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Dumb Question About How Red Sees Future of 4k Distribution...

AnthonyFlores

AnthonyFlores

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Hey all, I've been away from the forum for a really long time... but I have a 4k question that's been kinda burning a hole in my head, and thought I'd ask it here.

I was considering investing in a 4k TV, as the prices are getting closer to HD and within reason (such as the 65 inch Sony for 7k).

But my immediate question/concern is about CONTENT. I know Red and Odemax have plans, and I'm sure it will ultimately allow access to some mainstream Hollywood content--however, it seems that at least early on it will be focused on more independents and smaller filmmakers. Is this accurate? I could be wrong.

Of all the companies with 4k offerings, it seems that only Sony owns actual 4k content AND transparent/imminent plans for 4k delivery (their Video Unlimited has announced 7.99 rentals and 29.99 purchases--which is not bad, IMHO.)

Obviously, there are rumors about a 4k Apple TV--but Apple was late to even offering 1080p on iTunes--it's hard for me to imagine them quickly pushing to 4k content... then again, I'd love to be surprised. A 4k area of iTunes with movies and shows would be amazing :)

It seems Sony, by only allowing their player to work with their TV's, is essentially using their temporary 4k advantage to force early adoption of their stuff. And the other companies such as LG, Toshiba, Samsung and others have no content and are (maybe) waiting for 4k players/content from companies other than Sony to launch--while offering upscaling in the meanwhile.

Obviously, I know that long-term 4k will be as normal as 1080p and offered everywhere. But in the short term, for the next year or so, if you want native 4k big name Hollywood titles for rental or purchase, will Sony be the only game in town?

If so, their strategy just might work on me. I want a 4k TV but don't want to have to wait 12-18 mos to access an abundance of native 4k content.

Thoughts anyone?

Jeff? LOL.

Thanks in advance,

Anthony
 
Well the "clear" stuff that we can see in terms of devices and potential of digital delivered 4K are:

- Sony 4K Ultra HD Media Player, with rentals provided by them.
- Red's REDRAY with support for ODEMAX as well as physically distributed media such as memory sticks or SD cards.
- Microsoft's XBox One and Sony's PS4 will have 4K playback on them opening up 4K from sources like Netflix.
- DirectTV is doing a lot of 4K stuff that will be revealed later. We can assume some sort of hardware solution.

The X factors at the moment are Google and Apple. Their plan isn't entirely clear. Time Warner hasn't revealed their plan yet, however, many broadcasters and networks are pursuing 4K as a capture/delivery system. Several shows have been or will be shot and finished in 4K.

Right now I'm going crazy with REDRAY and I love (and I mean like unhealthy keep this from your family and friends because it's kinda dirty love) what I am encoding and playing back on the device.

By fall/winter of this year much more of this will be clearer as some of those X Factors become more solid and transparent about their plans.
 
With the current FCC spectrum greed I doubt any of the main players will be able to spare enough band width for decent quality. Even with the not yet finished H265 standard efficiency they will still need 20, 30mbs per channel. Not gonna happen as it is... something has got to give- hopefully the FCC;)
 
Phil Holland said:
Well the "clear" stuff that we can see in terms of devices and potential of digital delivered 4K are:

- Sony 4K Ultra HD Media Player, with rentals provided by them.
- Red's REDRAY with support for ODEMAX as well as physically distributed media such as memory sticks or SD cards.
- Microsoft's XBox One and Sony's PS4 will have 4K playback on them opening up 4K from sources like Netflix.
- DirectTV is doing a lot of 4K stuff that will be revealed later. We can assume some sort of hardware solution.

The X factors at the moment are Google and Apple. Their plan isn't entirely clear. Time Warner hasn't revealed their plan yet, however, many broadcasters and networks are pursuing 4K as a capture/delivery system. Several shows have been or will be shot and finished in 4K.

Right now I'm going crazy with REDRAY and I love (and I mean like unhealthy keep this from your family and friends because it's kinda dirty love) what I am encoding and playing back on the device.

By fall/winter of this year much more of this will be clearer as some of those X Factors become more solid and transparent about their plans.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think Apple would be the most interesting player since they already dominate downloads/rentals and have pre-existing deals with studios. Google could be, but I just don't think people associate buying entertainment content from them--their Play store has done little compared to Apple, and maybe the fiber push would help, but that is a lengthy rollout and far from guaranteed. To date, anything Google has done tv related has been a failure. I'm not sure how Youtube rentals have performed, though we all know Youtube has some 4k already, so Youtube could be the way Google attacks this.

In terms of Apple, at this point, I'm kinda skeptical they do a full blown 4k TV--though I know rumors have indicated they would. TV's traditionally aren't great money-makers with much longer upgrade cycles, and apart from UI/content access, it's hard to see what advantages Apple would have over other TV makers who would likely be producing much of the hardware for them anyway.

What would be most interesting for Apple IMHO, is a set top box (a kind of Apple TV on steroids) with a new UI, more power, 4k playback, new controller, etc. Could be priced like the Sony, allowing Apple to make money on hardware sales and on 4k content as it became available on iTunes. That is my hope at least, we'll see.

Still, in terms of what we know for the immediate future, I'd love to know more about what content will be available on Odemax in the next 6-12 months. Right now, being able to get the Sony 65 inch + 4k media player for around 7,000 (assuming slight discount) is very tempting. Especially considering you get 10 native 4k titles immediately, and their service is launching this fall, so you won't have to spend a ton of time without ongoing, native 4k content.

Not to push Sony, the core of my question is actually whether there are good alternatives to Sony for 4k in the near future. I'd obviously prefer to support Red or even Apple, just opening up the conversation about current/imminent access to 4k material....
 
netflix announced plans as well. they are mainstream enough to provide content to various brand tvs, forget the sony proprietary bs
 
Brian Merlen said:
netflix announced plans as well. they are mainstream enough to provide content to various brand tvs, forget the sony proprietary bs
Click to expand...

True, but Netflix has said "a year or two"... I think it's great, however, I'm eager to see what besides Sony will be available in the next 3-12 months.
 
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