

Member

to Harddrive

Re: I think it's about time...

said by Harddrive:

to go buy a couple of HD antennas and just go with OTA HD from my local stations. Your "entertainment services" are almost as much as a lease payment on a car.

Must be a Kia!

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

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to joeMI

Re: Treadmill

said by joeMI:

if the Olympics are going to be recorded in 8K, maybe the IOC will have some pull in getting America rewired with fiber so we can watch it.

I doubt it. The OBS will already record the Olympics in 4k (They did partially in 2012) but it is up to the broadcasters to pick it up. NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, is bringing in 8k camera's with OBS's permission to start testing 8k for their own Olympics in 2020.

But the IOC and OBS isn't going to change corporations in America to rewire the country. They don't have the means, the funds, or the power to do so. They were smart to form the OBS at the dawn of HD and Internet Video (they formed in 2001) because they saw an opportunity to centralize and modernize the recording and broadcasting of the Olympics, but it will be up to each individual country to get them to the houses.

In the US the rights are owned by NBC. And they aren't going to change the world for a 2-week sporting event. Hell, they won't even change west coast affiliates programming so west coast can watch the Olympics live because they are "bound by contractual agreements with the affiliates" so the west coast once again sees everything on a 3-hour delay while the internet and social media goes wild when the US wins another gold medal 3 hours before we get a chance to see it on TV. Awesome.

davidc502
join:2002-03-06
Mount Juliet, TN

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to battleop

Re: Adoption..

How about the 1000 dollar VHS players??
davidc502

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Re: Treadmill

Japanese people sit closer to the TV, so they may get the benefit
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