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Ultra High Definition officially replaces 4K

The Consumer Electronics Association has announced that the consumer name for 4K will be Ultra HD and gears up for displays to be shown off at next year's CES in Las Vegas.

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Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
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The 84LM9600 is one of the first displays that is expected to qualify for the new Ultra HD specification. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The display format formerly known as 4K will now be called "Ultra High Definition" in the home, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced in California today.

The CEA said it chose Ultra HD to denote that it has a higher resolution than the existing 1,920x1,080 pixels of full high definition.

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To qualify as Ultra HD, a display needs to have a resolution of at least 3,840 pixels horizontally and at least 2,160 pixels vertically, the CEA said. Additionally, the product will require at least one 4K-capable digital input and display 4K content natively without upconverting.

"This new terminology and the recommended attributes will help consumers navigate the marketplace to find the TV that best meets their needs," said president and CEO of CEA Gary Shapiro in a release.

There are only a handful of products that are denoted as 4K in the market presently -- including a Sony VPL-VW1000ES but at the moment there aren't any 4K consumer sources beyond a PC output, and one 4K feature film. Ultra HD technology is expected to take a prominent place at next year's CES, which will be January 8-11, 2013, in Las Vegas.