What is 4K resolution? Explained

As if 3D TV and LED LCD vs. OLED vs. plasma and 120Hz and the Soap Opera Effect weren't confusing enough, in the last year we have seen the rise of a new HDTV technology called 4K. Or if you use its official name, Ultra High Definition (UHD).

UHD is an "umbrella term" that encompasses higher resolutions (more pixels) than HDTV, as well as more realistic color and higher frame rates. Today and this year, pretty much the only one of those improvements available in new TVs and content is 4K resolution, so that's what we'll talk about here. Judging from the new TVs shown at CES 2014, manufacturers are tripping over themselves to bring you a new array of 4K compatible products.

But just like 3D and HD before it, 4K has a case of putting the hardware chicken before the software egg. About 15 months after 4K TVs first appeared on the market , there's little consumer 4K content available: no TV channels or Blu-ray discs, just a few specialized video players, YouTube and other clips of varying quality, and promises of streaming video.

Still, the shift from 1080p to 4K TV hardware is inevitable. This year 4K TVs will replace high-end 1080p models as the best-performing LED LCD-based sets on the market -- although the reason they're better will have nothing to do with resolution.

Confused again? Don't worry, we'll walk you through, starting with the question: So what is 4K anyway, and what makes it different from high definition?

Today, the TV industry supports two HD formats; often referred to as 720p (1280x720 pixels) and 1080p (1920x1080 pixels, Full HD). All our HDTVs come with Full HD resolution but content – movies, TV shows, games etc. – is 720p in many cases. There are, in other words, two sides of the equation: our screen and the content. Both are important but the truth is that content is often the bottleneck. Here is a short overview of the typical resolution classes for content.

·  SD: DVDs, standard TV channels

·  HD 720p: Most HD TV channels, some streaming services

·  Full HD 1080p: Blu-ray, some streaming services

Ultra HD is the next step on the resolution ladder. It also goes by the name UHD or 4K (4K is actually a movie theatre format but the name is often used for Ultra HD). Just like the HD standard, which covers both 720p and 1080p, Ultra HD covers 4K (also called 2160p) and 8K (also called 4320p). As you might have noticed by now the naming methodology is not straightforward and the industry likes to refer to things in different fashions. Again we can offer a roughly outlined overview.

·  Full HD = 1920x1080 pixels = 1080p = 2K

·  Ultra HD = 3840x2160 pixels = 2160p = 4K

·  Ultra HD = 7680x4320 pixels = 4320p = 8K

What's in a name? '4K' versus 'UHD'

                                                              

In August 2012, the Consumer Electronics Association introduced the term Ultra High Definition, partly defined as resolutions of "at least 3,840x2,160 pixels". The idea was to replace the term 4K. The CEA's name lasted less than a day, as Sony then announced it was going to call the technology "4K Ultra High Definition". This is the term now used by most other TV manufacturers too, who seem interested in covering all the buzzword bases at the expense of brevity.

In practice, you will often see UHD used interchangeably with 4K, whether describing TVs, source devices, accessories or content. We at CNET say "4K" instead of "UHD" almost exclusively, and our readers and Google strongly agree.

 Digital resolutions: A primer

The latest in a line of broadcast and media resolutions, 4K is due to replace 1080p as the highest-resolution signal available for in-home movies and television.

With the arrival of 4K there are four main resolution standards for use in the home: standard definition (480p/540p) , high definition (720p), full high definition (1080i/p) and ultra high definition (2160p).

When used in a home context, 4K/UHD means the TV's screen has a minimum resolution of 3,840 pixels wide and 2,160 pixels high, making it the equivalent to two 1080p screens in height and two in length. This resolution was originally known as "Quad HD," and it's used by basically every 4K TV.

Another resolution, known as 4Kx2K (4,096x2,160 pixels), is used by some projectors and many professional cameras. It also falls under the umbrella of 4K/UHD. Other shooting resolutions are also employed in the pro realm, depending on the camera.

