By Eric Cohen
While trolling through the usual websites and blogs pertaining to the digital video market, I came across this article detailing a new survey decrying what will most likely be a very slow transition from 2k to 4k resolution media. Conducted by Quantel and Snell,they found that out of 1000 respondents involved in the broadcast media, only 34% described 4k as being “relevant now,” 60% said it would become relevant “only in the future,” while 6% said, well, it will never be relevant. Even after their lifetime (that last sentence is just a general paraphrase. Actually, I kind of made that up).
This news arrives on the heels of announcements regarding new 4k TVs, UHD TVs, 4k cams and how studios are equipping themselves with not just an upgrade from 2k, but with the intention to shoot and edit in 8k. And yet this survey seems to contradict the impression that might result from all the hype and press announcements regarding 4k.
One should also keep in mind that the survey was sent out to people within the broadcast industry. As in: they do not feel the need to air visual signals in that resolution. Or at least they’re not in a rush to do so. The reasons for this are many but most of all it comes down to practicality and cost. Not only would current equipment have to be upgraded but at a sometimes prohibitive cost. And we’re not just talking about the cameras. Post production equipment would have to be completely overhauled as the current non linear platforms are barely accommodating the 4k model and require some serious extensions and plug ins to do so. And the rendering time can be massive depending on the hard drive you use. Even if they could justify the extra expenditure, the question remains just how many consumers will own a 4k television in the next two years?
Tech such as the Atomos Shogun All-In-One Studio and the BlackMagic Design ATEM Production Studio help ease the post production flow of 4k conversion.
As it turns out, it could be a lot. According to cnet.com, over 6 million 4k televisions were shipped to retailers in 2014. Granted, the larger consumer market is in Asia (which explains why the majority of production companies broadcasting in 4k are in that part of the world). However, you also have websites like dealnews.com warning against buying a 4k tv because it ”ain’t worth owning one yet” only to double back and rescind their claim by stating “oh, yeah, I guess it is worth buying now.” And they did so within less than a year. Not to mention, many production companies are shooting in 4k thus there is more than enough content out there to play on your swanky UHD TV. Because the 4096 x 2160 pixel count is the industry standard for digital projection in today’s cinemas. Ergo, lots of 4k friendly blurays will go on the market later in the year. So while the Quanteland Snell survey seems to contradict the hype surrounding the immediate future of 4k and beyond, the current market trend appears to be contradicting that survey as well.
The SONY FDR-AX100 and the upcoming,Canon XC10 are two of the many consumer and professional 4k cameras hitting the market.
We haven’t even gotten into the cameras as all brands are throwing their hats into the prosumer and professional 4k cam ring. Sony released their consumer friendly FDR-AX100 last yearwhile professional photographers and videographers alike wait with anticipation for Canon’s XC10n due to ship this summer. With the prices ranging from $1600 to $3000, these are affordable cams! Film production has already been dominated by 4k Red, Arri Alexa and SonyCine Alta cameras almost the moment celluloid gave way to SD cards. So there is plenty of content being developed for 4k screens. Which brings up the question of why 60% believe this will only be relevant in the future and 6% believe it will never be.
It seems very strange considering where things are going.
The cameras are out there as are the tvs as is the content. Even if you are not shooting content that will be deliverable in 4k, there are still advantages to shooting with a 4k camera. For one thing it would save you the trouble of setting up an additional camera for that close up on an interview subject. Just scale the wide shot up to cu in post and it will look fine because the resolution is large enough. The higher end production houses are more than capable of ingesting 4k media whereas the smaller, independent contractors have access to options that can streamline the workflow. So is it possible that some industry leaders are skittish about 4k due to the fluctuating progress of video technology? Now that 8k has become the buzzword, rather than spending the effort and money to upgrade to 4k, one would rather take a wait and see approach to gauge its pemanency? Who knows? But as a freelance editor and motion graphic designer, I am already receiving a lot of 4k footage shot by videographers who work for my clients. It would seem that plenty of people are embracing 4k technology even if the results of the Quantel/Snell survey display skepticism in spite of that fact.
