Ultra HD Now 4K’s Official CE Industry Name

Ultra HD Now 4K’s Official CE Industry Name Sonoma, Calif. – After some debate in the working group stages, the Consumer Electronics Association’s Board of Industry Leaders unanimously selected “Ultra High-Definition or Ultra HD” as the official name going forward for all next-generation video displays with so-called “4K” resolution capability.

According to the official announcement Thursday, Ultra HD will be the new moniker for forthcoming big-screen TVs with more than eight million pixels of resolution (four times the resolution of today’s high-definition televisions). CEA’s Board of Industry Leaders unanimously voted yesterday to endorse the consensus opinion of CEA’s “4K” Working Group recommending the term “Ultra High-Definition” and related performance attributes. The name and related minimum performance characteristics are designed to help consumers and retailers understand the attributes of this next generation of superior television and display technology beginning to roll out this fall. The vote came during the Board’s meeting at CEA’s annual CEO Summit and Board Retreat. Sources told TWICE that the decision came quickly from the 4K Working Group Wednesday because a number of companies are readying the send off of the first Ultra HD LCD TV sets in coming weeks.

The problem for some, according to sources, was that Ultra HD has been used informally as a general name for all next-generation advanced resolution display systems, including those with either 4K or future 8K capability. Some had felt that a “4K” qualifier should be used in association with the Ultra HD name so a similar distinction could be added as 8K displays emerge in the mass market in coming years. The Working Group, now known as the CEA Ultra HD Working Group, was formed earlier this year to bring a wide array of stakeholders together to discuss how best to define and educate consumers about this new technology. The consumer electronics industry’s new designation for Ultra HD products was said to have been “the result of extensive consumer research conducted by CEA’s market research group. “Ultra HD” consistently rated highest in terms of helping consumers understand the technology and in communicating the technology’s superior viewing experience.” Ultra High-Definition will also stand for the core characteristics of 4K TVs, monitors and projectors for the home, including minimum performance attributes for resolution including at least eight million active pixels – at least 3,840 horizontally and 2,160 vertically. All Ultra HD displays mush also have an aspect ratio with width to height of at least 16:9. To use the Ultra HD label, display products will require at least one digital input capable of carrying and presenting native 4K format video from this input at full 3,840-by-2,160 resolution without relying solely on up-converting. The CEA said Ultra HD technology will be prominently displayed by multiple manufacturers at the upcoming 2013 International CES, January 8-11, in Las Vegas.