Forums » Video & Audio » Monitors and Displays » Sony's 4K Ultra HD Video Player Revealed With Wild $25K Price Tag

Sony's 4K Ultra HD Video Player Revealed With Wild $25K Price Tag

rated by 0 users
This post has 5 Replies | 1 Follower

Top 10 Contributor
Posts 21,194
Points 944,075
Joined: Sep 2007
ForumsAdministrator
Reply
News Posted: Thu, Nov 29 2012 6:00 PM
Ultra HD? It's shaping up to be a major story at CES 2013, with 4K HDTVs finally to a point where affluent consumers start to buy these sets. But then, of course, there's the chicken-and-egg issue: will anyone buy a 4K HDTV without 4K content to enjoy, and on the other hand, will anyone produce 4K content without major 4K HDTV adoption? Turns out, this one's a little easier to solve than most. 4K cameras have been used to shoot events, motion pictures and TV shows for years now, with RED's line of EPIC cameras amongst the most popular. So already, there's plenty of 4K content -- it just needs to be put on a medium where consumers can ingest it.

Sony, a huge player in 4K and a major proponent of 3D, has just unveiled the first major step in making the 4K HDTV a "must-have" item in the home. The new 4K Ultra HD Video Player is a hard-disc server that connects easily to Sony's 84-inch 4K LED TV (XBR-84X900) allowing consumers to view 4K resolution movies and short form 4K videos. Available as a bonus loaned exclusively to U.S. customers purchasing the Sony 4K LED TV, the video player comes loaded with content, including both full length Hollywood features and a gallery of videos, creating the first true home 4K experience. As a standalone unit, the Sony XBR-84X900 TV already upscales all video inputs, including the more than 7,000 Blu-ray Disc titles currently in distribution, to a near-4K resolution through the use of Sony's proprietary 4K X-Reality PRO three-chip picture engine. Now, with the new video player, consumers can for the first time enjoy true 4K Ultra HD video in the home.


That last part is vital, as it takes tons of already-available Blu-ray content, and transforms it. It's the bridge between the present and the future. In addition to the full length features, the Video Player will come pre-loaded with a gallery of 4K video shorts, including Red Bull Media House's exclusive 4K videos The Athlete Machine: Red Bull Kluge and four acoustic performances of songs from Red Bull Records' Heaven's Basement's new record, "Filthy Empire." Additionally, Sony's 4K Ultra HD delivery solution is designed to be updated with additional 4K titles and video clips. More delivery solutions will continue to evolve rapidly, with further product and content announcements coming shortly.

The only problem here? The $25,000 asking price for the video player. No one said early adoption was affordable.

Sony, as a total entertainment company encompassing movies and TV production, music, games and electronics, is uniquely positioned to be first to market in delivering 4K Ultra HD solutions. The 4K Ultra HD Home Experience includes the 84" 4K LED TV, the Video Player, and an Xperia™ Tablet S that serves as a remote control through an easy-to-use app. Pre-loaded onto the Video Player will be the following first ever collection of 10 full-length feature films presented in native 4K for the home:

  • The Amazing Spiderman
  • Total Recall (2012)
  • The Karate Kid (2010)
  • Salt
  • Battle Los Angeles
  • The Other Guys
  • Bad Teacher
  • That's My Boy
  • Taxi Driver
  • The Bridge on the River Kwai
  • | Post Points: 65
Top 150 Contributor
Posts 756
Points 7,560
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: Dallas, Tx
Reply
Dorkstar replied on Fri, Nov 30 2012 7:17 AM

I'm not sure if I should believe this is the next big thing, or the next big hype. Obviously the least compressed of a format we get the better our image, assuming the television can produce that same image, but is this going to be a standard definition to blu-ray jump, or what?

I suppose it won't matter, as I know nobody that has $25,000 laying around to buy a TV. I'll check it out when it hit's wal-mart.

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 200 Contributor
Posts 442
Points 4,145
Joined: Mar 2012
Location: LA, CA
Reply
sevags replied on Fri, Nov 30 2012 12:44 PM

"Wild" price tag? How is $25k "wild" considering every television since at least the 1990's when plasma came out has always cost $20-40k on th high end. Sorry it hats what top of the line new technology costs ESPECIALLY since these future tech tv's always get announced in some ridiculously large size.... Oh look at that 84 inches HMMMMMMMM I wonder what a current Samsung or Sony 84" LED LCD 3D TV would cost.... At least half the price of this 4k TV you say? NOOOO that can't be! That would mean this 4k tv's price isn't nearly as wild had HotHardware thought............. But then again how would HH get as many hits if it wasn't for sensationalized headlines .

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 100 Contributor
Posts 1,014
Points 10,885
Joined: Dec 2010
Location: Mcallen, Texas
Reply
OSunday replied on Fri, Nov 30 2012 12:53 PM

Well for the rich and famous this will be a nice little addition to their multitude of living rooms...

Till then us regular people will just have to wait out till something consumer grade comes out over the next 5+ years :(

But how good is upscaled content going to look?

How do you upscale 1080p resolution to near 4x that and still have it look good?

I'm betting that sooner than later somebody will start working on a way to export and release content that was originially recorded in 4k at 4k

I wonder at what point resolutions will get to where they almost literally begin to seem lifelike or equal to what our eyes see

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 150 Contributor
Posts 756
Points 7,560
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: Dallas, Tx
Reply
Dorkstar replied on Fri, Nov 30 2012 2:27 PM

OSunday:

I wonder at what point resolutions will get to where they almost literally begin to seem lifelike or equal to what our eyes see

 

Funny you say that, I was told a few years ago that 720p was actually the most color the human eye could decipher.  Of course this is kind of a odd statement, because you can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, but at what resolution are we no longer capable of seeing a difference?

 

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 500 Contributor
Posts 286
Points 2,535
Joined: Aug 2012
Location: Canada
Reply
Kidbest100 replied on Fri, Nov 30 2012 11:39 PM

Now.... Make me a 30 inch, 4K, 3D, 240 Hz, adjustable frame, monitor for my gaming rig, and I will be impressed.

(As if there would be any rig capable of pushing that res)

I know alot of people that would pay almost any amount of money for a 4K Monitor for their gaming rig, and I'm sure theres alot of people out there with money coming out of their *** that would pay for 4 4K monitors for multi-monitor gaming...

We can only dream -_-

PC Specs:

  • AMD Athlon 64 x2 6400+  Cooled by a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (push-pull)
  • 2GB DDR2
  • MSI Radeon HD 6450 2GB
  • Stock Dell motherboard
  • 250Gb HDD
  • XFX Pro Core edition 650W PSU
  • Stock Dell inspiron case

 

  • | Post Points: 5
Page 1 of 1 (6 items) | RSS