Ultra HD Will Bring The “Revolution” We’ve All Been Waiting For

Thomas Ellis of Gamer Attitude feels we won't have the same massive graphical leap as last time until Ultra HD becomes the new standard.

[F4sterTh4nFTL]

Got a 4K TV for my PC and the image quality difference between 1080p and 4K is just huge, everything just looks so perfect and smooth and the high resolution textures in games just look incredibly detailed.

[XiYakushijuAkeginuXi]

Lucky you :/

[Einhert]

Nothing lucky about it, he worked hard for his money.

[XiYakushijuAkeginuXi]

Einhert, sorry but that was just stupid

[Ares84HU]

Einhert is right. No lucky needed. Just work hard and you will be able to afford things others who don't, can't. Simple as that.

Also, I would buy a 4KTV myself if there was enough content for it but to date there are only a handful movies that support it. Other than that, maybe if you buy a nuclear reactor of a pc, you might be able to play some games in 4K but I'm a console gamer myself and the PS4 does not play any game in 4K so I just stick with my LX900 bravia for now. Maybe next summer, we'll see.

[XiYakushijuAkeginuXi]

@Ares well unlike you, many people know that work hard does not apply to many people. Some people do not have the opportunities. Go to a drug/poverty ridden neighborhood and see if "work hard" will get you your 4KTV.

[Ares84HU]

I'm sorry but it means nothing where you come from. It's just an excuse to be lazy. Everyone has opportunities. Not equal opportunities but regardless of that anyone can climb out of a hole and lead a decent life. I come from nothing, my parents dragged me to the USA, I didn't speak a word of English. I worked hard for everything I have and now I have my own business at the age of 29. If I can do it, anyone can do it. So don't come to me with the excuse that "ohh, I'm from here or there and that's why." No! You are just a lazy ass, that is all.

[XiYakushijuAkeginuXi]

@Ares

Well if not everyone has an equal opportunity, it is then probably true that many people might not have opportunity. An easy example is if I was born a without any money for food. Now how are you going to tell me that I am lazy because I do not have money for food.

Your argument isn't quite good. Just because you got out of a shithole (excuse my language) does not mean that if a person one day wakes up and stop being lazy for the rest of their life they will somehow start getting money out of thin air.

Throw me on a deserted island, with no food, no water and blame me for being lazy because I was not able to survive... use your brain a little and think about other circumstances not just yours

[DARK WITNESS]

@ XiYakushijuAkeginuXi

The following statement comes to mind...

"If you don't have the mental capacity to be that obsessed about what you're trying to get...
... Then motherf"^^ker you won't never have it."

:)

[UltraNova]

Its funny but by the time I will find my self in need to replace my 62inc oled 3d FullHD monster, 8K will be the new marketing push!

So I'll wait for the 8K revolution in 5 years or so...

[tontontam0]

I wish I'm as rich as you.

[Ares84HU]

Dude, you can get a 4KTV for $2500 now. It's not that expensive at all.

[user1439414]

I have two 4K tvs :)

[DeadlyOreo]

Congratulations, you win at life.

Have this medal.

[2pacalypsenow]

I agree UHD ( it's not really 4k) is amazing but just too damn expensive I'm loving my samsung UHD monitor but had to shell out for a 2nd 780 to enjoy it

[Ares84HU]

How is 4K expensive? You can get a 56" 4K for $2500. Come on guys, it's really not that bad. If you want the 84" curved than yeah, that's expensive. But 4K is affordable.

[traumadisaster]

Wrong. I just bought my second 4k tv which does 4096x2160. The first one I bought was 3840x2160.

[Bob Dole]

For a lot of people $2500 is nowhere near affordable.

[2pacalypsenow]

What tv does 4096x2160? with what aspect ratio? And 2500$ isn't cheap to game in 4k for me costed me $1700 just for the monitor and video cards that isn't cheap

[Magicite]

I think SD and HD had the largest difference.
I were in Sony center where they demoed latest Full HD and Ultra HD TVs and the difference was far from huge.

[lfc_4eva]

Dude I think you need to check again.
I've got a recent full hd 55inch LG, top spec. I've seen the same tv next to a similar sized Samsung UHD and curved, my tv looks rubbish in comparison.

[dcj0524]

Bro.1080p is the new 480p, if you've seen good 4K it's weird to go back.

[Volkama]

I have a 4k TV and it looks great for sure, but I haven't really found a game that I felt takes advantage of it in terms of textures and detail. Games in native 4k look like games upscaled to 4k, which is to say they are beautiful but I think there is more potential that I am not yet seeing.

So... What do you recommend?

