Wednesday, August 12th, 2015

4K vs. Full HD Televisions: What’s the Difference?

Jonathan Blum

Technology is advancing increasingly faster, making the useful life of our electronic devices increasingly shorter. How often have we bought a telephone or a computer only to realize that in less than a year its unique features have already become obsolete? The same thing happens with televisions. We have certainly come a long way from black and white televisions to digital screens.

There is currently a big debate among experts on Full HD and 4K televisions: which is really the best deal for users? One of the main differences between the two is image resolution. While Full HDs have up to 1080p (equivalent to two million pixels per square) 4Ks have 4000p (equivalent to 9 million resolution pixels per square) which means the 4Ks have up to four times higher image quality with better contrast and much sharper images.

Another characteristic that make 4K televisions stand out is they have special sensors to detect programs that are not recorded with this type of technology and automatically correct them so they can be viewed with the best possible quality.

However, despite the advantages they offer, 4Ks are positioned below Full HD televisions because they can be very expensive (up to USD$5,500) and it is hard to actually find content (film, television or videogames) that are adapted to their resolution.

In the end, everything depends on the experience the user desires. It is worth remembering that as this new array of screens becomes a trend, content producers will begin to adapt their formats to them.