超高清電視襲來 顛覆觀視體驗

Even the unflappable Francis Underwood perspires in ultra high definition.

在超高清分辨率下，即便是淡定的弗蘭西斯・安德伍德(Francis Underwood)也會出汗。

Yes, I spotted sweat on the upper lip of Kevin Spacey's fictitious vice president while streaming Netflix's 'House of Cards' on a new 65-inch Ultra HD television from Samsung. It's the kind of discovery you can make with a technology that's pushing for the mainstream this year: televisions that have four times as many pixels as the industry-standard high definition. That's more pixels than some cinema projectors, packed in so tight they just melt away.

這是真的。當我用三星(Samsung)新款65英寸超高清電視在線收看Netflix的《紙牌屋》(House of Cards)時，我可以看到劇中飾演副總統的凱文・史派西(Kevin Spacey)上脣出汗了。給你帶來這種發現的技術在今年正奮力成爲主流：超高清電視，其像素是行業標準高清電視的四倍。其像素比一些電影放映機還多，像素密度之高，人眼已無法分辨單個像素。

Ultra HD (sometimes called '4K') televisions have been around for more than a year, but until now held limited appeal. Prices were stratospheric, making it hard to justify a bump in clarity. Now Ultra HD prices are flying closer to Earth: Brand-name sets start below $2,500, and $5,000 will get you Samsung's top 65-inch curved-screen HU9000, which I tested this week.

超高清電視（有時又稱爲4K電視）問世已經有一年多時間了，但目前吸引力還是有限。此前其價格高得離譜，這讓分辨率的提高很難說是物有所值。現在超高清電視的價格變得接地氣了：品牌廠商的超高清電視機價格開始跌破2500美元，5000美元能買到三星旗艦65英寸曲面屏超高清電視HU9000，就是我這周在測試的這款。

If you're the kind of connoisseur who wants to be first to see Mr. Spacey sweat, it finally makes sense to make the leap to an Ultra HD television. The arrival of the new Ultra HD sets is part of a home-theater renaissance that's making the tube cool again and making me consider an upgrade.

如果你是那種希望最早看到史派西出汗的嚐鮮友，那麼飛躍到超高清電視的時候終於到了。這款新超高清電視的到來是家庭影院體驗重現的一部分，這讓電視再次變得炫酷，也讓我開始考慮升級。

But to enjoy the full benefits of UHD, you'll need a fast broadband connection, and possibly a couch that's much closer to your TV.

但要全面享受到超高清的優點，你還需要飛速的寬帶網絡，可能還需要一個和電視距離更近的沙發。

The biggest reason to finally give Ultra HD a look has to do with content. Previously, there was very little made-for-UHD video, and -- even worse -- no good way to deliver its giant files to homes.

最終讓人考慮超高清的最大原因與內容有關。此前爲超高清製作的視頻還非常少，更糟的是，還沒有好辦法將巨大的文件傳送到家庭。

Though there's still no TV programming broadcast in UHD -- and none on the way, for the time being -- the equation changes this spring when Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio couple their Ultra HD TVs with streamed content from the Internet: UHD programs like 'House of Cards' from Netflix, with more shows and films on the way from , M-Go and Comcast.

儘管現在依然沒有以超高清格式播出的電視節目，而且暫時也沒有相關計劃。但在這個春天，情況開始發生了變化。三星、索尼(Sony)、LG和Vizio將他們的超高清電視與互聯網的流媒體內容關聯了起來：例如來自Netflix的《紙牌屋》等超高清電視節目，隨後還有來自亞馬遜(Amazon)、M-Go和康卡斯特(Comcast)的更多電視劇和電影。

So here's the $5,000 question: What can you really see with Ultra HD? On the Samsung HU9000, I experienced a qualitatively better image both with UHD content and regular Blu-ray HD content that the TV 'upscaled' to Ultra HD. That said, it isn't the kind of transformative experience you had the first time you saw a sporting event in regular HD.

