And ABC still broadcasts in 720p
They do, as does FOX, but 720p60 and 1080i60 are pretty much a wash in terms of perceivable image quality while in motion (921,600 pixels every 1/60th of a second vs 1,036,800 pixels every 1/60th of a second, respectively). Progressive images can scale up cleaner though so the 720p60 image would probably look better on a 4K display than the 1080i60 image.
Youtube might have flipped a switch and started offering 4K streaming... but people's internet connections haven't evolved that fast.
New compression schemes will help some... but still require more bandwidth.
4K is certainly pushing boundaries of what's viable on a consumer level today, but so was HD back in 2000. I remember when HDNET first came around in 2001 or 2002 and they didn't even have 24hrs of HD content to air. They showed the same programing over and over again including hours of wildlife footage that was basically an HD tech demo.
Maybe when 4K is a standard feature on every TV... adoption will increase. It's difficult to even find an SD TV anymore.
They stopped making SD TVs right about the time TV broadcasts switched from analog to digital, and most Americans would be in the market for a new TV (or a converter box). Coincidence...?
So in 10 years will every TV sold be 4K and will HD become hard to find?
I don't think it will take as long as 10 years. Just look at how much has changed since 2005. Sooner rather than later a good quality 4K TV will only cost a little more than a good quality HDTV so if you are in the market for a new TV at that point why *not* get a 4K TV? Same deal for cameras. In a few years only 'budget' level consumer cameras/cell phones/tablets will be HD only.
There is a definite workflow change though.
Not really. Whether you shot SD, HD or 4K the workflow remains basically the same. 3D, on the other hand, requires specialized hardware and/or software during production and post production as well as 3D glasses for viewing.
You said yourself that people probably won't notice the difference... so why even do it?
Money.
Samsung wants to sell you a new TV, Apple wants to sell you a new phone, Canon wants to sell you a new camera, etc.,. What better way to do that than to roll out some new, easy to market tech that their marketing departments say you can't live without? On the consumer side people like buying new stuff, and bragging to their neighbors about their new stuff, and then the neighbors are more incentivized to buy new stuff themselves. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Right now there is absolutely no reason to buy a 4K TV if you have a decent 1080p TV. None of the major networks are broadcasting 4K. And when it comes to TV all that matters is content.
I don't think any of the OTA broadcasts will be 4k in the foreseeable future (if ever). Like you mentioned, the government mandate to go to digital broadcasting really opened the door for HD since it forced broadcasters to replace all of their equipment. 4k broadcasting would require the same thing (as well as new TVs or converter boxes for consumers) which is why I doubt it will happen.
4k streaming is significantly easier and cheaper to roll out than 4k OTA broadcasts.
Hit the nail on the head. The most use 4K is getting right now is on a few youtube videos with almost all on Tech channels. It's a gimmick at this point really, as 99% of monitors don't even have 4K+ resolution to begin with let alone TVs.
Amazon, Netflix and Sony are already streaming 4K movies and TV shows. Time Warner has already done testing with UHD and Comcast said it will release a UHD cable box later this year.
TV with netflix is more than enough. But yet I have a projector in basement and that makes it very quality cinema to watch all those flicks.
