4K

Apple optimized Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Motion and Logic Pro apps for Mac Pro and 4K

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

When Apple teased its new Mac Pro at WWDC a few months ago, the company's marketing honcho Phil Schiller put up a slide showing a guy in an editing room in front of three huge 4K monitors, all hooked up to the machine. "You could be that guy," he quipped, provoking a laughter from the audience.

Schiller also said Apple was working on a Final Cut Pro update optimized for the Mac Pro's powerful dual AMD FirePro graphics and he wasn't lying: just as the new Mac Pro launched on the online Apple Store this morning, Apple followed up by pushing updates to Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Motion and its other pro apps, all optimized for the Mac Pro's hardware and with 4K content, 4K monitoring support via Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI on select Mac computers and a whole bunch of additions and performance enhancements...

Apple now selling 4K Sharp displays in its European web stores

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Apple has begun offering a 32-inch Sharp Ultra HD LED monitor in its European web stores. The 4K monitor, which retails for £3,499.00 (or roughly $5,700 USD), has been available since November, but this is the first we've heard of Apple selling it.

The display uses Sharp's IGZO technology (Indium gallium zinc oxide) and has a resolution of 3840 x 2160. It offers a 1.07 billion color palette, an 800:1 contrast ratio, and comes with DisplayPort support (though it doesn't include the Mini DP adapter)...

New panels from AU Optronics may hint at upcoming 4K Apple displays

Cody Lee ∙ November 26, 2013

The new Mac Pro, which Apple first introduced at WWDC, is capable of driving up to 3 4K displays simultaneously. This is something the company has mentioned several times, leading to speculation that it has a 4K-flavored display on the way.

Although such a product hasn't materialized yet, some new evidence has surfaced this week that could indicate it's still on the way. Apparently, Apple supplier AUO is currently making 27-inch and 33-inch 4K thunderbolt-compatible display panels...

Netflix begins testing 4K videos, plans to launch in 2014

Cody Lee ∙ November 4, 2013

During a recent quarterly earnings call, Netflix's Reed Hastings spoke about his ambitious plans for the company's future. The CEO hopes the streaming service will be "one of the big suppliers" of 4K (or Ultra HD) video by next year.

And this weekend it began testing the waters. GigaOM noticed that Netflix recently added a handful of 4K HD videos to its catalog. It's mostly test footage—people riding bicycles, etc.—but it gives you a good idea of what to expect...

HDMI 2.0 launches in time for next-gen Retina TVs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The upcoming Mac Pro is the first Mac to make possible ultra high-definition images and video, also known as Ultra HD or simply 4K. We're talking native video at a minimum of 3,840-by-2,160 pixel resolution. That's four times the pixels of your regular full HD 1,920-by-1,080 movies on Blu-ray discs and iTunes - and consequentially four times the clarity.

Just in time for the new generation of Ultra HDTVs - and possibly that rumored full-on Apple television set - the HDMI Licensing group has now taken the wraps off the updated HDMI standard, version 2.0...

Gullible analyst says no iTV this year because Apple finds 4K display too costly

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2013

An analyst with a terrible track record wrote in a note to clients issued Tuesday that Apple won't release a standalone HD TV set in 2013 after all. As much as Apple wanted to, the report has it, the company has allegedly found ultra high-resolution 4K panels to be prohibitively expensive.

You should take this particular analyst's observations with a healthy dose of skepticism: the same guy called for an Apple-branded HD TV announcement at last year's WWDC, later mulling full iTV production for August 2012. He repeatedly said iTV was "imminent" (calling it the iPanel), having also missed with an Apple TV related media event (and a bunch of other things that never came to be)...

Sharp launches a 32-inch Retina monitor that cries for an Apple HD TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Sharp, the struggling Japanese consumer electronics maker, is finally taking its low-power IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) panels off the ground, announcing Wednesday a 32-inch monitor built around this proprietary display tech. And with 4K resolution of 3,840-by-2,160 pixels, it's a marvel of cutting-edge display engineering.

That's four times the pixels of the current full HD standard which maxes out at 1,920-by-1,080 pixels. In addition to low power consumption, the new monitor achieves the industry's thinnest profile by adopting a specially designed edge LED backlight that's only 35mm deep...