This year’s FA Community Shield, between FA Cup champions Arsenal and Premier League title winners Chelsea will be the first program on the first live 4K UHD channel in the United Kingdom, BT Sport Ultra HD channel.
The matchup will be broadcast in 8.3 million pixel Ultra HD, often referred to as 4K, on the channel owned by British telecommunications company BT Group. This will be the largest scale sport broadcasting deal so far for Ultra HD and a big move forward.
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Now, this is interesting news for the progress of technology, and ever-clearer televisions, but how viable is this option?
The channel comes with a price tag of £15, and includes an Ultra HD bundle from BT with a number of different channels all placed under the title of Entertainment Ultra HD.
So, £15 is not all that much to be able to clearly see the numbers on the backs of your favorite players, and their minute footwork.
Of course this fee also comes with the need for an Ultra HD, television, which are becoming ever cheaper. Vizio has a model for only $600.
The only problem with all of this is that technology is moving so rapidly that companies are beginning to make the next big thing in television—8K. It is going to take a few years for 8K to catch on, but it is projected that in by around 2019 8K televisions will begin to really take off.
Even the MLB has already begun to test out 8K for its future broadcasting.
While 4K has its perks and is beginning to make its way into the marketplace, it may be better to wait and save up for 8K’s eventual takeover. Besides, it is looks like it is going to be a lot more amazing than 4K.