所以現在就是5000美元到底值不值的問題：你究竟能從超高清電視上看到什麼？在三星HU9000上，我體驗到了顯著提升的畫質，不僅是超高清內容，還有提升到超高清畫質的普通藍光高清內容。而且，（這種提升體驗）可不是你第一次在傳統高清電視上看體育賽事時感受到的那種變革。

What you do get with Ultra HD is a sense of detail that sneaks up on you, especially on wide shots. For example, an overhead scene at the beginning of the film 'World War Z' looks like ant-sized people are scrambling around on my HDTV. But in Ultra HD, you can see, in horrifying detail, those poor souls being tackled by zombies.

超高清電視帶給你的是一種撲面而來的細節感，尤其是在視角開闊的鏡頭中。舉個例子，《殭屍世界大戰》(World War Z)電影開頭那種俯拍鏡頭，在我的高清電視上看，人物就像是螞蟻在爬行一樣。但在超高清電視上，你就可以看到令人驚駭的細節：那些可憐的人正在被殭屍所吞噬。

With that kind of resolution, sitting closer to the screen makes you feel much more like you're in on the action. In fact, some argue you must sit closer -- or buy a larger TV -- for the eye to benefit from the extra resolution. You'll likely want to rearrange the furniture. For the 65-inch set I tested, I scooted my couch up until it was just 6 feet away. Get too close, though, and you'll start to get the same dizzying feeling you get in the front row of a movie theater.

得益於這樣的分辨率，如果坐得和屏幕近一些，你就會感覺似乎自己就置身於畫面之中。實際上，有人說你必須坐得近一些，要麼就買個更大的電視，這樣可以讓眼睛享受到多出來的像素。你可能需要重新放置傢俱。在測試這臺65英寸電視時，我把沙發往前推到距離電視只有六英尺(約合1.83米)的地方。不過，靠太近的話，你會像坐在電影院前排一樣開始感覺暈眩。

The curved screen, a feature I was skeptical about, was actually pretty nice for creating an immersive experience, especially with a close-up couch. Probably its key benefit, however, was minimizing glare during daylight hours. It adds about $1,000 onto the price of a basic Ultra HD set.

雖然我曾經持懷疑態度，但這臺電視的曲面屏幕帶來的實際體驗相當出色，創造了一種浸入式的體驗，尤其是坐在很近的沙發上觀看時。但或許其最大的好處是在白天收看時把耀光降到了最低。這項功能要在常規的超高清電視價格基礎上再加1000美元左右。

Samsung makes fantastic screens, but the rest of the package is mixed. The sound built into the HU9000 model I tested was anemic, but presumably anybody buying such a big TV would have a sound system. Samsung's 'SmartTV' interface has been improved for switching between live TV and streaming, but still isn't as simple as set-top boxes like the TiVo Roamio.

三星打造出了夢幻級的屏幕，但這臺電視的其他方面就參差不齊了。在我的測試中，HU9000內置的音響綿軟無力，不過或許購買這麼大電視的用戶可能還會再配個音響系統。三星已經改進了“SmartTV”界面，便於在電視直播和流媒體之間進行切換；但還是不如TiVo Roamio等機頂盒那麼操作簡便。

It's true, televisions historically haven't been a great technology for early adopters. Battles over standards and formats have left many in the lurch. Samsung put the TV's brains in an external box that can be easily upgraded. This promises to considerably extend the life of a TV you buy today, if you're willing to shell out $400 or so for next year's 'evolution kit.'

沒錯，從以往來看，電視對嚐鮮者來說一直不是一項偉大的技術。關於標準和格式的爭鬥把很多人搞得很是爲難。三星把這臺電視的大腦放置在一個外置盒子內，可以輕鬆進行升級。這有望顯著延長你今日購買電視的壽命，如果你明年願意花大約400美元購買新的“革命性組件”的話。

Netflix, the first premium service to deliver UHD video over the Internet, has accomplished an impressive feat in making it work over broadband (at no additional cost to subscribers). Some early testers report image quality problems in darker patches, but 'House of Cards' looked fine to me. And Netflix's chief product officer Neil Hunt told me the quality shouldn't suffer as more people get Ultra HD TVs and all try to stream at the same time.

