4K and UHD: Everything you need to know

High definition has meant 1080p (1,920 by 1,080) resolution for years now, and it’s ready for an upgrade. That’s where ultra high-definition, or UHD, television comes in. You might have heard it called 4K. 4K is another significant jump in terms of clarity and detail, especially as people are becoming more and more used to the incredibly tiny pixels displayed by today’s Retina-style HD screens on mobile gadgets. 

What is 4K (Ultra HD)?

A UHD or 4K display is one with at least 8 million active pixels. For televisions, that resolution has standardized to 3,840 by 2,160. Digital cinema 4K (the resolution in 4K movie theaters) is slightly higher at 4,096 by 2,160. However you define it, it’s four times the number of pixels on a 1080p display, and over 23 times the resolution of standard definition television. 

Difference between Ultra HD and 4K

Technically, “Ultra High Definition” is actually a derivation of the 4K digital cinema standard. However while your local multiplex shows images in native 4096 x 2160 4K resolution, the new Ultra HD consumer format has a slightly lower resolution of 3840 X 2160.

This is one reason why some brands prefer not to use the 4K label at all, sticking with Ultra HD or UHD instead. However, the numerical shorthand looks likely to stick. As a broad brush label it’s so much snappier!

What 4K Content You Can Watch?

There’s a surprising amount of 4K content you can watch if you have a fast-enough Internet connection. 4K has gone past the eye candy landscapes and tech demo phase that early HD content went through, and now you can find plenty of television and movies in the format. Both services are steadily adding more 4K content, and if that isn’t enough, YouTube supports 4K video for anyone from studios to GoPro users. Many of our favorite media streamers have options for ultra high-definition content as well.

4K in Geniatech

Because the resolution of 4K is much higher, it requires more bandwidth to transmit. Geniatech, a famous tv box manufacturer, has introduced the HDMI 2.0 standard, which was developed to support 4K, and allows 2160p video to be displayed at 60 frames per second. Older HDMI standards could work with a 4K source to some extent, but not reliably or at that framerate. You can also stream 4K video over the Internet, which similarly requires a very fast connection. To know more information about our products, please go to contact us.