#techtip - 4K vs. UHD: What You Need to Know First, lets get some terminology squared away. The terms 4K and UHD or UltraHD are often used interchangeably. Sometimes 4K is used by itself implying UHD. Although subtle, there is a difference between the two. UHD is double the number of pixels in both width and height of the popular1080i/p HDTV resolutions. This last attribute makes scaling and displaying UHD images on HDTV sets and monitors a rather straightforward process. It also facilitates the display of HDTV signals onto a UHD screen without geometric distortion. The spatial resolutions of the two also differs in that while both formats display 2160 px high, UHD has a width of 3840 px while 4K has a width 4096 px. This results in a width to height ratio of 16:9 for UHD and 17:9 for 4K. However, there is another dimension to 4K and UHD: vertical refresh rate. Also known as frames per second (fps) or frame rate this refers to how many complete images are drawn on the screen each second. To add to the current ambiguity in describing 4K/UHD equipment and systems, often times the frame rate is ignored or not specified. This is important because a 4K/UHD product that supports 60 Hz frame rate without compression requires supporting a 12 Gb/s data rate, whereas a 30 Hz frame rate support requires only a 6 Gb/s dat rate. As 4K/UHD becomes the new standard in HDTV, the technology surround it is rapidly developing to economically create, distribute, deliver and display this new entertainment experience. Communications Speacialties has a wide range of 3500 Series Fiberlink products to support the transport of multiple 3G-SDI signals over single and multiple fibers. These products also support 4K/UHD from 30 fps up to 60 fps.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 17:30:01 +0000