Let's get 4K really under way
Our eagle-eyed reader, vism, has spotted a nice little Easter Egg, hidden away in Google's cache, ahead of the fun out in Berlin at IFA 2013 - and it's a double yoker.
It would seem that not only are Panasonic about to get in on the Ultra HD act, with their new WT600 LED TV, but that the display will mark the advent of HDMI 2.0.
That Panasonic will have a 4K TV ready to go to market is no great surprise. They will be the last of the really big boys to hop aboard and we were not only expecting them to have 4K LED but their UHD OLED too.
What's more significant is that it looks as though HDMI 2.0 is finally here, which should truly make the next-gen TV format a workable reality.
For the uninitiated, HDMI in its current 1.4 revision is only capable of displaying a maximum of 30 frames per second at a 3840×2160 resolution. That should be fine, for most, to enjoy movies but it's going to be sorely lacking for the likes of fast paced sports, where standards bodies are looking for anything up to 120 frames per second to maintain clarity with the extra pixels.
Panasonic's press event begins at 3pm tomorrow, out in Berlin, so it will be interesting to see how - assuming they are going to - play the announcement of HDMI 2.0.
Interestingly, on Friday, the HDMI Licensing Group has an event on its own, entitled 'Next Steps in HD Connectivity' so its possible the WT600 reveal might steal some of their thunder. Panasonic did hold back their 4K OLED TV at CES 2013, until later in the show, so it's just possible they could let the HDMI event be the WT600's launchpad but that's probably unlikely, given its relatively low-key standing.
Not surprisingly, the WT600 looks a lot like the 1080p WT60/WT65 but naturally boasts an enhanced 4K feature set including a 4K Media Player, the 4K Fine Remaster Engine, a 4K Web Browser and 4K Online Playback. Notice the emphasis on 4K over Ultra High Definition in the marketing, as an aside.
By the looks of the Panasonic.com webpage, the first revision of HDMI 2.0 will be pegged at 60 frames per second, maximum, but that could be increased with later versions. The WT600 is also listed as supporting 50p which is likely what our broadcast UHD standard will end up being transmitted at.
Interestingly the WT600 will feature Display Port 1.2 compatibility, as well, something we know many of our readers have been crying out for, for years. Display Port is used in MacBooks and Mac Pros, PCs and professional 4K cameras and enables 4K 60p signals to be sent through a single cable and exceeds the demands of even professional content editing, at present.
The uncovered WT600 is of a 65-inch screen size and is one of the first to boast THX 4K certification too. The full quoted model number is the TC-L65WT600, which is likely to translate to TX-L65WT600, in Europe, and perhaps TX-L65WT600B in the UK.
There's no pricing, as yet, and the webpage has since been taken down but we think we all know what will now be one of the major stories of IFA 2013.
Our eagle-eyed reader, vism, has spotted a nice little Easter Egg, hidden away in Google's cache, ahead of the fun out in Berlin at IFA 2013 - and it's a double yoker.
It would seem that not only are Panasonic about to get in on the Ultra HD act, with their new WT600 LED TV, but that the display will mark the advent of HDMI 2.0.
That Panasonic will have a 4K TV ready to go to market is no great surprise. They will be the last of the really big boys to hop aboard and we were not only expecting them to have 4K LED but their UHD OLED too.
What's more significant is that it looks as though HDMI 2.0 is finally here, which should truly make the next-gen TV format a workable reality.
For the uninitiated, HDMI in its current 1.4 revision is only capable of displaying a maximum of 30 frames per second at a 3840×2160 resolution. That should be fine, for most, to enjoy movies but it's going to be sorely lacking for the likes of fast paced sports, where standards bodies are looking for anything up to 120 frames per second to maintain clarity with the extra pixels.
Panasonic's press event begins at 3pm tomorrow, out in Berlin, so it will be interesting to see how - assuming they are going to - play the announcement of HDMI 2.0.
Interestingly, on Friday, the HDMI Licensing Group has an event on its own, entitled 'Next Steps in HD Connectivity' so its possible the WT600 reveal might steal some of their thunder. Panasonic did hold back their 4K OLED TV at CES 2013, until later in the show, so it's just possible they could let the HDMI event be the WT600's launchpad but that's probably unlikely, given its relatively low-key standing.
Not surprisingly, the WT600 looks a lot like the 1080p WT60/WT65 but naturally boasts an enhanced 4K feature set including a 4K Media Player, the 4K Fine Remaster Engine, a 4K Web Browser and 4K Online Playback. Notice the emphasis on 4K over Ultra High Definition in the marketing, as an aside.
By the looks of the Panasonic.com webpage, the first revision of HDMI 2.0 will be pegged at 60 frames per second, maximum, but that could be increased with later versions. The WT600 is also listed as supporting 50p which is likely what our broadcast UHD standard will end up being transmitted at.
Interestingly the WT600 will feature Display Port 1.2 compatibility, as well, something we know many of our readers have been crying out for, for years. Display Port is used in MacBooks and Mac Pros, PCs and professional 4K cameras and enables 4K 60p signals to be sent through a single cable and exceeds the demands of even professional content editing, at present.
The uncovered WT600 is of a 65-inch screen size and is one of the first to boast THX 4K certification too. The full quoted model number is the TC-L65WT600, which is likely to translate to TX-L65WT600, in Europe, and perhaps TX-L65WT600B in the UK.
There's no pricing, as yet, and the webpage has since been taken down but we think we all know what will now be one of the major stories of IFA 2013.
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