The PS4K- A 4K Fad or HDR Fruition

The 4K revolution is only just beginning. Seemingly it is having a massive effect with its mainstream integration coinciding with that of Virtual Reality. It’s having an inspiring impact with huge corporations and SMEs alike investigating their own applications and developments, developments that are projected to be a part of our daily rituals whether we like it or not, for instance if you didn’t know, Netflix now offer 4K streaming for an additional charge. Just as with any technology initial teething problems eventually pave way to the front-line tech we all love to have.

4K Myth

After the Xbox One and PS4 released last year prices are falling to more affordable rates whilst neither offer a 4K output the Roku 4 or the NVIDIA Shield adaptations are available, or instead step-forward the PS4K. Rumours are very lively at the moment though anything official is yet to be confirmed, however one thing is for sure the PS4K has a bit of a 4K myth. Consoles usually use mid-range GPUs to keep the price down, the current PS4 outputs most games at FullHD resolution which is 1920x1080 (1080P) or 2,073,600 pixels however; 4K (3840x2160) or 8,294,400 pixels is 4x the resolution of HD.

 The problem is no single GPU is capable of 4K rendering high performance games whilst maintaining 60fps- though GPUs in the pipelines of AMD and NVIDIA do promise a generation of GPUs that may well be sufficient, but will come with an appropriate high-end price tag, which will have significant ramifications for any speculative retail price.

Instead the biggest advancement may not be entitled, as PS4HDR doesn’t have quite the same phonetic value. High Dynamic Range rendering is nothing new, but advancements in equivalent displays have been slow, limiting its tangible applications. HDR is essentially the ability to display brighter and darker pixels when necessary allowing for improved contrast and hence, better viewing. This very much involves current changes in television parameters set by the International Telecommunications Union (without them TV would look different on every type of TV) in planning for the future.

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The current TV standard Rec.709 was developed in the mid-to-late 90’s, so outdated is at the very least an understatement. Now Rec.2020 is to be introduced after approval in 2012 for UHDTVs supported by the HDMI 2.0 (see here for more information). The main point is the colour where the new format is defined by a 10/12-bit space whilst the outdated Rec.709 was limited to 8-bit.

This change reflects numerically from 16million pixels to just shy of 70billion. The diagram below identifies the Rec.2020 Colour Gamut, the multi-colour curve represents all the colours that the human eye is capable of perceiving, the solid smaller, internal triangle represents that of HDTVs or Rec.709. Rec.2020 however is the larger intermittent triangle of UHDTVs such as 4K or 8K. This development is aimed towards exact parts of the spectrum where human vision is the most acute.

This Colour Gamut goes in hand in hand with HDR and is a part of the reason for the HDMI 2.0a surfacing with added HDR support, whilst Polaris (AMD architecture which the PS4k’s GPU may be based) has been confirmed to have HDMI 2.0a and manufacturers are also looking to incorporate it whilst content providers, Youtube, Netflix and Amazon have announced more HDR content. Microsoft are also big endorsers of HDR with their own tests suggesting it may be a more noticeable difference than standard 4K now that displays have evolved to show it. Due to the HDR data being produced but not visible Microsoft go on to say that engineering work to complete the changes to HDR may only take a week!

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In conclusion the chances of games being natively rendered in 4K are highly unlikely, but the deployment of HDR through the PS4K is much more the point. The launch of the PS4K is rumored to be in the first quarter of 2017, though plenty of rumours indicate that the truth is that this is only likely to bolster the popularity of 4K technology in preparation for the eventual launch.

About Assured Systems

Assured Systems is a leading technology company offering high quality and innovative applied computing solutions to the embedded, industrial, and digital-out-of-home markets across the world. Headquartered in Stone, England and with offices in North America, our reach is truly global. Our impressive product portfolio includes a full range of Fanless Embedded Computer Systems, Digital Signage & Multimedia Computer Systems, Touchscreen Panel PCs, Human Machine Interfaces, Vehicle Mount Computers, Rackmount Computer Systems, Single Board Computers, Rugged Laptops & Tablets. Visit our website at www.assured-systems.com for more information.

