1080p Is the Final Standard TV Resolution
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Is this bad? Won’t this hold up the march of progress? No. I believe “1080p HD” is the final standard TV resolution.
Broadcast is dying. The Netflix model is the future: no channels, all packets.
Switching to packets allows each person can choose their own “standard”.
If you’re the kind of person who “needs” a 120” screen, you’re going to buy an 8K projector, and you will pay extra for super-fast internet, and you will pay extra to access 8K content.
If you’re like my family, you’ll be happy with your 32” TV at 1080p, and you will pay the regular rate for low-end-highspeed internet, and you will get access to 1080p content as part of the basic package.
If you’re a programmer, you might want lots of screen real estate for being productive, and not watch video content on it at all. For you, maybe 4K is the perfect balance. It lets you see lots of text on the screen at once, without being so humongous that your desk collapses.
Or maybe you’re a traveller, and an iPhone or iPad is all you need or want for content consumption and creation.
Think I’m crazy? This exact progression has already happened in cellular networks. 3G and prior networks were all channel-based. 4G/LTE is completely packet-based. It brought with it an explosion of bandwidth, and much more reliable hand-overs. I could go on and on, but if you’re interested in the story behind that, check out this episode of the Pragmatic podcast.