What’s the difference between… 4K and UHD? D?

QI need a new monitor for my Windows 10 PC. Looking through the adverts I see lots of mentions of 4K and 4K UHD. I do know that 4K means a high resolution, which I want, but I don’t understand the difference between ‘4K’ and ‘4K UHD’. Could you explain?

AThe answer to this question can be really simple or rather confusing. We’ll start with the simple answer, which is that from your perspective as someone shopping for a new monitor there’s really no difference. When it comes to computer displays (and TVS for that matter), the terms ‘4K’ or ‘4K UHD’ are used pretty much interchangeably. Specifically, it’ll mean a screen with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels — or four times higher than Full HD (1920x1080).

You can stop reading right there if you want. However, cinema buffs would be quick to point out that 4K and UHD actually signify two completely different resolutions. The aforesaid 3840x2160 resolution is actually UHD, or ultra-high definition. On the other hand, ‘true’ 4K resolution is 4096x2610. This is the standard that’s used by Hollywood for digital projection, and the specification was set by an industry consortium called the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI — www.dcimovies.com).

There are true ‘DCI 4K’ displays on sale — such as the Eizo Coloredge CG318-4K, pictured — but they’re aimed at film professionals who, for obvious reasons, need to work in the correct resolution for their industry. They also tend to be expensive (the mentioned Eizo model costs more than £4,000!).

So how did UHD become to be labelled 4K? In a word: marketing. If yo you could rewind the industry a few ye years then you’d find that some or other display company decided to promote its consumer monitors or TVS as ‘4K’ or ‘4K UHD’. The idea stuck and now there’s really no going back. Shoppers have been conditioned to want ‘4K’ displays, even though what the vast majority of people actually end up buying is, strictly speaking, the UHD resolution.