What is 4K?

4K digital signage and TV’s have been on the boundaries for a while but with falling consumer prices they are now much more affordable, but what actually is 4K and is it really worth the investment? Well in an industry where the display is everything 4K signage offers you the opportunity to stand further ahead of your competitors than ever before.

The 4K generation is upon us. It’s the new HD, in fact its Ultra HD (UHD) but in truth it is opening the door for a number of technologies such as HDR- explained in our PS4K post- OLED and Quantum Dot to finally find fruition and enter our living rooms and work spaces. Just as with the introduction of HD when many people contested the visible difference, 4K offers pretty major technological advancements. 4K Ultra HD TV’s deliver four times better definition than what is more than likely- your 1080p HD TV.

Ultra HD is a derivative of 4K, whilst 4096 x 2160 is the 4K resolution, Ultra HD is slightly lower at 3840 x 2160 which is why majority of TVs avoid the 4K stamp at all and instead vouch for UHD. Essentially it becomes much more difficult to see the grid-like structure of the image itself however close you get meaning you can watch a much bigger screen from the same position- hence why majority of 4K TVs are in excess of 50-inches.

4K will not be like the fad of 3D, 4K/UHD is unquestionably superior to any previous format. Currently the only drawback is the lack of 4K content but if you are considering the upgrade, the density of pixels will improve displays full-stop dependent on which you choose of course, but there are various boards coming together to produce new standards and ensure an abundance of content will be ready for the mainstream demand- which is expected to explode in the coming years leading up to Japan’s Olympics in 2020 as 8K broadcasting looks to take off by NHK, who are attempting to shoot and transmit the games in 8K or in more simple terms- Super Hi-Vision.

8K delivers 16 times the definition of Full HD with a stupendous 33 million pixels in a single 8K screen, hence why sceptics believe price and technology will limit 8K for a number of years to come although it is expected that 1,000,000 8K units will have been sold by 2019, by contrast in the first quarter of 2015 alone, 4.7 million 4K units flew off the shelves.

In the UK BBC and BSkyB are chairing a working group mulling over every potential exploit of the 4K generation whilst market leaders including Samsung, LG and Sony have split-off from that group to create their own UHD Alliance indicating the scale of opportunity for superior displays in the coming years.
As for ourselves we have 4K screens for any exploit, whether you want to produce ultimate electronic advertising at the height of industry displays, or if you’re perhaps looking to illustrate production facilities and/or visuals in a clearer format.

We have contrast ratios up to 5000:1 with 4K ready UHD screens in sizes 32”, 42”, 55”, 65”, 75”, 84” and finally 85” as well as host of 4K digital signage options, whether you require all in one portable signage, or a stationary mounted alternative. All available with various touchscreen mechanisms including Resistive, Infrared, PCAP and Capacitive touch. Our 4K screens come standard with Black Anti-Glare and a low reflection coating, with optional protected glass and sunlight readable display to maximize your campaigns and/or content. Whether you have OEM, IoT or M2M applications it is more important to be ahead of the game than ever and Assured Systems displays will guarantee you are not left behind in the HD era.

About Assured Systems

Assured Systems is a leading technology company offering high quality and innovative applied computing solutions to the embedded, industrial, and digital-out-of-home markets across the world. Headquartered in Stone, England and with offices in North America, our reach is truly global. Our impressive product portfolio includes a full range of Fanless Embedded Computer Systems, Digital Signage & Multimedia Computer Systems, Touchscreen Panel PCs, Human Machine Interfaces, Vehicle Mount Computers, Rackmount Computer Systems, Single Board Computers, Rugged Laptops & Tablets. Please call the numbers listed above or visit our website at www.assured-systems.com for more information.