TVs are once again going to be a major part of CES and Polaroid is joining in on the action. There are already a handful of somewhat affordable 4K TVs but Polaroid’s will have a suggested retail price of $1,000, making it one of the cheapest 4K televisions to hit the market, although there will likely be even more affordable options in early 2014 once CES is over.
The 50GSR9000 TV is coming from Empire Electronics Corp, which is allowed to use the Polaroid name with a license. The 50-inch TV set will come out sometime this year and although it may not be as popular as a device from Sony or Samsung, they should eventually fall into the same price range as well.
Content providers are now trying to make the upgrade to 4K as fast as possible since many consumers will have a 4K display in their homes by 2015. Earlier today, YouTube teased its own plans to support 4K on its platform with a new video codec which will not only enable 4K videos but will reduce the bandwidth necessary for the content. The codec, VP9, is royalty-free and since Google is not planning on holding onto the format for itself, other video services may be able to use it for 4K in the future.
Amazon also made headlines when it confirmed that all of its new content would be filmed in 4K, with the assumption that the standard will take off in the same way that HD already has.
Polaroid may not be the most popular television company, but the fact that it will be able to release a 4K display for under $1000 is a great sign, as it shows just how much 4K technology actually costs. Only a short time ago, almost all 4K television sets were selling for over $10,000, a price point that very few people could afford to meet.
If you do not currently see the benefit of a 4K TV, Polaroid will also be showing off another $600 during CES 2014. This TV set will also be 50-inches, but it will come with a Roku Streaming Stick built-in.
Summary: Polaroid is trying to make a comeback in the form of TVs. It will show off two new sets during CES 2014, one of which is a 4K TV that will retail for just $1,000.
Image Credit: vrzone