Sony confident of 4K consumer appeal

Jim Underwood, Executive VP, Worldwide Digital and Commercial Strategy, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, is positive about the progress of 4K and says it has gone beyond the point of wondering whether it can become a reality.

In Underwood’s view, it is now entirely possible to have a full 4K experience at home, and 4K sets are becoming more affordable, reports Broadband TV News.

“We’re going to see it take off over time,” he said, suggesting that price points would come down quickly, particularly given that Sony was providing 4K sets pre-loaded with Sony studio content. With such an “attractive” proposition, “you’re going to see that deliver a lot of interest from consumers,” he added.

Although Sony is already providing 4K sets with Sony studio content, in the long term the challenge will be to have a rich dedicated hard drive. 3D, on the other hand, will not go away over time and is in fact an important element of the Blu-Ray story.

Speaking more generally, Underwood pointed out that consumer entertainment spend worldwide has fallen in the last few years, from $55 billion in 2005 to $44.2 billion in 2012, though there had been signs of stabilisation in 2011/12.