Ultra HD 4K is already here for the lucky few, but the pioneering Netflix has admitted it doesn't expect the next generation of television to be mainstream until 2019.
Even though it's been available for a while for those that looked hard enough (or read the site), Netflix has finally got around to telling the world that it is streaming House of Cards Season 2 in 4K.
Industry expert Steve May has already explained in his regular TechRadar column that he thinks that Kevin Spacey in Ultra HD is enough to make our now familiar full HD feel old, but for the vast majority, we'll be stuck in the dark ages of 'only' 1080p for a while yet.
Critical mass
"Market researchers predict that consumers will buy a million Ultra HD 4K TVs this year and even more in subsequent years," Netflix said.
"We expect it will likely take up to 5 years before Ultra HD 4K becomes mainstream; when most of the TVs on store shelves are Ultra HD 4K."
That time frame seems to be increasingly well accepted and it's clear we are now in that slightly odd time between the tech being available and enough content being produced to take advantage of it.
But if you have the perfect storm of a 4K TV from Samsung (or Sony and LG soon), a fast enough broadband connection and a Netflix account you can officially claim to be five years ahead of the crowd.
Pick up your smug technophile badge from your nearest stockist.
- You might not be able to get in on the 4K for now, but is Netflix still worth a monthly subscription?