Netflix是最早通過互聯網提供超高清視頻的頂級服務提供商，通過寬帶實現這一功能就是一項赫赫偉績（而且還不對用戶額外收費）。一些早期測試者報告說，顏色較深的地方會有畫質問題，但我看《紙牌屋》時沒有問題。Netflix的首席產品長內爾・亨特(Neil Hunt)對我說，在更多用戶使用超高清電視時，即便所有人同時連接流媒體視頻也不會對畫質造成影響。

It won't work for everyone because Netflix requires broadband speed of at least 16 megabits to sustain the Ultra HD connection. That may be easy for cable connections like my Comcast hookup in San Francisco, but it's good to find out your own carrier's top speed.

不過這並不適合所有用戶，因爲Netfliex要求至少16MB的寬帶才能維持超高清連接。這個網速對光纖用戶來說或許比較輕鬆，例如我這樣使用康卡斯特服務的舊金山用戶，但你最好還是查看下自己運營商的最高網速。

As for Netflix's competition, it's not yet clear how much Amazon and M-Go will charge for Ultra HD streaming, or how well they'll work. (Those services weren't ready during my test, and Samsung's TV software can't yet play the Ultra HD content now available on YouTube.)

就Netflix面臨的競爭而言，目前還不清楚亞馬遜和M-Go會對超高清視頻流怎樣收費，也不知道他們具體效果怎樣。(我測試的時候，他們的服務還沒有到位；三星的電視軟件暫時也不能播放YouTube上的超高清視頻內容。)

Netflix will push UHD because it wants its streaming technology to leapfrog physical media and traditional broadcasters. But expect Hollywood's own UHD content to arrive in a trickle, rather than a tsunami. Most movies and shows today still aren't shot with cameras that record in UHD. While that's changing -- and film tends to be greater resolution than typical high-def -- some directors still prefer the look of shots taken with older cameras.

Netflix會推進超高清技術，因爲他們希望其流媒體技術可以領先傳統媒體和廣播商。但預計好萊塢自己的超高清內容只會逐步提供，而不會全面到位。目前大多數電影和電視劇還都不是用超高清攝像機拍攝的。雖然情況正在不斷變化，而且電影通常分辨率要高於普通高清，但一些導演仍然傾向於較傳統攝像機拍攝的畫面質感。

Today, there aren't even any UHD videogames or major sports coverage. To supplement the streams from Netflix and others, Samsung is selling a $299 add-on device loaded with five Ultra HD movies. Sony has one for $700 with 50 movies. Either way, these feel like extras they should throw in free, like floor mats in a new car.

現在甚至也沒有超高清視頻遊戲或大型賽事播報。爲了補充Netflix和其他內容商的視頻流內容，三星正在銷售一款帶有五部超高清電影的額外設備，售價299美元。索尼也有一款售價700美元、內有50部電影的設備。不管怎樣，這些額外內容似乎應該是他們免費提供的，就像新車裏面的腳墊一樣。

Some TV technologies like 3-D have turned out to be gimmicks. But Ultra HD is different because it shifts our perception fundamentally, from the pixels to the pictures. That's why, despite today's challenges, Ultra HD is inevitable on the largest screens in our homes. It's better for movie nights and for displaying text and other information. You just have to decide when you want to make the leap.

3D等一些TV電視技術最後變成了噱頭。但超高清是不同的，因爲其從根本上轉變了我們的感官感受，從像素轉向圖像。這就是爲什麼，即便目前存在着挑戰，超高清技術也不可避免地出現在了我們家中最大的屏幕上。這能爲電影播放以及文本及其他信息顯示提供更好的體驗。你需要做的只是決定何時進行這一升級。