[traumadisaster]

I must say I have found the exact opposite. ALL games show vast improvement, like 720 to 1080 difference. And once you play at 4k as soon as you see regular hd it hurts your eyes.

[lfc_4eva]

Majority of games will look just like upscaled to 4k. The texture assets of the game are in play here. If developers have not provided textures that are any higher than 1080p, then after upscaling the quality will not be as impressive as you'd expect.

[Volkama]

Yes lfc, that's what I am getting at. Any good examples of games that do have the textures and assets to take it beyond 1080p?

I keep meaning to get some modded textures for Skyrim or something, but if there are games that offer particularly good 4k support I'd like to check them out...

[traumadisaster]

I've been gaming at 4k for over a year now and once you see what it does to old games much less newer games you will be shocked.

[medman]

I don't think 4k will ever have widespread adoption in the TV market, the distance you have to sit from the screen to see any discernible difference doesn't really make sense for TV watching. PC monitors or projectors are a different story, however. But here's my problem with this whole 4k thing...they're already working on 8k. And 8k monitors could be available by the time there is actually a decent amount of 4k content available for the 4k market. It's the tail wagging the dog. At some point people are going to stop falling for clever marketing and realize unless you are literally sitting within two feet of your screen/monitor, or have a 150 inch projection screen, your eyes can't see the difference between 1080 and 4k at the distances most people watch television.

[Volkama]

A British tech magazine did a study at a TV exhibition. They took 2 55inch Samsung TVs, a 4k model and the top end 1080p model. They professionally calibrated them so that there were no discernable differences in contrast or colour, only resolution. They each played the same demo reel material.

They asked people to identify the 4k TV from 9foot away. 97% got it right.

Granted it was only a sample of 49 people, but they were random show goers and 48 could tell the difference.

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/n...

Also, my wife can tell the difference. She has terrible eyesight. Therefore the difference is huge.

[TardcoreGamer]

Hey FTL. What are the specs of your rig? It seems to me 4k requires an insane amount of processing overhead to run any AAA game. Just wondering what kind of performance you are getting.

[bunt-custardly]

I'm no expert but from what I can gather, to push the resolution in games on PC beyond 1080p and keeping decent frames per second requires quite a powerful GPU and in some cases would require multiple GPUs to keep performance at acceptable levels.

Sadly, I don't think Xbox One or PS4 will be able to accomplish this unless the games are tailored specifically to run at this resolution which I suspect would mean compromises being made with the details. I am going to go out on a limb and guess that it will be the next Xbox and Playstation consoles that will include output options in UHD as standard.

[ABizzel1]

The PS4 and XBO aren't doing 4k unless it's of PS2/XB or a PSN/XBLA quality. As far as high quality retail exclusives go, it's not going to happen, especially when the XBO is struggling with 1080p, and not every PS4 game is 1080p @ 60fps.

The jump to 4k is a pretty big power hog, and $500+ GPU's that hit 1080p @ 60+fps and 1440p @ 60fps on pretty much every game, drop down to 30fps or worse on higher end games like Crysis 3 and Metro at 4k resolutions.

4k won't be the complete standard until 2018 (2020 for consoles) where entry level GPUs can easily play games at 4k resolution for example the UHD 2750 (4k @ 30fps / 2k @ 60fps).

Why I agree that it will be the revolution gaming has been waiting for is not for the simply fact that a new standard will be set (for consoles at least) is because it will be the era where technology is no longer the limiting factor of games and every game should look good graphically making the focus of games change from how big and pretty I can make this look, into how good and entertaining I can make this game be.

That type of change will force and put creativity into the forefront of gaming from EVERY studio, because when ever game looks good, graphics won't really matter as much outside of a unique art-style.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

This is what a man has thought all along, that the new consoles in 2020 or so will have 4k and that will be their big advertisement much like HD gaming was last gen. Of course a man has barely given that any thought enjoying his WiiU and PS4 all the time :)

[Rob Hornecker]

I didn't see anyone jump on the 3d band wagon when they came out.

A new video game monitor ( I do not watch TV on it and as such I don't call it a TV ) is in the future. I'm trying to hold out for the UHD format to become more popular with the now current NEXT gen console makers.

As it stands now I will be getting as much use out of my now 8 year old 57in DLP which has been rock solid after 1 bulb replacement after 6 years.

[TheDevKit]

Not if you're playing at 30 FPS.

[lfc_4eva]

Current consoles will NOT achieve UHD. Period.
To get those types of resolutions, you'd have flat textures, the likes of which I've not seen since 3dfx days!

