RED Announces REDRAY 4K Playback System for Under $1500 and Debuts New Distribution Network

Hot of the presses, RED has just announced -- as they said they would -- their REDRAY 4K playback system, a 6-pound, DVD Player-sized playback device for $1,450. It has built-in 3D capabilities, offers 802.11N wireless connectivity/playback, is DCI-compliant, and debuts with it new security and file formats to make 4K distribution a reality -- along with a brand new delivery network to debut at Sundance in January. The player itself is scheduled to ship in December "early 2013."

One of the biggest arguments against shooting in 4K to date has been the lack of 4K distribution, and REDRAY is the beginning of RED's transition to an electronics company with its own 4K ecosystem (as opposed to just a camera company).

To go with the new device, there's a new file format, .RED (as opposed to the camera-native .R3D files RED shooters are used to), which is a 4K resolution file format that is compressed to just 2.5MB/sec. That's 150MB per minute, or 9GB per hour of footage; a full 4K movie should therefore fit on a 32GB USB drive (if it's short, it would even fit on a 16GB stick). Features should fall in the 13-25GB range at these data rates. To compress files to this format, there's a new RRencoder plugin for REDCINE-X, which allows .R3Ds and external footage to convert to the new .RED files.

There is wireless connectivity not just for media streaming but also to connect to the cloud for analytics and digital rights management. The player also supports HFR (High Frame Rate) video playback -- the likes of which will be seen in the forthcoming The Hobbit -- of up to 60FPS.

Previously we had mentioned separate pro and consumer versions of REDRAY, but from what we're seeing today it looks like they have been folded into one unit. A lot has changed since I did that hands-on at NAB!

Above you'll notice the SD and USB ports in the front of the unit, placed there for easy plug-and-play. Here are the ports around back:

Here are the specifications, note the 1TB internal hard drive (that's 50 features assuming a 20GB average size):

DIMENSIONS 316 × 61mm x 260 mm ( 12.4 × 2.4 × 10.2″ )
WEIGHT 5.9 Lbs
MATERIAL Aluminium
OPERATING TEMPS Zero to 40 C
STORAGE TEMPS Minus 5 to 60C
NOTABLE FEATURES Network based 4K 3D Playback System.
ADDITIONAL NOTES Unique to RED, this product is the only available 4K resolution signal source for Ultra HD flat panel dispays and 4K projectors, may also be used for digital signage applcations to drive up to four 1080p displays.
RESOLUTION Up to 4096 × 2160 pixels, 2D or 3D
BIT-DEPTH (COLOR) YCbCr 12-bit 4:2:2 or RGB 8-bit 4:4:4
COLORIMETRY ITU-R BT.709
PROGRAM OUTPUT 4K DCI, UltraHD, 1080p, 720p
PREVIEW OUTPUT 1080p, 720p
MEDIA SECURITY REDCrypt™ digital media encryption
DRM OPTIONS ODEMAX™ digital rights management
REMOTE CONTROL IR, 802.11n, Ethernet
GENLOCK RS170A Tri-level Sync
PLAYBACK FRAME RATES 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, 60 fps
DIGITAL MEDIA Internet download, SDCard or USB-2 flash media
VIDEO FILE FORMAT .RED (4K), .MP4 (1080p, 720p)
AUDIO FILE FORMAT .RED (up to 7.1 Ch) .MP4 (Stereo)
AUDIO OUTPUT Up to 7.1 channel LPCM, 24-bit 48Khz
OUTPUT CONNECTORS 4 x HDMI 1.4 (Program), 2 x HDMI 1.3 (Preview and Audio)
STORAGE CAPACITY 1TB Internal SATA Drive
POWER 120 – 240V 50 – 60Hz A.C.