While 4K is relatively new, high definition (HD) itself has been with us for about a decade, and is the format used in Blu-ray movies and HD broadcasts. There are three main versions of HD: full high definition 1080p (progressive), 1080i (interlaced), and 720p (also called simply "high definition").

Despite the existence of HD and 4K, many television programs, online videos and all DVDs are still presented in standard definition, loosely defined as 480 lines. Standard definition began life as NTSC TV broadcasts before switching to digital with the introduction of ATSC in 2007.

The beginnings of digital cinema and 4K

While it's currently being touted as a new broadcast and streaming resolution--particularly with the appearance of the HEVC H.256 codec--the roots of 4K are in the theater.

When George Lucas was preparing to make his long-promised prequels to the "Star Wars" movies in the late '90s, he was experimenting with new digital formats as a replacement for film. Film stock is incredibly expensive to produce, transport, and store. If movie houses could simply download a digital movie file and display it on a digital projector, the industry could save a lot of money. In a time when cinemas are under siege from on-demand cable services and streaming video, cost-cutting helps to keep them competitive.

How 3D drove the takeup of 4K

Do you remember seeing James Cameron's "Avatar 3D" in the theater? Cameron's movie about "giant blue dudes" helped drive high-resolution 4K Sony projectors into theaters around the world. Movie studios keen to maintain that momentum then released a slew of 3D films -- mostly converted from 2D -- and continued the expansion of 4K cinemas. While 3D has declined in popularity, 4K movies are here to stay.

The industry has been quick to distance itself from 3D, and has taken care not to make the same mistakes by equating 4K with 3D. But there are obvious benefits for 3D on a 4K TV screen. In our extended hands-on with the Sony XBR-84X900, we saw the best 3D TV we'd ever tested. It delivered the comfort and lack-of-crosstalk benefits of passive 3D, while delivering enough resolution (1080p to each eye) to be free of the interlacing and line structure artifacts inherent in 1080p passive TVs. Higher resolutions like 4K are also necessary for new implementations of glasses-free 3D TVs.

From theater to the home

While 4K resolution makes perfect sense for huge theatrical screens, its benefits are less visible on TVs at home, watched from normal seating distances.

ULTRA HD IS ABOUT MORE THAN RESOLUTION

In the last section we told you what Ultra HD is, measured in pixels. But the Ultra HD standard covers more than resolution. Ultra HD was recently approved as the official name, and in the latest BT.2020 recommendation from ITU (who is responsible for the standards) other exciting elements are included.

FRAMES PER SECOND

With Ultra HD it has also been proposed that we increase “frames per second” (often referred to as frequency, Hz or fps). We need to once again look at the history of fps to understand the future.

Today, pretty much all Hollywood movies are shot at 24 fps (24 new pictures per second) and TV programs at 25 fps or 30 fps (25 pictures per second in PAL countries and 30 pictures per second in NTSC countries). Games are typically rendered at a frame rates between 30 and 60 fps on a game console and up to 120 fps on a PC. In other words; there is a huge difference between the frame rates; and therefore how smooth you will perceive motion. Ultra HD proposes that movies and TV programs can be recorded and reproduced at frame rates up to 120 fps; 120 pictures each second. Ultra HD will support 24, 25, 48, 50, 60 and 120 fps if the full recommendation is implemented in practice.

If you have watched The Hobbit in HFR format you have experienced a movie shot in true 48 fps, and then you probably know what 48 can do for picture quality and the movie experience (read our thoughts on the The Hobbit in HFR here). The two coming Avatar movies will most likely be shot at 60 fps so we are not even close to 120 fps yet. Some movie producers even believe that a higher frame rate is a far greater improvement in picture quality than a step up in pixel resolution is right now. And yes, the move from 24 Hz to just 48 or 60 Hz is truly a small revolution in picture quality.

COLORS

But what about colors? Well, major improvements are proposed in this area, too. With Ultra HD a new color gamut called Rec.2020 is introduced. Today, we use the so-called Rec.709 color gamut for Full HD. Do not mind the names, as it is relatively simple. It is best illustrated with a graph.