[iamnsuperman]

One thing that is going to hold Ultra HD back is TV not jumping onto it as streaming that content would be difficult. The consoles are never going to be able to do this Ultra definition anyway but that isn't going to matter if Ultra HD TV sets stay at the high price. They are going to stay at the high price for a lot longer if TV doesn't jump onto the bandwagon. 1080p is cheap and enough to watch TV so the majority of consumer just won't jump across (which then means the manufacturers have to keep Ultra HD sets at high prices because they won't be moving lots).

[TheWackyMan]

It wouldn't be that hard to stream content over 4k, if (U.S.&CAN) ISPs weren't selling third world level speed internet for exorbitant prices. Internet ISPs make me so upset. ;_;

[kevinsheeks]

Yep highest prices yet subpar service

[sprinterboy]

@iamnsuperman

Sony and Samsung 4k are both selling at £1,700 here in the UK, trust me, they will be below the £1,000 mark by Xmas 2015 early 2016. I do believe though the 4k global attach rate when ps5 comes out will probably be around 30%, we're probably looking at 10 yrs from now before 4k is standard in most homes.

[BitbyDeath]

Better luck next gen

[Drithe]

NO. It will not give us anything but remakes of The Last of Us. ONLY FOR THE PS5!

[Bodge]

PS8*

[MysticStrummer]

No it won't. The next gaming revolution will be affordable yet high quality VR. I don't think either Oculus Rift or Morpheus will be affordable enough for mass adoption. That next revolution won't come along for quite awhile yet imo.

[JBSleek]

4K is the future of gaming because it is the future of other media such as movies and TV. 4K is here now and is getting cheaper while Sony, Amazon, Netflix all are now getting 4K content to come to fruition.

Don't know about VR but I highly doubt VR can be simply because it won't reach the adoption necessary to be that.

[windblowsagain]

It'll all be 4k this 4k that.

Then ppl will go, 4k is nothing compared to 8k.lol.

Obviously if you have a 4k tv, you want 4k content. You need sli or more to do 4k properly.

It's not going to happen for consoles this gen and wasn't expected too.

The power output to do it is very high.

[Clover904]

Nope

[FlyingFoxy]

Considering you need at least 2 high end GPU's to get what would be considered a playable frame rate @ 4k i would not be touching it for years.

If anything 1440p will become the new standard for most gamers as that is the resolution that still gives good fps at high settings. In comparison to 4k you'd likely have to go to low settings on most games and medium on some just to be at a good speed with a high end card.

4k just has too many downsides right now, if you don't mind playing 30fps then it's no problem.. but it is not for me.

It's not like 1080p has suddenly become obsolete either, in fact you still need mid/high end cards to maintain high fps at that resolution anyway.

[JBSleek]

1440p is already here and is what I game out so it won't be some new standard it's already here.

Also it won't be the standard for the gaming simply because there is no TV that outputs at that resolution as that would be silly.

Also with the impending release of GTX 880 with 8GB of ram 4K is ready and will be playable with only one card.

[user5669510]

4k doesnt exist until consoles do it. havent they learned last gen.

[clouds5]

Wh00t? So 1080p doesn't exist either? Not many games are 1080p on consoles (including new gen..)

[Einhert]

Yes that is why 1080p 60fps has been the mainstay on PC for the last generation.

More gamers on PC than on both those consoles combined.

[InMyOpinion]

In 7-10 years perhaps.

[angelsx]

How the games will look in 10 years?

[xYLeinen]

You won't see 4k games on consoles this generation. Its possible on PC but you need an amazing GPU to run it smoothly. You probably will need to start with 1440p first..

[Rob Hornecker]

UHD would be nice to have ,but the price and lack of game support are the big drawbacks. Those of you that can afford UHD make me drool! LOL

I have been looking into 60 L.E.D. monitors from the big names like LG,sony,samsung.sharp,ect and feel that I can get a decent set for $800 to $1500.

I'm looking at atleast a 240mzh refresh rate and the low power comsumption of the the LED's as main factors towards my purchase. Using these as standards I should be be fine for my last gen and current next gen gaming pleasure.

[sprinterboy]

Gonna wait for a 4k oled curved tv before I goto 4k, in fact I will probably buy one just before launch of the ps5, they should be well under the £1,000 mark by then

[Takwin]

I've got a Yamaksi 301 Sparta that is 30" 1600p (so much better than 1440p) powered by an ASUS 290x. I run everything on ultra and kill it. So gorgeous.

I actually considered getting a 144 hz monitor at 1080p then saw the difference in person compared to 60 hz at 1600p. Absolutely no going back to 1080p except to play my PS4 and Wii U exclusives (which I love too, since I'm a gamer, not a fanboy).

4K is still a long way out for 99% of the population but many people could afford this monitor - $400 on eBay, and a regular non-reference 290 would probably work too, but 290x is even better.

