420°

'PlayStation 4K' and 'Xbox Durango' will be key to Ultra HD adoption

With leaked details of octal-core processor banks paired with 8GB of RAM, the PlayStation 4 "Orbis" is sounding powerful (just for comparison of RAM alone, the 8GB of system memory is roughly 32 times more than the current model). But to see where 4K comes in it's worth taking a trip back seven years.

In 2005, very few people had an HDTV. According to one study, there were "as many" as ten million homes with high-definition screens -- globally. The problem, according to many commentators, was the lack of HD content: nobody wanted to buy an HDTV because there was little HD content; very little HD content was made because there were very few people to sell it to. Classic catch-22.

Kamikaze1354106d ago

I could understand why people wanted an HD TV, but an Ultra HD TV? I'll stick with 1080p.

Anon19744105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

Even on a small screen, 4k makes a noticeable difference. Just search for "4K" on Youtube, and then were you adjust the HD settings, select "original". They're really quite stunning, although streaming these videos can be laggy. I understand there's a new compression codec for 4k coming that will reduce the file size so it's closer to what standard HD uses. It looks stunning even on computer monitors in higher resolutions, and even those aren't the 3840 pixels × 2160 pixels of 4k.

Don't forget, back when HDTV came out, no one wanted that either. You often heard: Too pricey, the difference isn't that much better than what I see with DVD, there isn't any content available, etc...etc. In 2008, less than a quarter of TV's in the US were HD. Now that number is over 3/4. When the prices start coming down and more content becomes available, why wouldn't you buy 4K?

http://youtu.be/Cx6eaVeYXOs

FriedGoat4105d ago

It would be good if they could render in 4K and downsample to 1080p, that will still increase the quality as we can do the same on youtube and see a difference.

irepbtown4105d ago

Very expensive though...

I would love to buy it but the prices are ridiculous. They will obviously come down as time goes on however in the near future I'll pass.

I'll also stick with my 1080p.

nukeitall4105d ago

"Don't forget, back when HDTV came out, no one wanted that either."

It's pointless to talk about technology when the price difference is negligible for an upgrade. Furthermore, HD has been around for almost a decade available to consumers.

With HD, it wasn't necessarily the video quality that attracted the masses, but rather the form factor of the TV itself (i.e. significantly smaller and lighter) as well as the quality of the screen i.e. the more pleasant viewing as opposed to the traditional tube TV.

If you really looked at how DVD migration to Blu-Ray happened it is very telling. It was very slow, and only when prices really really dropped as to be as cheap as DVD, traction really gained. Basically, the demand wasn't there to pay a premium. DVD was good enough unless the upgrade was insignificantly more in price.

4k content? That will take even longer for adoption than HDTVs. It will probably be slightly better than 3D adoption until it becomes the standard.

However, there is no real demand for it!

Bimkoblerutso4104d ago (Edited 4104d ago )

It does look stunning, but it's way, WAY too early to try and replace the HD standard at this point. HD had been around for a few years prior to the previous generation of consoles, and price was STILL a very large barrier of entry at that point.

Imagine a bunch of companies producing around a standard that is still very much in it's infancy...

SilentNegotiator4104d ago

HDTVs didn't cost $30K or whatever when the 360/Ps3 launched.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4104d ago
4105d ago
JohnnyAkiba4105d ago

2006: Why people want a 1080p tv right?
xD

ATi_Elite4104d ago

LMAO I'm already gaming in Ultra HD 1600p

Besides 4K TV's are still $20,000 and with NO 4K broadcast available I really do not see a big influx of people rushing out to buy 4K TV's when the prices drop especially seeing how their 1080p TV's are just fine.

ALSO remember how this Gen was suppose to USHER in 1080p Gaming......How did that work out?

I'll tell you how that worked out. NOT one AAA game is in 1080p and most AAA games struggle with 720p.

Consoles have Wattage caps and therefore they do not have the power needed to pump out superior graphics at high end resolutions. They do make good use of the limited specs that they do have.

Also 4K is more Hype than substance as 4K only helps TV's that are 60" or bigger. So don't get caught up in the 4K Hype unless you got deep pockets and 80" TV in your living room.

The proposed GPU's in the next Gen consoles are 4K capable but will sacrifice frame rates in order to do so.

MaxXAttaxX4104d ago

I don't see happening anytime soon either. But this is about mainstream adaptation, so no one cares if your PC can run games in 1600p, which isn't even Ultra HD(2160p or 4320p).

JamieL4104d ago

To be honest I think it's too soon for them to push 4K. They are in bad shape right now, and I think they should be careful what tech they put in the PS4. They can’t take such a monster loss on the PS4 this time. They’re not coming off the all time best selling console in history this time. I could live without 4K right now, and I think it could hold off for the PS5. I want Sony back in the black, and I don’t see 4K supported enough yet to justify it. They try so hard in the gaming side I would hate to see their troubles worsen.

4104d ago
Gamer19824104d ago

Games wont be enough to sell 4k. People need TV/Movie content and thats simply not coming. Not any time soon anyway. Plus not to mention older films which in fairness some have gone upto 1080p quite well but 4k will be a stretch too far. People will be getting HD and Ultra HD movies as everything is still being recorded in HD right now so anything post 2013 would probably be available in 4k (and probably not all) but anything before that you would get an upscaled version or have to live with 1080p. So most will say whats the point?

