THE FUTURE OF DISPLAY
Is 4K the new mainstream?
AS FAR AS SCREEN TECH is concerned, we’ve stagnated over the last 12 months. Although HDR was promised as the “next big thing” from manufacturers across the globe, its impact on the computing industry has been stifled. With quantum dot, OLED, and RGBW panels occupying the price point they do, and a lack of HDR content making it into the mainstream, the desire to invest in the new tech has been slim. Much like 4K before, it’s taking time for the uptake of both content and screens to occur.
Speaking of 4K, not a lot has changed in this arena either. Panels have reduced in cost as more manufacturers bump up their production lines, and we’re starting to see an abundance of screens pushing the 30inch barrier, but apart from that, 2017 has been relatively quiet. We’ve not seen as much of an uptake into 1440p
and higher resolutions as was expected, so development has tended to focus around higher refresh rate monitors instead.
Which segues nicely into a discussion of where we’re going in the future. So, what can we expect from 2018? Well, as far as flagships are concerned, we’re expecting highrefresh 4K panels to finally arrive. Although DisplayPort has been capable of handling 4K at higher than 60Hz since way back in 2014, as far as GPUs are concerned, it’s been nothing more than a far-fetched fantasy. AMD’s RX series GPUs and Nvidia’s GTX 10 series were the first to support DisplayPort 1.4, enabling enough bandwidth to go beyond 60Hz at 4K. Technically, DisplayPort 1.3 supported that, but not with HDR as well. In 2018, Asus, Acer, and AOC are all producing 120Hz-plus 4K screens with HDR by default. We expect these to launch early in the year, presumably after CES. However, it’s likely that these will be priced out of the stratosphere, with most probably retailing close to the $2,000 bracket.
Although not realistic for the majority of us, this does give us hope that the next generation of 4K screens will come down in price. Combined with more powerful, more affordable GPUs, the dream of an affordable 4K gaming combo is inching ever closer.