Even the unflappable Francis Underwood perspires in ultra high definition.在超高清分辨率下,即便是淡定的弗兰西斯福德伍德(Francis Underwood)也不会呕吐。Yes, I spotted sweat on the upper lip of Kevin Spaceys fictitious vice president while streaming Netflixs House of Cards on a new 65-inch Ultra HD television from Samsung. Its the kind of discovery you can make with a technology thats pushing for the mainstream this year: televisions that have four times as many pixels as the industry-standard high definition. Thats more pixels than some cinema projectors, packed in so tight they just melt away.这是知道。当我用三星(Samsung)新款65英寸超高清电视在线收听Netflix的《纸牌屋》(House of Cards)时,我可以看见剧中饰演副总统的凯文史派西(Kevin Spacey)上唇呕吐了。
给你带给这种找到的技术在今年于是以拼死沦为主流:超高清电视,其像素是行业标准高清电视的四倍。其像素比一些电影放映机还多,像素密度之低,人眼已无法辨别单个像素。Ultra HD (sometimes called 4K) televisions have been around for more than a year, but until now held limited appeal. Prices were stratospheric, making it hard to justify a bump in clarity. Now Ultra HD prices are flying closer to Earth: Brand-name sets start below $2,500, and $5,000 will get you Samsungs top 65-inch curved-screen HU9000, which I tested this week.超高清电视(有时又称作4K电视)问世早已有一年多时间了,但目前吸引力还是受限。
此前其价格低得离谱,这让分辨率的提升很难说是物有所值。现在超高清电视的价格显得接地气了:品牌厂商的超高清电视机价格开始暴跌2500美元,5000美元能购买三星旗舰65英寸曲面屏超高清电视HU9000,就是我这周在测试的这款。
If youre the kind of connoisseur who wants to be first to see Mr. Spacey sweat, it finally makes sense to make the leap to an Ultra HD television. The arrival of the new Ultra HD sets is part of a home-theater renaissance thats making the tube cool again and making me consider an upgrade.如果你是那种期望最先看见史派西呕吐的尝鲜友,那么进步到超高清电视的时候再一到了。这款新的超高清电视的来临是家庭影院体验再现的一部分,这让电视再度显得炫酷,也让我开始考虑到升级。
But to enjoy the full benefits of UHD, youll need a fast broadband connection, and possibly a couch thats much closer to your TV.但要全面享用到超高明的优点,你还必须飞速的宽带网络,有可能还必须一个和电视距离更加将近的沙发。The biggest reason to finally give Ultra HD a look has to do with content. Previously, there was very little made-for-UHD video, and -- even worse -- no good way to deliver its giant files to homes.最后让人考虑到超高明的仅次于原因与内容有关。此前为超高清制作的视频还非常少,更糟的是,还没好办法将极大的文件传送到家庭。Though theres still no TV programming broadcast in UHD -- and none on the way, for the time being -- the equation changes this spring when Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio couple their Ultra HD TVs with streamed content from the Internet: UHD programs like House of Cards from Netflix, with more shows and films on the way from Amazon.com, M-Go and Comcast.尽管现在仍然没以超高清格式播映的电视节目,而且继续也没涉及计划。
但在这个春天,情况开始再次发生了变化。三星、索尼(Sony)、LG和Vizio将他们的超高清电视与互联网的流媒体内容关联了一起:例如来自Netflix的《纸牌屋》等超高清电视节目,随后还有来自亚马逊(Amazon)、M-Go和康卡斯特(Comcast)的更好电视剧和电影。So heres the $5,000 question: What can you really see with Ultra HD? On the Samsung HU9000, I experienced a qualitatively better image both with UHD content and regular Blu-ray HD content that the TV upscaled to Ultra HD. That said, it isnt the kind of transformative experience you had the first time you saw a sporting event in regular HD.所以现在就是5000美元究竟值不值的问题:你到底能从超高清电视上看见什么?在三星HU9000上,我体验到了明显提高的画质,不仅是超高清内容,还有提高到超高清画质的普通蓝光高清内容。而且,(这种提高体验)可不是你第一次在传统高清电视上看体育赛事时感受到的那种变革。
What you do get with Ultra HD is a sense of detail that sneaks up on you, especially on wide shots. For example, an overhead scene at the beginning of the film World War Z looks like ant-sized people are scrambling around on my HDTV. But in Ultra HD, you can see, in horrifying detail, those poor souls being tackled by zombies.超高清电视带来你的是一种扑面而来的细节感觉,特别是在是在视角广阔的镜头中。荐个例子,《僵尸世界大战》(World War Z)电影结尾那种俯拍镜头,在我的高清电视上看,人物就看起来蚂蚁在乌龟一样。但在超高清电视上,你就可以看见令人惊骇的细节:那些真是的人正在被僵尸所毁灭。
With that kind of resolution, sitting closer to the screen makes you feel much more like youre in on the action. In fact, some argue you must sit closer -- or buy a larger TV -- for the eye to benefit from the extra resolution. Youll likely want to rearrange the furniture. For the 65-inch set I tested, I scooted my couch up until it was just 6 feet away. Get too close, though, and youll start to get the same dizzying feeling you get in the front row of a movie theater.归功于这样的分辨率,如果坐得和屏幕将近一些,你就不会感觉或许自己就置身于画面之中。实质上,有人说道你必需跪得将近一些,要么就卖个更大的电视,这样可以让眼睛享用到多出来的像素。
你有可能必须新的摆放家具。在测试这台65英寸电视时,我把沙发往前引到距离电视只有六英尺(约合1.83米)的地方。不过,靠过于将近的话,你不会像躺在电影院后排一样开始感觉头晕。
