Ultra High-Definition and 4K at the Cowen Company Trend Spotting Summit

Vince Pizzica, Head of Partnerships and Ventures for Technicolor spoke about the future of Ultra High-Def (UHD) and 4k at Cowen & Company’s​ 3rd Annual “Trend Spotting Technology Summit” in San Francisco on Wednesday, December 17.

Vince joined fellow panelists from Samsung, Luminari Capital and Digital Advisors to discuss UHD and whether this new technology will spark the next consumer electronics upgrade cycle. The panelists discussed many key issues facing UHD and its widespread adoption, both among consumers and in the marketplace. Some of the issues include consumer knowledge about UHD and its benefits, price points for a new UHD TV and lack of UHD content.

Vince pointed out that it will take many years for content owners to build up a library of content and then begin the up-conversions to UHD. There are also more back-end hurdles and costs associated with UHD – bigger files, more technology, bandwidth, interoperability,  infrastructure upgrades, quality of up-conversion, and rendering complexity.  But that’s where Technicolor comes into play – we leverage our dynamic heritage in color and picture to deliver Ultra HD quality, from production to distribution, regardless of what image resolution is chosen -  Standard, HD, 4K/UHD. Our commitment is centered around bringing end-users the high digital standards intended by the artists and studios, on any platform. In other words, content and its distribution doesn’t have to be 4K for Technicolor to deliver a stunning 4K experience.

While UHD TVs provide a beautiful picture, the panelists agreed that there is no real “wow factor” between HD and UHD, like there was going from DVD to Blu-ray Disc. Therefore, consumers will need to be convinced this new technology is worth the investment of a new UHD TV and UHD content.  While the demos are compelling, it may not be enough to drive a very meaningful upgrade cycle.

The final consensus of the panelists is that it will take an investment from everyone in the industry to make UHD work.