NOW IT BEGINS

[Tom Lowe]

"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen..." *evil cackle*

Asus has official announced the world's first consumer-focused 4K resolution monitor

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2419815,00.asp

I have always firmly believed that the real 4K revolution would come when gamers and creative types get 4K monitors to hook up to their computers. Well, the floodgates are about to open, my friends. These are very exciting times. :emote_happyhappy:

 

[Evan Bourcier]

I personally find it hard to consider it directed at consumers at $5k, but that being said I still want one haha.

 

[Tom Lowe]

Well no price has been announced that I know of.

Also, as I have always maintained, these 4K monitors are likely to be aimed at PC gamers and creative people -- the kind of people who will drop $7,000 on a new gaming PC, or $8,000 on a new DSLR. From there, prices will decreased swiftly and dramatically.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Hate to burst bubbles, but it's a SHARP PN-K321 with the front logo badge swapped out to say ASUS. Otherwise completely identical. But hey, nice to see more proliferation into the market...

 

[David Collard]

A couple of months ago, a Sony rep suggested there was a 60" (? or was it 70") 4K monitor aimed at a $3200
price point on its way at some point. Hard to believe with the current priced one.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I just saw the 65" Sony 4K on sale the other day for $5999, so that's $1K off its list price. The SEIKI 50" is $1K if you shop around. Vizio has a 70" coming in about the next 60 days or so that should be under $5K. Originally they were hinting at $6500, and this is their new premium line, but they're going to have to undercut the Sony unit if they want sales, even with the extra 5" of screen size. Vizio units also tend to sell for about 15% below MSRP and they don't rely on "authorized" dealer networks like Sony does.

There's a whole bunch more headed our way too and prices are going to fall fast. 4K TV's will be the same price as 1080p TVs, in some cases even cheaper, within the next 2 years. All the new desktop monitors, except the cheap crappy ones, are going to be 4K by this time next year.

 

[Tom Lowe]

Jeff why is it bursting bubbles if it's a rebranded Sharp?

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Probably just because it's getting promoted as being all new and even claimed as "the first" 4K monitor, etc... The Sharp (and now ASUS) is just "meh"... Lots of wonderful pixels, but the color rendition of the monitor is very lacking and the internal electronics are off the shelf components to drive it as two 1920x2160 displays. It uses dual-head mode via DisplayPort 1.2 or dual HDMI inputs to drive at 60Hz. With either of those 60Hz options, you get a left side and right side arrangement, the computer sees it as two displays, not one. With ATI drivers they have an option to treat the dual display area as a single large display. Nvidia does not, unfortunately. So with nVidia, you get your login box on one of the two sides, maximizing a window only fills half of the display.. Image shearing/ tearing between the two halves when playing video "full screen". All of these issues are growing pains of sorts, I guess. I already tried the Sharp, decided to wait. Then decided it was OK and bought it. Kept it for about 5 days and sent it back, less the restock fee. I'm personally going to hold off on buying a monitor until someone does it right. I'm as anxious as anyone to get all the extra pixels... I should know better than to swing at the first pitch...

The unfortunate part is that I think we're still at least a year away from single-interface 60Hz+ 4K via HDMI 2.0 or DP 1.3...

I have the 50" SEIKI and it suffers from the same interface growing pains. It only accepts up to 30Hz input, 31Hz with tweaking... I've tried it as a desktop and getting used to a 50" on the desk wasn't a big deal. The 30Hz was a deal breaker. But the SEIKI works well for showing 4K as a client and presentation display. Also works as just a decent all-around 50" TV, provided you don't use the internal speakers, with the ability to show 4K. I look at it as if I bought a $800 50" cheap-o HDTV. However, instead of 1080p, I spent another $300 and upgraded to basic UHD/4K. Even with it's quirks, the purchase still feels like a Win.

 

[Justin Kirchhoff]

Jeff, I have the Seiki 50" as well. And I agree with all that you have said about it. I bought it as a way to showcase 4K to clients when the REDRAY finally ships. The color isn't super great.

I really do love the way the Sony looks. Caught it at Best Buy as well. The colors are more miraculous, I'm just waiting for the prices to drop a little bit. Hoping when Holiday season comes around it'll do just that.

 

[Chad Lancaster]

$3799
http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/03/asus-31-5-inch-4k-monitor-priced-at-3-799-39-inch-version-com/