Also unless you go over 50" most people won't notice the differnce in TV/movies. It will be a niche product i'm telling you now.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4104d ago
DivineAssault 4105d ago

Good article.. But there will be way too many people that are content with 1080p versus people being content with boob tubes.. Ultra HD is coming & will be around but idk if it will be supported in gaming this upcoming generation.. To stream games or movies in resolutions that high would require some HEAVY duty high speed internet & will require people to buy $10k+ tvs.. Who knows what the future holds but i dont see Ultra HD coming anytime soon unless the economy rises BIG TIME.. Its way too expensive for people to buy new tvs, systems, fiber optics, etc in the nx 5 yrs

kneon4105d ago

4K TV's should be about $5000 by the end of this year for the smaller ones, so that means mainstream adoption should begin about year later.

H265 was just approved the other day so we're almost set for 4K content to begin being made available. We just need the new HDMI and bluray specs to be updated, and both of those are due this year from what I hear.

But I don't know about 4K for streaming. If you've chosen streaming as your preferred video medium then you have chosen convenience over quality. It that's the case then you probably wouldn't care about 4K.

Anon19744105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

In terms of streaming, it was revealed that they are able to accomplish 4k using bandwidth similar to what they're using with HDTV broadcasts currently. The bandwidth required for such high res video was a concern for me as well when looking at this tech, but they're apparently already on top of that.

http://gizmodo.com/5942233/...

I mentioned before in another post, it makes sense for the next gen consoles to be looking at this tech. If the consoles are designed for another 10 year cycle, that's going to take it into the 2020's. If they want to make sure their consoles aren't left behind by TV tech, they need to be making gambles on what TV's will look like in another 5 years, and that seems to be trending towards continued 3d (3d tv sales doubled in 2012 and don't appear to be slowing, if though focus has shifted off the feature) and 4k resolutions.

But it's no different from HDTV adoption. We're not going to see 4k take off until prices come down, which will happen over time.

JoGam4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

Hopefully, but doubt it

SandWitch4105d ago

Dude, that was just a teaser for Ascention

steve30x4105d ago

The consoles wont make people rush out and buy a stupidly high price 4K TV. Until the prices get to a reasonable price then people wont buy into it.

ThyMagicSword4105d ago

Whoever buys the new 4K Tv without thinking twice, has too much money or suffers from immense stupidity. If the game line-up is not good enough, I wont go out and spend tons of money for the videogame-industry.

Karpetburnz4105d ago

True, I heard they will cost up to $30,000 USD. damn

They wont be maintream for at least another 7-10 years, then we will see price drops.

kneon4105d ago

The manufacturers have already said to expect prices of the smaller (55-60 inch) 4K TVs to be comparable to current high end TV's by the end of this year. It only costs them about $700-$900 more to make a 4K 60 inch TV vs a 1080p 60 inch TV. So that premium pricing isn't going to last long.

Those current $25,000 4K TVs would never have much market appeal at any price since they are a massive 84 inches. So why not charge a premium since they will never sell in big numbers anyway.

UnholyLight4105d ago

It's just like with every new technology in the TV sector. LED was expensive when they introduced it, more so than Plasma and LCD at the time. It's how you get to subsidize and improve on your technology is by introducing the expensive stuff first. There WILL be early adopters of 4K TV's and that will push the market into the range of greatly reduced prices and trickle down technology to the smaller less expensive televisions. They've already said prices will drop substantially after release.

This all makes sense in my mind because for example, the news channels generally still use the old format "Beta" method or whatever, and they have been waiting for a long time to use a new standard, I would see 4K being this standard. I believe the consoles will be much like what Microsoft did wih the Xbox 360 this gen; Initially there was support up to 720p and 1080i, and then a little while later the console was updated to output all the way up to 1080p as necessary. Same thing will happen this gen. These consoles will HAVE to be future proof enough that they will have a lot of support for 4k as 4k will become what 1080p is today IMO.

dcbronco4104d ago

Premium pricing is sometimes based on ripping early adopters. It won't take long for prices to drop. The real problem might be getting mainstream Americans to bite. Many don't really notice the difference between HD and upscaled. 4k has to really look like a huge leap to get them to move up.

Also there are the TV stations. The government made them switch here. I don't see them allowing themselves to be pushed into new equipment so soon. Plus a lot of TV personalities hate HD, They would really fight 4K.

ThyMagicSword4105d ago

I am not worried about the costs of the new Xbox or Ps, I am more worried about the costs for a new TV to fully enjoy the new generation of homeconsoles ...

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200°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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theverge.com
darthv7216h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle3h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic188119m ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio3m ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Cacabunga2h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

shinoff21831h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga39m ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

purple1015h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos4h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

XBManiac4h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad3h ago(Edited 3h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1013h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos3h ago(Edited 3h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic1h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

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140°

Why Monopolies In Gaming Must Not Be Allowed

As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.

thorstein14h ago

Shouldn't be allowed in any field.

Inverno10h ago

And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.

jwillj2k49h ago

Eventually they’ll realize the value is with the employee not the company. Buying an IP means nothing if the people who contributed are let go. They’ll get it one day.

MrCrimson9h ago

tech is different because they buy threats and then kill them. Twitter bought Vine and did nothing with it. Despite people seemingly liking it. Could've had tiktok a decade before bytedance. go figure.

Zenzuu10h ago

Monopolies shouldn't be allowed regardless. Not just for gaming.

MrCrimson9h ago

They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -

70°

The INDIE Live Expo 2024 event is to feature over 100 game titles

INDIE Live Expo, Japan’s premiere online digital showcase series , will debut never-before-seen games & content updates across more than 100 titles on May 25th.