8× Blu-ray drives have been out for some time now. If 1080p will run on 1×, I imagine 4K will run on 8×. Yes, some players (likely including the currently-2× PS3) won’t be able to play it, but for them, there are always hybrid discs (although I’m still waiting for those to come out for DVD/Blu-ray…).

As far as peripheral vision goes, how about using a lower resolution towards the edges?

In the end, though, I don’t think 4K displays will catch on. Everybody who would be interested in 4K already has 1080p, and the advantage isn’t enough to invest in new displays. I’m much more interested in 48-bit color.

PS: Did you know NHK is working on 8K for Japanese broadcast by 1015?

3D, on the other hand, has great potential. The greatest barrier to widespread acceptance, in my opinion, is the requirement for glasses.

As for 4K resolution, while I am all for technological advances, I would really like to see 1080i/P successfully implemented before moving on to the next big thing. HDTV has been around for almost 10 years now and and we still have barely 10% of all programming in HD. Blu-ray hasn’t even come close to 25% market penetration yet. Even if 4K displays become available next year, there will be no sources that can drive them. Maybe there will be downloadable movies in the 4K format, but imagine trying to download a 100Gb file on a 10Mbit/s broadband line. Even if blu-ray gets moved to 100Gb capacity, odds are that none of our existing players would be able to handle it (not even the PS3).

I do agree with some of the other posters here who stated that 4K really would benefit large projection screens, but the resolution advantages would be lost on probably 90% of all viewers with smaller TVs or those who sit beyond a certain distance from their screen. Those of you with 4K projectors would be forced to watch mostly upconverted 1080P. As most of us have learned, even the best upconverted DVDs look nowhere near as good as blu-ray.

While there is no doubt that 4K is “better” than 1080P, I just don’t think the market is ready for it yet. While hobbyists like us will gladly make the jump (and almost definitely get burned in the process), the mass market is definitely not ready for a new display standard and the mass market is what determines success or failure for a new format/technology.

As for 4K displays - having a 1080p system now, I look forward to 4k displays. Consider how many consumers are using HDTV displays with DVD (not Bluray) - and how good those displays look. Having more pixels than the source isn’t a bad thing. For any display which has registration/convergence issues - having 4k means that there is more (electronic) adjustment possible to compensate for these issue. As well, 4k displays will help push 1080p systems even lower in price. Many computer displays are only now catching up to 1080p - and most computer users crave more resolution / screen real-estate.

So while 3D is clearly not about to happen anytime soon - I think investment in the technology makes sense. We’ll hopefully see local digital cinemas enabled first (giving us a new reason to go to the movies), somewhat closely followed by expensive consumer systems. 3D is the next level of immersion.

There is no doubt in my mind that 4K displays are of great value - even without a new source format.

Second, bring on the 4K projectors! I think 4K is overkill in anything smaller than 120 inches (I haven’t done the math, just a guess), heck, 1080p is overkill for most flat panel sizes unless you sit close enough to use the top of the TV for a coaster. (the 32in 1080p kills me!). Also, we can use the same medium of BD. A normal 1080 BD only takes up 15-20GB (all the rest is fluff) and several major manufacturers have already come out with their 100GB Blu-ray players and media. This will be like the hard drive race, 5 years from now they’ll have a 1-TB Blu-ray that will hold multiple 4k movies, but for now 100GB is plenty for 1 movie and will be available to the public before any 4k content of any substantial variety.

…for now.

Plus 4k and 3D is a response to the HD at home. Theaters have to have better and different technology or they will be truly out of business.

But no I don’t think we need 4k at home.