For video signage, each REDRAY player will reportedly be able to drive four 1080p displays simultaneously, or two 4K displays. RED's mantra has always been that "1080p is not enough," so this "big fish eats the little fish" image is right in line with their philosophy:

There will also be an iOS controller app (Android "on the way"), as pictured:

For security they're debuting a new file encryption called REDCrypt and also offer ODEMAX digital rights management -- I believe there's no mandatory encryption but rights holders and distributors will certainly want the option. According to the ODEMAX website, it is designed for "distributors, home viewers, film festivals, independents, producers, and directors." ODEMAX is a Content Delivery Network distributed geographically across the US and reportedly with servers in Europe and Asia as well. This could be a big deal, as independents know that the cost of digital delivery with traditional DCP systems can be prohibitively expensive:

ODEMAX delivers the only comprehensive distribution platform for 4K movies. Designed to exclusively support the REDRAY Player and REDRAY Projection systems from RED Digital Cinema, ODEMAX.COM is an all-inclusive environment for home and theatrical delivery of feature films, with built-in digital rights management, sales, marketing and analytics tools. ODEMAX provides filmmakers, production companies and independent distributors, direct channel access to the new cloud enabled REDRAY 4K home players.

If you look at these shots of the yet-to-launch ODEMAX site, you can see it's aiming to be a full-fledged direct-to-audience storefront (see the "$18 BUY" screenshot at the bottom), offering a backend with analytics for content creators/distributors. I'm not sure what the on-screen interface of REDRAY will look like and if it will offer the possibility of browsing ODEMAX directly. This really seems like a device that is very focused on playing back high-resolution files; I wonder if a more consumer-friendly, Apple TV-esque REDRAY will ever come along.

However, regardless of what their plans are for the mass consumer space, RED is not just content to disrupt the camera space, as they are now is trying to democratize theatrical distribution with these new formats and hardware. Next will be their 4K laser projector, now apparently going by the name of which will get a bigger brother for theaters named CRIMSON (what's next, ROUGE?). I think whether you're rooting for or against RED, as independents we are all rooting for what they stand for -- lowering costs, increasing image quality, and standing up to/breaking down industry norms that hurt the little guy. Even if you don't like RED's cameras, you have to appreciate what they have done for the industry -- all of the recent Arri, Canon, and Sony cameras would certainly be more expensive and less feature-rich if RED did not exist.

Digital acquisition has arrived. Today what's standing in the way of quality independent films finding an audience is the existing distribution infrastructure. As smaller independent theaters struggle with the high cost of upgrading to digital projection and playback systems, if REDRAY, CRIMSON, and ODEMAX succeed, they could do as much for independent film as RED's cameras already have.

I've been harping on this for years, so what do you think -- am I overstating things? Are you excited about REDRAY and a new alternate distribution platform for 4K exhibition?

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Your Comment

48 Comments

Pretty amazing stuff. Now we just need some affordable 4K displays :)

November 30, 2012 at 5:20PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Agreed. I'd go all early adopter on this player if there was an affordable 4k display/projector.

November 30, 2012 at 5:42PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Austin Mace

Red's own 4k projector is on its way

December 1, 2012 at 12:20PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Hecti

Yeah, this is good stuff. Very surprising pricing.

November 30, 2012 at 5:22PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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we live in an awesome time

November 30, 2012 at 5:26PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Antoine Serviette

I'll second that!

November 30, 2012 at 7:50PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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12 Bit 4:2:2, 4K at 2.5MB/s...wow.

November 30, 2012 at 5:26PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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RED is a freaking game changer on so many levels. They make me proud to be American.

I'm old enough to remember 4-head VHS decks selling for $700 or more so $1500 for a unit like this is more then fair.

$1500 now and $300 next year.

A bunch of salary men at Sony and Canon are kneeling next to their desks preparing for seppuku.

November 30, 2012 at 5:32PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Ben Incahutz

"A bunch of salary men at Sony and Canon are kneeling next to their desks preparing for seppuku."

:D

November 30, 2012 at 6:02PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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guto novo

I just dont think that 4K is ever going to end up in consumer living rooms.... I dont ever see it happening.. There are people to this day that still view SD on a Tube TV. 4K distribution?!?!? huh???? This is just a bit crazy to me. The average person will never go 4K. They are barely viewing HD correctly as it is. Not to mention who will distribute it?? Who even has a 4K spec at this moment? Stations currently having issues with moving from SD to Full HD, and now RED is talking 4K?!? LOL.

November 30, 2012 at 5:41PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Kevin

Never?? That's a long time. I think this announcement is really just exciting for those of us with a gear/tech addiction. However it's going to happen at some point. Why? All parties want it to happen and I mean ALL of them. Rest assured, it will be the norm the second they can make it happen and RED just made the first step.

November 30, 2012 at 5:46PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Bro! You need the 4K Passion Aggression Rig for your dvd player!

