Everything You Wanted to Know About 4K... and Some Things You Didn't

So by now you've probably heard about 4K... if you're a self-described audioholic, that is. If you're the average consumer you likely don't know what the heck we're talking about. 4K was on nearly everyone's lips at this year's 2012 CES Consumer Electronics Show. 4K is, in essence, the next evolution for home theater in terms of resolution, and the next bane of existence for manufacturers, consumers and content providers alike. It's 4 times the resolution of 1080p and, consequently, roughly four times the storage size and bandwidth to store and transmit. 4K is also the resolution that experts say can replicate the level of detail present in film grain. That means it is the digital equivalent of real film - the kind we used to view our movies on at the theater, though digital cinema seems to be incrementally taking over. 4K is exciting, 4K is new, 4K promises a lot... and 4K means many different things to many different people. This article will attempt to flush out exactly what the hubbub is with 4K, why you should (or should not) care about it, and what it means in the various places and forms where it shows up.

What Exactly Is 4K?

As we alluded to earlier, 4K is a resolution.