Are you gearing up for a 4K future? From the device you use to capture footage to how you would deliver it and show it, the changes to your gear and workflow is reminiscent of the conversion from standard to high definition days.
With compatible TVs going for $1k and most major camera brands, from Sony, Canon, JVC, Blackmagic Design, GoPro and the RED series offering 4K video production, as well as video capable smartphones like Samsung’s Galaxy S5, it isn’t hard to see, 4K video production is the future. Many would say the future is now. What’s the future of 4K video production for you?

What will you use to acquire 4K video? The GoPro or JVC 4K offerings? And what will you use to process 4K video? How will you deliver 4K video? Professional video graphics cards already offer 4K video. Possible and affordable are two different animals, but beyond that lies the question about delivery. What media do you, rather, what media will you deliver 4K video on? Is bandwidth high enough and affordable enough to sell the average video consumer making the leap from that expensive high definition 1080p unit they may still be making payments on? How many consumers really want 4K video content?

As evident with pricing on the Blackmagic Design’s Production Camera 4K and JVC’s 4K offerings, many serious video producers, even independent video producers, are finding the budgets for 4K video acquisition and editing. It no longer has to be the RED ONE, when GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition and smartphones, limited though they may be in frame rate or some other aspect, offer up affordable high resolution acquisition that goes beyond high definition video.

What will you use to acquire 4K video? What will you use to process it and how will you deliver 4K video?
The consumer, however, remains the wall past which 4K video production and content must move in order for the future of 4K video to be realized. So, what do we do? Like many who jumped onto high definition video production and delivery before there were broadly accepted distribution methods, will a new crop of technologically savvy video producers jump on 4K video production? Some consumers drag their heels in accepting Blu-ray. But, we’re moving away from video disc delivery, right? There are a lot of consumers out there who might argue that the good ol’ DVD has merit, especially when most players will handle upping the resolution of even standard definition video extremely well.

High definition video delivery is doing well beyond the disc, with hard drive, streaming, Internet delivery and a host of other delivery solutions available. Blu-ray? Still not that much in demand, at least not on disc, but growing. Is 4K video production going to jump the hard production delivery methods, depending solely on high bandwidth Internet delivery? Entertainment, obviously, will and has made the leap to 4K video production first. Digital movie production, also, will keep things moving in that direction, forever raising the bar against film quality production. From GoPro to the RED series, 4K video challengers are on the rise.

For widespread, casual 4K video production, and particularly delivery, the future of 4K remains a bit more visible than a crystal ball, but not by much. As with the move from standard definition video to high definition video: pricing, available technology and widely adapted delivery solutions will come and that will ensure the future of 4K for video producers and consumers.