Special cable for 4K tv?

[pclaptop]

A friend is thinking about buying a 4k TV and the salesman says he needs a special cable(at a special price I'll bet) to connect his sources to the 4k!

An regular HDMI won't do or component (Red, Blue, Green with red/white audio)?

fact or fiction!

[newpball]

HDMI runs way behind the facts, it is not for nothing the free market industry has come up with alternatives such as DisplayPort and Thunderbolt.

If you want 4K and 60Hz you have to make sure you get a connection that can handle that!

What connections does the 4K TV support?

[jman98]

I would call it "misleading" with a basis in fact. Your friend would need an HDMI 2.0 cable to get 4k TV resolution at 60 frames per second, so I assume that is what the salesman is referring to. Now are there ANY sources at all that currently send 4k 60 fps video? I have no idea what Netflix uses, but I'd guess 4k at 29.97 fps and the older HDMI 1.4 is sufficient for that. So while eventually in the future some theoretical video source might require HDMI 2.0, at this time I doubt your friend has any sources that would truly require a special cable.

[newpball]

So while eventually in the future some theoretical video source might require HDMI 2.0, at this time I doubt your friend has any sources that would truly require a special cable.

So no-one in his right mind would ever connect a PC to a 4K TV?

[Brad]

Your friend would need an HDMI 2.0 cable to get 4k TV resolution at 60 frames per second

There's no such thing as an HDMI 2.0 cable; they disallowed referring to cables with version numbers in October 2008. Existing "High Speed" cables can support all features of HDMI 2.0, if the source and display do.

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_2_0/hdmi_2_0_faq.aspx#144
http://www.cnet.com/news/hdmi-2-0-what-you-need-to-know/
http://www.hdmi.org/consumer/finding_right_cable.aspx

[newpball]

Luckily containers of HDMI 2.0 capable 4K TVs are not coming in by the minute from Asian factories because right now it's a total mess: HDMI 2.0, HDCP, 4:4:4 issues, 8 bit limitations, the list goes on and on.

If you want 4K right now you are much better off using DisplayPort.

[Cornucopia]

To add to vaporeon's post, the HDMI 2.0 spec is expected to be finalized later this year (or early next). Until then, there is no CE standard able to handle 4k at 60p or higher. I say CE standard, because TVs have to have standard CE inputs for the bulk of their sources otherwise they would not be able to sell to the masses with economies of scale (the majority of the public do NOT use their PC/VGA/Displayport/Thunderbolt or USB ports to view sources). *Note that the OP said, "TV" not "monitor".

Regardless, that only affects those wishing to view 4k at higher framerates. As already mentioned by jman98, current HDMI standards are already capable of handling 4k at 24, 25, or 30fps. That salesman is trying to get extra commissions.

What I'm a little worried about though, is the possibility that the 4k TVs being sold don't have a firmware update path to enable HDMI 2.0 (and importantly also HDCP 2.0) once it's finalized. Without that, those glorious images that people want to see won't happen on that device (except via PC/USB/LAN).

Scott

[jman98]

So while eventually in the future some theoretical video source might require HDMI 2.0, at this time I doubt your friend has any sources that would truly require a special cable.

So no-one in his right mind would ever connect a PC to a 4K TV?

OK. Fair point. Since I personally do not connect my PC to my TV, I forget that there are actually people who do this. But still, what the hell prompted your "right mind" comment? Am I for sure totally and 100% completely and utterly off in doubting that the guy in question "has any sources that would truly require a special cable?". But you are right in that this COULD happen, so points to you for pointing that out. I guess all one of the guy's theoretical 4k 60fps videos on his PC just completely and utterly blow away my point. Or not.

[Cornucopia]

Just another jab agenda™, jman98.

Scott

[pclaptop]

Exactly guys, and with all of the un agreed upon variables, "Why buy a 4K TV?"

I asked my friend AND the salesman(who was pushing the 4K sale) what 4k content is available?

With no plausible answer, my friend backed down from the 4k and bought a really nice 50" Panasonic smart TV. (and a $13.00 12' HDMI cable from Walmart)

Thanks for ALL of the input and knowledge . . .

Chris

[ndjamena]

4K Blu Ray should be arriving some time this year...

After wasting my money on a DVD copy of Offspring, I looked it up on IMDB and discovered it was shot in 4K. I feel cheated, yet they didn't even bother releasing it on Blu Ray.

http://4k.com/news/20-years-movie-titles-filmed-4k-nobody-bothered-save/

[Cornucopia]

If you work with 3D video (like I do), the benefit of a 4k/UHD TV is immediate (provides FullHD per eye with current 3DBD & PC material). For others, it depends on case-by-case basis. 4k TVs do usually have improved contrast & color gamut (especially the Quantum Dot technology products). And (hopefully*) you are future-proofing by getting one. But don't shoot yourself if a standard HDTV is more in your budget.

The 4k "UltraHD BD" standard may get revealed at ~NAB (April?), but the earliest you would see titles are probably going to be ~Nov/Christmas, if not later. There are still certain things being finalized even now.

That link is full of misinformation & half-truths. Very, very few digital cameras could shoot 4k until quite recently (last ~8years). Film cams have no resolution equivalency, it just depends on how it was scanned. Some scanners used were 2k, some 4k. The ones that were 4k were done so at the time to allow the benefits of oversampling, so when the file was downsized to standard 2k it would look real clean. Also a LOT of cams that did shoot 4k (e.g. Red, Alexa) did so to allow for shot re-composition and/or stabilization features, it doesn't necessarily mean the clip used in the edited version was going to be 4k anyway.

Scott

[pclaptop]

4K Blu Ray should be arriving some time this year...

After wasting my money on a DVD copy of Offspring, I looked it up on IMDB and discovered it was shot in 4K. I feel cheated, yet they didn't even bother releasing it on Blu Ray.

http://4k.com/news/20-years-movie-titles-filmed-4k-nobody-bothered-save/

Download the movie from a torrent site in HD 1080/720 and play from your laptops HDMI (or VGA out if you dont have an HDMI port) to your tv!