With consoles, it will be a GD miracle if the NEXT generation is 4k 60 fps.

[ibrake4naps]

I'd rather get a vr headset

[DEEBO]

Yeah VR looks to be the next big thing.

No TV stations supports 4k, x1,ps4 doesn't use it they are having a hard time with 1080p/60ps.

I paid for 4 1080p tv's last gen but the ps3/360 games ran at sub-hd not making the same mistake twice.

[ibrake4naps]

Yeah. Flat screens just aren't exciting anymore.

[hesido]

4K will benefit people with money that can replace their TV's.

60fps as standard would benefit every TV owner! The more K's, the less FPS!

[Lulz_Boat]

it's just sad that my 3500€ tv will be useless for 3-4 years.... 1080p content is amazing, ok... but i want 4k content :\

[sGIBMBR]

By the time you're swimming in 4K content, your TV will not be as good as the new 4K TV's at that time. So right now you're enjoying 1080p content (the same as you was before) and by the time all this 4K content hits, your TV will look dated compared.

This is why I won't early adopt on TV's.

[Lulz_Boat]

i'm sorry, my tv use a 10bit color pattern, there will be no differences with future tv models :)

[sGIBMBR]

If so then that's cool bro. I wasn't digging at you and I'm not going to pretend that I know everything about TV's and their specs.

I remember when HDTV's first came out and they were £2,500+. Soon after those exact same TV's were down by half because they were replaced by much better spec'd TV's, and it didn't even take long. I have a feeling 4 years from now 4K TV's will be much better than the current ones out, and probably cheaper too.

[Npugz7]

Consoles can barely do 1080p!! PS5 and Xbox Two might be able to do ultra hd but that years away!!

[VJGenova]

I was agreeing with the author up until the point where he called 1080p boring. If you compare a game like the witcher 1 (2008) to the witcher 3 (2015), there's no mistaken the difference in graphics quality. What people are pissed about, is the lack of games that will look as good as this one. You don't hear people complaining that their blu-ray copy of the Dark Knight isn't good enough ...

Also, it's been a shitty year for new games. Only games I bought new were Thief, which was terrible, dark souls 2 and stick of truth (both on last gen architecture).

It's going to be many years before ultra hd becomes standard and consoles have enough power to keep up. So untill then I understand why people will complain about 900p. Granted, I am getting sick of reading about it everyday. :-p

[lemoncake]

You will be able to get a good 4k capable PC for a decent price in the next few years, if you are a ps4 or x1 user only then it will be at least 5 years from now assuming they put decent hardware in next time around.

[VJGenova]

My pc is already capable of 2560x1600 but my tv is capped at 1080p. Until the price of good quality tvs drops, most people won't adopt it so game developers won't write their games to optimize it.

[JBSleek]

My PC runs at 2560x1440p. I really want a 4Kmonitor with g-Sync

[renerak]

I am not sure abt 4k being a revolution, its just a higher resolution and there is still 8k. I think the nex revolution will be crossing the 'uncanny valey'.

[bumnut]

I don't agree, I think VR will be the revolution we've been waiting for.

You can make a screen as big and high res as you want, but its still a flat 2d image that offers nothing new except a sharper image.

[ibrake4naps]

Exactly! Bubble vote added

[one2thr]

Last I heard, there are some 4k T.v.'s that can upscale 1080p to 4000p with near flawless results.

My question- Would it be a night and day difference between native 4k content being displayed, against 1080p content being upscaled to near flawless 4k resolution on ultra high definition display ,and what major differences would it cause on the viewer/gamers end, such response times, and refresh rates?

[Dragonopolis]

uhhh (Sighing)..Now if only mainstream video cards could play games at 4K+. And as you have read above there are people now with 2 4k tvs/monitors as they are starting to come down to mainstream pricing.

Also another problem is multiple tvs/monitors. If every tv/monitor is 4k when it becomes the gold standard, how is the GPU supposed to push mulitple 4k monitors at 40-60fps.

As it is right now, neither Nvidia or AMD are any where close to pushing multiple 4K with their current GPU tech. The closest I've seen or heard is some super expensive dual commercial grade GPU setup and that was pushing only multiple 4k video on monitors but not multiple 4k gaming on monitors. Heck even the expensive not mainstream video cards for PCs can barely play games at 4k at acceptable frame rates with every graphic enhancements on at high settings.

Nvidia and AMD are way behind the curve and need to make a real generational leap graphically now.... rather than force renamed 2-3 year old tech down gamer's throat and expect us to smile....

Glad my Plasma TV is still going.... but it is 5 years old and I pray that It will last a couple more years and 4K will be mainstream, Cheap, with actual content available....

here's to hope.... Cheers!