If 4K TV is the future direction, who will lay the path to popularize it?

At the recently concluded IFA2015 Berlin Consumer Electronics Show, Sony released the world's first smartphone with a 4K screen, creating a screen fineness of over 800 PPI in the 5.5-inch screen area. Although this once again demonstrated the pinnacle of "Dafa"'s technical strength, some people feel that this product, which is several times higher than the retina standard, does not have much practical significance.

Unlike mobile phones that are several inches square, 4K has a completely different meaning for TVs. On large-screen TVs that are dozens of inches in size, the trend of 4K replacing the existing 1080P full HD resolution is becoming increasingly obvious.

Is 4K on TV really useful? Is 4K still far away from our lives?

4K TV may not be now, but it is definitely the future

The well-known 1080P full HD means that the vertical resolution of the display reaches 1080 lines under the display ratio of 16:9, while 4K means that the horizontal resolution of the display reaches 4K level of 3840, and the overall resolution reaches 3840*2160, which is four times that of 1080P.

Of course, many people think that 4K is more of a gimmick than a practical concept in the current audio-visual environment. On the one hand, 4K content, including Blu-ray discs, is still very limited today, and the network bandwidth requirements of 4K streaming media also pose an extremely high threshold for user use; on the other hand, data shows that in most households with a viewing distance of 2M from the TV, a display fineness of more than 40PPI can fully meet the needs, and a 55-inch 1080P TV can achieve this value.

However, mankind’s pursuit of higher visual enjoyment has never stopped. Steve Jobs once defined 300PPI as the limit of the human retina on iPhone 4, but since then, display devices with 400PPI, 500PPI and even 800PPI have continued to emerge.

You may not know the meaning of 4K now, but 4K TV is undoubtedly preparing for the future. From the current experience, even 1080P content can be taken to a higher level on a 4K TV. In the future, with the popularization of technologies such as H.265, the threshold of 4K will be lowered. Especially if the TV is used as the output end of a gaming device, the effect of 4K is far beyond that of 1080P. 4K TV is bound to become a more forward-looking choice.

What's standing in the way of 4K TVs?

Putting aside the experience for now, the biggest difference between 4K TV and HD and Full HD TV is undoubtedly that it is more expensive.

It is not difficult to see from the information obtained from mainstream e-commerce websites that the prices of mainstream 4K TVs are mostly maintained in the price range of about 5,000 yuan, and international brands generally reach the starting price of 6,000 yuan. If it is a larger product, prices of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan are not uncommon. In order to improve price competitiveness, many manufacturers have even begun to promote "pseudo 4K" panel TVs that use WRGB.

Even Xiaomi, which is good at disrupting the market with prices, only has its 40-inch Xiaomi TV 2 priced at a similar and acceptable level to Xiaomi mobile phones, but the screen resolution of this product is only 1080P.

By the way, are consumers willing to pay for a 4K TV that is more expensive than Apple’s iPhone 6?

If the price of 4K TV drops below 3000...

This was unthinkable a few years ago, or even a few months ago. However, at a press conference called "Drawing the Sword" in October, a domestic manufacturer finally lowered the price of 4K TVs to within 3,000 yuan.

The brand is Coocaa.

As an Internet TV brand, Coocaa may not be as well-known as Xiaomi and LeTV, but the launch of Coocaa U50 may allow it to stand out in the 4K TV field.

Coocaa U50 is equipped with the industry-mainstream true 4K display from INNOLUX. The 50-inch display area can also be regarded as a benchmark for demonstrating the advantages of 4K. Combined with a 64-bit TV processor, it is a 4K smart TV product that is relatively balanced in all aspects.

However, what is more important is that the Coocaa U50 is priced at 2,799 yuan when it was launched, which can be said to have once again broken the pricing rules of 4K TVs and is more aggressive than Xiaomi, which is good at "price wars".

What does it mean that the price of 4K TVs has fallen below 3,000? It undoubtedly gives people more reasons to choose a TV product with 4K resolution, rather than using excuses such as "enough" and "rationality" to make themselves hesitate between 4K and 1080P.

More importantly, the price of 4K TVs has dropped, which has extraordinary significance for the popularization of 4K. If 4K-level equipment has entered thousands of households and is no longer an expensive and difficult-to-reach electronic product, then how far will the era of 4K content and 4K video be?

Therefore, if 4K TV is the future direction, then in terms of popularizing this technology, the 2,799 yuan Coocaa U50 has already made a good start for the industry.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.