Last week, Tata Sky became the first Direct-To-Home (DTH) operator to launch a 4K set top box in India. It will deliver Ultra High Definition picture and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound at 3840 by 2160 pixels — which is approximately four times more pixels than Full HD or 2K (1920 by 1080 pixels).
There is a small difference in the actual number of pixels that define UHD and 4K, but it is too small to bother about: both are around 8 million pixels, compared to 2 million you get with HD. With twice the horizontal and vertical resolution compared to the 1080p HDTV format, 4K provides stunning image clarity with fine detail, greater texture and smoothness, making for a more immersive experience, especially in sports and outdoor panoramas.
New subscribers can book a Tata Sky 4K set top box for Rs 6,400 while current subscribers can switch to a 4K box for Rs 5,900. The box is backward compatible, which means you can still view programming on Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) channels.
The launch of the Tata Sky 4K set top box seems timed for the upcoming World Cup cricket in Australia, because let's face it, there's hardly any content in 4K/UHD and sports are the best showcase for its superior picture quality. In July last year, both Tata and Videocon previewed their 4K boxes and one can expect the latter to announce its own d2h service in 4K any time now.
The price of 4K TVs has fallen in recent weeks. They come only in size 40 inches or more -- and almost all are Smart TVs with built-in Internet access through your home WiFi network. There are a choice of 4K Smart TV models in India, from LG, Samsung, Sony, Vu, Videocon, Mitashi and others and the asking prices are in the band of Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the 40-50inch size.
Content in 4K though sparse now, will surely build up over the year. At CES, some TV makers small refinements within 4K -- like 'pixel splitting' to ensure that even non 4K content looked better or a shift to OLED or organic light emitting diodes to lower your electricity bills. Others pointed buyers at 4K cameras in some smart phones so that users could create their own shaadi ka video in UHD and see it on their 4K TV sets.
Meanwhile for the premium they are paying, 4K buyers can reassure themselves that they are future-proofing their TV for at least another 3-4 years. After that who knows?