The human eye can only perceive a specific set of colors. We cannot perceive, for example, infrared (you cannot see the infrared light coming out of your TV remote) and there are other ”colors” that are invisible to us, too. The typical human eye can perceive all the colors illustrated in the color spectrum graph below.

However, our TV screens, projectors and cameras cannot match all these colors so the industry has defined a smaller color gamut that movie folks and TV manufacturers can implement in products and productions; a color standard so to say. We need this standard to make sure that movie and TV productions appear correctly on our TV screens. In the graph above you can see both Rec.709 (used in the Full HD standard) and Rec.2020 (that can be used in Ultra HD).

Rec.2020 is the larger of the two and as you can see Rec.2020 gives us many more colors to work with. It gives us a larger color gamut to pick colors from, so to say. So, therefore Ultra HD also proposes an extension of what is often referred to as color depth; an increase from the current 8-bit to 12-bit per color (and a change from 24-bit to 36-bit for all colors combined). This may sound very technical but with the color gamut explanation in mind it is fairly easy to grasp. When a TV or camera uses 8-bit per color it means that it can define 256 shades (2^8 = 256) of red, green, and blue, respectively. These three colors are used as basic colors to create all other colors. In other words; it allows us to create 256 shades of red, 256 shades of green and 256 shades of blue. In total this gives us 24-bit or 16.777 million (256x256x256) colors. The 16.777 million colors can be “picked” from inside the color gamut defined in Rec.709 that is used today for Full HD.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S5: Whats new!

BARCELONA, Spain -- Metal body design? Nope. Eye-wateringly crisp 2K+ display? Nuh-uh. Overhauled Android interface? Only a little.

After all the rumors and hype, the Samsung Galaxy S5 revealed with much fanfare at Mobile World Congress on Monday is more an iteration on the Galaxy S line than the fresh, whiz-bang package we'd all come to hope for and even expect.

Yes, it has a fingerprint scanner, and a heart rate sensor, too, not to mention Android 4.4 KitKat and a roster of muscular specs. From what I've seen, the Galaxy S5 shapes up to be an excellent device that will keep Samsung at or near the top of the smartphone heap. Yet the been-there, done-that design isn't novel enough to trample rivals the way Samsung might hope.

Samsung still has a ways to go to re-inspire jaded followers and fans. And those who value luxury materials and crafted designs over Samsung's stamped-out phones should keep the door open for Apple's iPhone 6 and HTC's forthcoming sequel to the beautiful HTC One

Design: More of the same
In designing the Galaxy S5, Samsung didn't go very far for inspiration. In fact, the Galaxy S5's body looks even more like the Galaxy S4 than the GS4 looked like the GS3. It has rounded edges, the same steep sides with shiny and ridged silvery trim, and a slightly more rounded central home button shape to the S4's more rectangular outline.

The back panel motif is different, I'll give Samsung that. Tiny dimples cover the rear, and in addition to white and black (oh excuse me, Charcoal Black and Shimmery White), the GS5 will also launch in enticing copper and bright blue. Not every market or carrier will sell each shade, but at least Samsung has decided to expand its color palette to some more lively hues.

At the end of the day, the phone still feels like it always has: plastic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if Samsung is at all striving for loftier ambitions, it hasn't reached those heights.

Samsung has also slightly redesigned the Micro-USB housing on the bottom of the phone; it now has a cover. Up top the IR blaster makes its triumphant return, and on the back, the heart rate monitor cleverly integrates with the camera's LED flash.

Samsung will initially launch the Galaxy S5 in four colors.

(Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)

The GS5 is only a fraction larger than the Galaxy S4 -- 5.1 inches versus the GS4's 5-inch display. This new phone, too, has a 1080p HD AMOLED display, so the screen's pixel density will be just a breath looser, though you'll never notice the difference.

The Galaxy S5 measures 142mm by 72.5mm by 8.1mm -- or 5.59 inches tall by 2.85 inches wide by 0.32-inch deep -- and weighs 145 grams, or 5.1 ounces. It's taller and heavier than the Galaxy S4 as a result of its extra hardware.

