Ultra HD broadcasts to start in 2014

If you're one of the few people in the world that has dropped the £20k plus that you'd need in order to get hold of an ultra high definition TV and you happen to live in Japan, then you're in luck, as you'll actually be able to do more than watch four HD movies simultaneously as of next year. In 2014, UHDTV broadcasts are expected to begin.

If it follows through with these intentions, this puts the Japanese broadcasting industry ahead of the rest of the world by nearly two years. The plan is to get it all ready for the World Cup in 2014, though as a non-fan of the sport, it's hard to see why you really need to see the ball in more detail than HD.

Here in the UK, the Telegraph reports there have been several trials of the 4k technology, but there are no plans for a commercial launch as of yet. Admittedly that's because nobody has one of these TVs, but then we're sat holding a chicken and an egg and asking someone to please just go first.

Of course TV makers like LG and Sony would rather it was the TV services, but of course broadcasters want more available TVs, so for now we'll just have to wait. Chances are it'll be much easier for companies like Netflix to introduce UHD streams and that will gradually lead to an uptake in these televisions.

KitGuru Says: Of course the fact that they're all around 80 inches in size will always be a limiting factor as there's only so many homes that could fit such a giant set.

Become a Patron!