The curved screen, a feature I was skeptical about, was actually pretty nice for creating an immersive experience, especially with a close-up couch. Probably its key benefit, however, was minimizing glare during daylight hours. It adds about $1,000 onto the price of a basic Ultra HD set.虽然我曾多次所持猜测态度,但这台电视的曲面屏幕带给的实际体验非常出众,建构了一种浸泡式的体验,特别是在是躺在很将近的沙发上观赏时。但也许其仅次于的益处是在白天收听时把伟光降到了低于。这项功能要在常规的超高清电视价格基础上加上1000美元左右。
Samsung makes fantastic screens, but the rest of the package is mixed. The sound built into the HU9000 model I tested was anemic, but presumably anybody buying such a big TV would have a sound system. Samsungs SmartTV interface has been improved for switching between live TV and streaming, but still isnt as simple as set-top boxes like the TiVo Roamio.三星打造出了梦幻级的屏幕,但这台电视的其他方面就参差不齐了。在我的测试中,HU9000内置的音响绵软无力,不过也许出售这么大电视的用户有可能还不会配上个音响系统。三星早已改良了“SmartTV”界面,便于在电视直播和流媒体之间展开转换;但还是不如TiVo Roamio等机顶盒那么操作者简单。
Its true, televisions historically havent been a great technology for early adopters. Battles over standards and formats have left many in the lurch. Samsung put the TVs brains in an external box that can be easily upgraded. This promises to considerably extend the life of a TV you buy today, if youre willing to shell out $400 or so for next years evolution kit.到底,从以往来看,电视对尝鲜者来说仍然不是一项最出色的技术。关于标准和格式的争斗把很多人搞得很是不解。三星把这台电视的大脑摆放在一个外置盒子内,可以精彩展开升级。
这未来将会明显缩短你今日出售电视的寿命,如果你明年不愿花上约400美元出售新的“革命性组件”的话。Netflix, the first premium service to deliver UHD video over the Internet, has accomplished an impressive feat in making it work over broadband (at no additional cost to subscribers). Some early testers report image quality problems in darker patches, but House of Cards looked fine to me. And Netflixs chief product officer Neil Hunt told me the quality shouldnt suffer as more people get Ultra HD TVs and all try to stream at the same time.Netflix是最先通过互联网获取超高清视频的顶级服务提供商,通过宽带构建这一功能就是一项赫赫伟绩(而且还不对用户额外收费)。一些早期测试者报告说道,颜色较深的地方不会有画质问题,但我看《纸牌屋》时没问题。
Netflix的首席产品宽内尔亨特(Neil Hunt)对我说道,在更加多用户用于超高清电视时,即便所有人同时相连流媒体视频也会对画质导致影响。It wont work for everyone because Netflix requires broadband speed of at least 16 megabits to sustain the Ultra HD connection. That may be easy for cable connections like my Comcast hookup in San Francisco, but its good to find out your own carriers top speed.不过这并不合适所有用户,因为Netfliex拒绝最少16MB的宽带才能保持超高清相连。这个网速对光纤用户来说也许较为精彩,例如我这样用于康卡斯特服务的旧金山用户,但你最差还是查阅下自己运营商的最低网速。
As for Netflixs competition, its not yet clear how much Amazon and M-Go will charge for Ultra HD streaming, or how well theyll work. (Those services werent ready during my test, and Samsungs TV software cant yet play the Ultra HD content now available on YouTube.)就Netflix面对的竞争而言,目前还不确切亚马逊和M-Go不会对超高清视频流怎样收费,也不告诉他们明确效果怎样。(我测试的时候,他们的服务还没做到;三星的电视软件继续也无法播出YouTube上的超高清视频内容。)Netflix will push UHD because it wants its streaming technology to leapfrog physical media and traditional broadcasters. But expect Hollywoods own UHD content to arrive in a trickle, rather than a tsunami. Most movies and shows today still arent shot with cameras that record in UHD. While thats changing -- and film tends to be greater resolution than typical high-def -- some directors still prefer the look of shots taken with older cameras.Netflix不会前进超高清技术,因为他们期望其流媒体技术可以领先传统媒体和广播商。
但预计好莱坞自己的超高清内容只不会逐步获取,而会全面做到。目前大多数电影和电视剧还都不是用超高清摄像机摄制的。虽然情况正在大大变化,而且电影一般来说分辨率要低于普通高清,但一些编剧依然偏向于较传统摄像机摄制的画面质感。
Today, there arent even any UHD videogames or major sports coverage. To supplement the streams from Netflix and others, Samsung is selling a $299 add-on device loaded with five Ultra HD movies. Sony has one for $700 with 50 movies. Either way, these feel like extras they should throw in free, like floor mats in a new car.现在甚至也没超高清视频游戏或大型赛事主播。为了补足Netflix和其他内容商的视频流内容,三星正在销售一款具有五部超高清电影的额外设备,售价299美元。索尼也有一款售价700美元、内有50部电影的设备。
不管怎样,这些额外内容或许应当是他们免费获取的,就像新车里面的脚垫一样。Some TV technologies like 3-D have turned out to be gimmicks. But Ultra HD is different because it shifts our perception fundamentally, from the pixels to the pictures. Thats why, despite todays challenges, Ultra HD is inevitable on the largest screens in our homes. Its better for movie nights and for displaying text and other information. You just have to decide when you want to make the leap.3D等一些TV电视技术最后变为了噱头。
但超高明是有所不同的,因为其彻底改变了我们的感官感觉,从像素改向图像。这就是为什么,即便目前不存在着挑战,超高清技术也不可避免地经常出现在了我们家中仅次于的屏幕上。
这能为电影播出以及文本及其他信息表明获取更佳的体验。你必须做到的只是要求何时展开这一升级。
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