Break out the supersoakers, kids. Feedback about the waterproof Galaxy S4 Active prompted Samsung to make the Galaxy S5 waterproof and dust-proof in alliance with military spec IP67, which means that it can take a bath for up to 30 minutes at about 3 feet down.

TouchWiz gets a facelift
We'd heard rumors that Samsung was overhauling the TouchWiz interface that rides over Android, something I've been wanting for a long time now. While the changes aren't sweeping, there are some tweaks that freshen up the look and feel, and it's the one area that gets a complete visual redo.

Samsung reskinned a few menus, like this Setting menu, for the Galaxy S5.

(Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)

Of course, you'll want to know that the GS5 runs Android 4.4 KitKat and has all the same functions as Android's OS. It also carries over Galaxy S4 elements like the expandable quick access settings in the notification tray.

What is different is mostly subtle, like a Google services folder loaded onto the home screen of the demo unit I saw, and new icons in the notifications panel, including new quick access buttons for Quick Connect and S Finder. Likewise, the homepage overview you see when pinching in on a home screen now appears as panels, not a grid.

You still swipe right in the app tray for your list of programs and widgets. Any rumors of Samsung cutting back on its own apps have been greatly exaggerated, at least in this phone.

Samsung Hub looks like it has changed names to Samsung apps, as has WatchOn to SmartRemote; my demo unit still has S Health, S Voice, S Planner, S Note, and the Knox security app.

One area was drastically altered: the Settings Menu. Instead of settings broken out into four tabs, you see a vertically scrolling menu of round icons that float over a black backdrop, organized by collapsible sub-categories. It's the boldest new design, but I find the infinitely scrolling list a lot more space-consuming and visually confusing than the GS4's tidy tabs.

Another new area is a Kid's Mode, which creates a sandbox for tykes to play with approved apps while keeping the rest of the phone's contents out of bounds.

Core components
Samsung has blessed its GS5 with top-of-the-line specs befitting a flagship device. There's the 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 chipset for a start, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera (up from 13 megapixels), and a 2-megapixel sensor on the front.

A 2,800mAh battery may not be the largest in all of smartphonedom, but it's a little larger than the Galaxy S4's 2,600mAh ticker. Then again, the new phone is a bit bigger, too. Samsung says that its Ultra Power Saving Mode will double battery life when you're running low. It also promises 21 hours of talk time and over 16 days of standby time on a single charge.

As in past years, there are 16GB and 32GB storage options, with an SD card that supports up to 128GB. Other incidentals include 2GB RAM, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB 3, Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy, and support for the fifth-generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard for faster Wi-Fi delivery.

In fact, Samsung says that its Galaxy S5 will combine Wi-Fi and LTE to download items even faster, theoretically up to 600-650Mbps. (They're calling this marvel Download Booster.)

Fingerprint and heart rate scanners
Following in the footsteps of Apple, HTC, and Motorola (the way distant footsteps), the Samsung Galaxy S5 has its own fingerprint scanner for unlocking privileges and mobile payments.

The scanner integrates into the screen above the home button, so that you swipe your finger down half over the bottom portion of the display and home button. You can add profiles for three fingerprints, and you get a backup password in case the identification fails. The fingerprint reader scans your finger eight times before crystallizing your profile.

I locked and unlocked the phone at least a dozen times. It worked well most of the time, but didn't read my finger in every case. You do need to keep your finger centered on the screen, which would make thumb swiping more of a challenge.

I didn't see it set up on a phone, but this partnership with PayPal means that Galaxy S5 owners will be able to authenticate transactions with the brief press of a finger after signing onto PayPal's program.

Fitness fiends get a friend in the heart-rate monitor that's part and parcel with the camera flash. You hold your finger over it to take your pulse; the area glows red when activated when you launch it from the S Health 3.0 app. As a reminder, S Health also gives you a pedometer, fitness coach, and exercise tracker.

