On the sink side, we have seen models from many vendors claiming HDMI 2.0 support. A few NVIDIA GPUs based on the second-generation Maxwell family (GM206 and GM204) come with HDMI 2.0 ports. True 4Kp60 support comes with HDMI 2.0, but the number of products with HDMI 2.0 sources can be counted with a single hand right now. Given that 4:2:0 might not necessarily be supported by HDMI 1.4 display sinks, it is not guaranteed that all 4K TVs are compatible with that format. The result was that even non-HDMI 2.0 cards were able to drive 4Kp60 video. However, the standard allowed for transmitting the video with chroma downsampled (i.e, 4:2:0 instead of the 4:4:4 24 bpp RGB / YCbCr mandated in the earlier HDMI versions). HDMI 2.0, which was released in late 2013, brought in support for 4Kp60 video.
Explaining chroma sub-sampling is beyond the scope of this article, but readers can think of it as a way of cutting down video information that the human eye is less sensitive to. These were compatible with HDMI 1.4 - capable of carrying 4Kp24 signals at 24 bpp (bits per pixel) without any chroma sub-sampling. However, from the display link perspective, the transition to 4K has been quite confusing.ĤK output over HDMI began to appear on PCs with the AMD Radeon 7000 / NVIDIA 600 GPUs and the Intel Haswell platforms. In the case of the SD to HD / FHD transition, HDMI 1.3 (arguably, the first HDMI version to gain widespread acceptance) was able to carry 1080p60 signals with 24-bit sRGB or YCbCr. Given these aspects, what do consumers need to keep in mind while upgrading their HTPC equipment for the 4K era? Display Link and Content ProtectionĭisplayPort outputs on PCs and GPUs have been 4K-capable for more than a couple of generations now, but televisions have only used HDMI. In addition, pushing 4K content via the web makes it important to use a modern video codec to push down the bandwidth requirements. The industry believes it is necessary to protect such content from unauthorized access in the playback process.
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Hence, we will be using them interchangeably in the rest of this piece.Ĭurrently, most TV manufacturers promote UHD TVs by offering an inbuilt 4K-capable Netflix app to supply 'premium' UHD content. Despite the differences, '4K' has become entrenched in the minds of the consumers as a reference to UHD. Ultra HD / UHD / QFHD all refer to a resolution of 3840x2160.
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However, movies and broadcast media continue to be the drivers for 4K televisions. This can be attributed to the rise in popularity of displays with high pixel density as well as support for recording 4K media in smartphones and action cameras on the consumer side. 4K (Ultra High Definition / UHD) has matured far more rapidly compared to the transition from standard definition to HD (720p) / FHD (1080p).
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