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Ultra High Definition officially replaces 4K

The Consumer Electronics Association has announced that the consumer name for 4K will be Ultra HD and gears up for displays to be shown off at next year's CES in Las Vegas.

Headshot of Ty Pendlebury
Headshot of Ty Pendlebury
Ty Pendlebury Editor
TV and home video editor Ty Pendlebury joined CNET Australia in 2006, and moved to New York City to be a part of CNET in 2011. He tests, reviews and writes about the latest TVs and audio equipment. When he's not playing Call of Duty he's eating whatever cuisine he can get his hands on. He has a cat named after one of the best TVs ever made.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury
The 84LM9600 is one of the first displays that is expected to qualify for the new Ultra HD specification. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The display format formerly known as 4K will now be called "Ultra High Definition" in the home, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced in California today.

The CEA said it chose Ultra HD to denote that it has a higher resolution than the existing 1,920x1,080 pixels of full high definition.

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To qualify as Ultra HD, a display needs to have a resolution of at least 3,840 pixels horizontally and at least 2,160 pixels vertically, the CEA said. Additionally, the product will require at least one 4K-capable digital input and display 4K content natively without upconverting.

"This new terminology and the recommended attributes will help consumers navigate the marketplace to find the TV that best meets their needs," said president and CEO of CEA Gary Shapiro in a release.

There are only a handful of products that are denoted as 4K in the market presently -- including a Sony VPL-VW1000ES but at the moment there aren't any 4K consumer sources beyond a PC output, and one 4K feature film. Ultra HD technology is expected to take a prominent place at next year's CES, which will be January 8-11, 2013, in Las Vegas.