You wouldn't know it, but there's a heart rate monitor built into that camera flash.

(Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)

Camera and video
Samsung's cameras are typically very good, especially for outdoor shots. What hasn't typically been so great is low light. Samsung didn't address that in the briefing we got here at MWC, but the company did tout a whole mess of new fun performance boosts and software trinkets.

The one I care about most is the lickety-split autofocus, just 0.3 second, which Samsung cites as being three times faster than autofocus on the Galaxy S4. This is due to the addition of what Samsung calls Phase Detection autofocus, a feature usually found in DSLR cameras making its first appearance in a smartphone. That means you'll have a higher success rate capturing the moment with squirmy dogs and kids.

A new on-screen control comes to the camera app, and it's a pretty good one. Tap it and you're turning on real-time HDR, so you can preview the results before committing. It works for stills, video, and even burst mode pictures, thanks to an extra chip within. Samsung also notes that the GS5 uses a more sophisticated HDR technology that makes images look even better.

Selective focus is a post-editing trick that Samsung gives you, and on that you may find familiar if you've seen the Lytro and the Nokia Lumia 1020. With it, you'll set the area of focus after you take a photo, say for a shallow or long depth of field. There's also a new tool called Virtual Tour, which cobbles together a 360-degree view. It isn't clear yet how this might differ from Google's Photo Sphere.

It looks like Samsung took a hint from Windows Phone OS with this last highlight, the ability to download other modes to and through the native camera app.

Galaxy  S5 4K video test. check out in the video below

How does it stack up?
It may not be the most exciting new smartphone there is, but from what I've seen so far, the Galaxy S5 earns keeps Samsung's legacy of high-end Samsung smartphones strong. The specs are high end, and enough has changed on the hardware and software fronts to seem worthy of an upgrade when your contract runs its course.

However, those tiring of Samsung design sameness and looking for a radical new look and feel don't have as many reasons to stay if they aren't moved by the phone's fingerprint scanner or heart monitor. Samsung, perhaps a victim of its own hype machine, opens the door for phone buyers to hold off making plans until HTC announces its One 2.

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GOOGLE GLASS: See the world through Glass?

See the world through glass? Well a lot of you’ll would wonder what’s so special about this glass. But this glass is just not a see through one. It certainly does more than that. Well few years back in 2011 PROJECT glass was  making rounds in the technology world. Back then nobody had a clue about what this glass is all about. And then Google did unveil it,  a glass that could do hell lot of stuffs with just you asking it to do. A lot like Google Now, in fact Google  now itself integrated into the glass, wherein it listens to your voice commands and executes the same.

It happened when  I first used Palm Os device.  It happened when I first used and iPhone. And now its happening again. Honestly when I had watched this video that went viral about the Google glass.  I could sense that there’s no need to wait for future, because it’s already here ‘Google Glass’ it is.  Well watching that first video I just thought to myself this is just futuristic, strange, nerdy, awesome, useful, scary – this has got it all. I could just think of one word and that’s PHENOMENOL. Google really had brought something out of the box to us. 

HARDWARE:

TOUCHPAD:

A touchpad is located on the side of Google glass, allowing users to control the device by swiping through a timeline-like interface displayed on the screen

CAMERA:

Google glass has the ability  to take photos and record 720p HD video.

DISPLAY:

The explorer version of the glass uses a Liquid Cystal on silicon, Field-sequential color, LED illuminated display.

What it does?

Many of us spend a significant portion of our day glued to our smart phones, or to other connected devices. Reading social media or checking out the weather or otherwise dipping into the wealth of data at our disposal will typically consume all of our attention, making it hard to do anything else.

Google Glass might offer a solution to this problem, giving us a way of using the outboard brain of the internet while still being able to do other things. Glass was created, according to Google, to "be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don't.

Essentially, Google Glass is a wearable Android-powered computer built into spectacle frames so that you can perch a display in your field of vision, film, take pictures, search and translate on the go as well as run specially- designed apps

Google Glass uses a miniature display to put data in front (or at least, to the upper right) of your vision courtesy of a prism screen. This is designed to be easily seen without obstructing your view.

