4K resolution screen - is it worth it?
As soon as Full HD is established, the next technology is ready. This article will tell you whether it is worth investing in 4K screens with Ultra HD resolution.
TV with 4K resolution: The new technology can do that
- When HD came out, the leap in quality was so huge that it was hard to imagine an even better picture.
- The new Ultra HD with 4K image resolution means four times the resolution as with Full HD: A total of 3840 x 2160 pixels are available. The horizontal resolution of around 4, 000 pixels with the Ultra HD standard is "only" twice as large compared to around 2, 000 with Full HD, but the overall advantage is four times as large: over 8 million pixels at 4K and 2 million screen dots at Full HD. However, this only really comes into play with large screens over 50 inches.
- However, the pixel per inch (per inch) for large 4K televisions with about 50 ppi is still far lower than for the top smartphones with over 300 pixels.
- So that you can get a better picture of the devices, you will find examples of 4K computer monitors and UHD televisions in our leaderboards.
4K resolution screens - are they worth it?
The question of 4K resolution is always what the human eye perceives and whether the differences can be seen. Because you can only see most of the pixel grid differences when you hold the screen close to your nose:
- But don't worry: With a 4K resolution, the images look even sharper and more realistic. You can also use it to place larger televisions in smaller rooms. The distance to your TV is practically irrelevant.
- Therefore, what speaks mainly against 4K purchases at the moment is usually four times the price compared to Full HD screens. Don't be fooled by very cheap UHD televisions, a good FullHD panel can certainly give better results than a bad 4K device.
- The selection of film titles in UHD has also increased significantly recently. Several new and "remastered versions" of older films are released every month. But here, too, the prices are daunting. Most feature films are close to the € 30 mark.
- Furthermore, television channels also broadcast programs in 4K. With Sky, for example, you can receive the Bundesliga in this resolution. Netflix has also jumped on the bandwagon and offers numerous series such as "House of Cards" in UHD. In this case, of course, an Internet connection with a correspondingly high data rate is a prerequisite.
- Some games also support the high resolution. However, very expensive state-of-the-art graphics cards such as the Geforce GTX Titan are required to display them in a decent frame rate. So if you want to use a 4K monitor with your PC, several thousand euros would come to you.
- Currently, 4K is also slowed down by the HDMI standard 1.4, because with this, only 30 frames per second are possible at 3840 x 2160 pixels, and only 24 FPS at 4096 by 2160. The new HDMI 2.0 standard with up to 60 FPS is the only remedy. This is currently installed in the somewhat higher-priced television models and AV receivers. In this context, the new copy protection HDCP 2.2 is also mandatory.
- Another competitor is already in the starting blocks with "8K": The "Ultra Ultra HD" should have 7680 × 4320 pixels or 4320p.
- Conclusion: The availability of UHD-compatible devices and sources is continuously increasing. However, this process happens even more slowly than when FullHD was introduced by the Bluray. In addition, the prices for high-quality equipment are still relatively high. Most users should be better advised with a qualitatively convincing FullHD device.
And if you need to save after investing in a 4K screen: How to connect two computers to one monitor is explained in the next practical tip.