4KTV at SMPTE: Consumer Update
The debate about whether or not 4K resolution will be detectable by the human eye in the average living room situation is immaterial. Here it comes, ready or not. So please, at least get the color right, Pete Putman said to a room full of applauding engineers at the SMPTE Technical Conference in Hollywood.
Putman, the walking encyclopedia of display technology, said 8-bit color should be “outlawed” for 4K.
“Eight-bit color isn’t sufficient for 4K, 10-bit and 12-bit must be used,” he said.
The lower color depth yields abrupt borders on color fields that look a little like a paint-by-numbers kit painting. It’s a waste of resolution.
As with all emerging technologies, there’s a chokepoint, and with 4KTVs, it’s the interface. The maximum data rate minus the overhead for HDMI 1.4 is sufficient for 8-bit, 3840 x 2160 4K at 30 Hz, but not 10- and 12-bit at 60 Hz. HDMI 2.0 can handle a higher payload, but it still can’t handle 10-bit color, Putman said. DisplayPort 1.2 supports 60p, 10-bit 4K, but is not as ubiquitous as HDMI.
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