  

                

1: Tiny (but powerful) hardware

            Its amazing how the Project Glass team has managed to squeeze all of its features into a tiny ‘Computer’ supported on a light weight yet strong frame.

             

 

2: Your Voice, my command

            Well,  all that hardware is out to good use: Google Glass has voice input, which makes everything a lot more interesting. The built-in microphonecombined with google nowconnects you directly with the search engine.

You activate google now by saying “OK Glass” then send a command or a query. Tilting your head a bit up also does the same thing.

            

3: Capture moments

Google glass can actually make you live in the moment, and keep that memory in pictures or videos. No more foraging around for a camera, turning the settings your photo apps, and letting the moment  go by without a single snap. Just say “OK Google take a photo” and it does that with a blink of an eye.

 

           

4: Stay in touch

With Glass being able to record videos, it can also act as a webcam with the data connection from your home or smart phone. You can use Google Hangout for a group conference, and still do what you need to do without being confined to a desk. The powerful voice input feature also allows you to dictate text messages, attach videos and pictures along with and sending it via your mobile data connection, without having to remove your phone from your pocket.

  

5: Be on the right track, and never get lost

Google glass is a built-in with a GPS chip,  it’ll be able to help you navigate, with help from Google Maps. This will take away the need to look down at your smartphone and it will be especially handy when you are driving, when you’re walking through crowded streets or when you’re hiking through the countryside.

        

6: Live from the Field

Live information that is shown to you would come from the predictive software of Google Now. On Android’s Jelly Bean, Google Now knows when you’re leaving your home for work and can warn you of bad traffic before you get stuck in it.

You can also set your favourite sports team and it’ll give you the latest news, scores and updates from the team, whenever they play.

All those features are available on Android, but with Glass, you can skip checking your device and just get it shown to you as and when it happens, or as news feeds. Google Now cards also shows you your boarding pass, next appointment, hotel or restaurant reservations, reminders for important birthdays and events in your calendar.

 

    

 7: OS compatibility not an issue

 Google Glass works not only with Android phones but also with the iPhone. Apart from the GPS chip inside, Google Glass is dependent on the Wi-Fi or mobile connectivityto deliver its features. It is only fair game it if is available like any third-party accessory.

When paired up with your smart device, it can show social network notifications and let you communicate via the same channels as you would on the computer. This removes the need of looking at your smartphone constantly, giving you more time to concentrate on the task at hand.

8: Time for a makeover.

What is high tech without a sleek and cool design? Google Glass weighed an astounding 8 pounds when it first was announced more than a year ago, but now is seeking to receive nods from the fashion industry.

Already lightweight, and soon to be available in 5 color options (Shale, Tangerine, Charcoal, Cotton and Sky), Google Glass is set to get a make-over with help from eyewear companies.

And the list goes on.                         

Well there are also few bad things about Google glass. But at this point of time I truly feel lets not get into that. Because someone said it very right “when we start finding the nooks and the faults , we forget to appreciate.” . So lets put the bad to rest and think how that bad could be taken over.

 FUTURE?

Well what possibly could be brought into Google glass. Sometimes it feels what Google has done is too fantastic to believe. But then technology is all about break through. Google is one such company which has always tried and made break throughs and had set milestones. What next?

SIXTHSENSE INTEGRATION

Why not integrate Sixth sense concept into the glass. Wouldn’t it be amazing. Remember JARVIS from the movie Iron Man.  We all loved it when Tony stark used those cool toys and everything what he did was virtual . In the air , just projections and sensors used to move objects from one place to another. Well that’s  way ahead technology but that’s how we survive. Fantasizing such insane capabilities make us bring revolutions.

Google glass with sixth sense technology . Wherein before we could just see through glass. It would be possible for us to touch them and move them. A projector at the side of the glass would project and a sensor in our palms could help us move objects as we wish. Well that’s really a heck lot of fantasy to be thought of, but certainly not impossible.