December 1, 2012 at 1:13AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Bob Harris

Kevin is apparently unaware that several TV manufacturers have already announced 4K sets that will begin selling in the next year. The format is called Ultra HD. Nor does Kevin realize the implications of his own analysi. Stations are not going to make the transition to 4K, they are going to be passed over (and eventually die) as direct to consumer content distribution develops.

November 30, 2012 at 6:04PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Mike

Unfortunately the reality is that you can't finance any film (feature or doc) by the internet alone, unless you make it with a bunch of friends and lots of freebies. To make money after can happen if you are making something special. But think about it. Having to feed your kids, pay the mortgage, pay the car etc. on the hope you might be selling some tickets on ODEMAX is fantasy land. You need investors to be able to make a living out of filming making. Who are those investors? Television stations, Studios and Distributors, if you're lucky some private business people that belive in you and have the money to spend (forget Kickstarter and 100 people with $100) Yes if you're young and work in the pub at night and have a great idea and a bunch of friends you can live the dream today. But in the moment you grow up and need to pay for your day to day live it is a different story. It works for RED because they live of millions of little 30% payments. You can't. The new brave new world to make money is to be the distributor because even if you harbour 1000 film maker that sell 100 tickets each you still make a good cut. But not each of the 1000 filmmakers. RED just did that. As has Apple before. RED did nothing new today, they only created their own little niche of the market in 4K. I really really would love it to be otherwise as I love the idea of self-distribution. But unfortunately you can't live of it unless you have a day job.

November 30, 2012 at 10:27PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Carsten Orlt

4K tvs that cost 25,000 dollars and are 80 inches, because thats how big they have to be to make a difference. 4K will not be as widely adopted as HD was for several reasons. very little content now exists in 4K and although this will be a moot point in the future, older movies will have a much harder time uprezing, as everything save imax has been mastered in 2K. Do you remember when HD first started getting big and many special effects heavy films started showing their seams? I see 4K being adopted in theaters, sports bars, corporate places and some enthusiastic home theater people. But HD will be here to stay for a long time in most households. most tv is in 720p or 1080i and the usa does run the risk of having a bandwidth cap in the future which will limit digital downloads (Canada already has this problem leading to an epic netflix fail).

also, tv stations wont be dieing any time soon. Sports alone is reason enough to keep it around. Although many people have moved to the internet for news and quick entertainment, most people still watch their drama and comedy shows on the boob tube. Lets also not forget that the current gen gaming systems can hardly do HD, the 360 is something like 640p uprezed. Some people think the ps4 will be 4K, i highly doubt that, and if it is it will be a cheat, uprezing trick.

but what i want to know is how this will look...since 2.5MB/s is a little more than half a blu ray...how are they getting 4k 8bit 444 or 12bit 422 into 2.5MB/s?

November 30, 2012 at 10:38PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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kevin

You should research more before you post such definitive "LOLZ" and assumptions I think.

December 2, 2012 at 12:27AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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RED has stated that there screening of Dragon Tattoo 4K and others which have all had rave reviews on their image quality, were only 1.5MBs... so 2.5 is nearly double what they were using. They are very confident it produces amazing image quality. It's the magical encoding in the new .RED codec apparently.

December 2, 2012 at 12:41AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Yup, it'll happen eventually

November 30, 2012 at 7:51PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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To be honest when RED came out with their price reduction blurb about doing it as a result of recouping R&D costs (but nothing to do with increasing competition at high specs) I thought that they were another out of touch and not too clever corporate who thought they could pull the wool over an 'actually quite intelligent base...however they clearly have been very and extremely clever with all that they're currently up to. Cheap players and efficient native compression formats. I sense a fast track APPLE type company in the air! Where can I buy shares? ;-)

November 30, 2012 at 5:41PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Darren Wolff

Damn it... I JUST started beefing out my Blu-Ray collection...

November 30, 2012 at 5:48PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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i don't regret the crazyness of changing my mind from Blackmagic cam to paying 120% tax over the red price to import a scarlet to my country nomore! (hope my camera arives soon before i became homeless!)

now I'll dream with small theathers playing truly indie flicks all over the world... =D Nothing against hollywood and all, but for me most of the time industrial culture can't feed any expansion of organic perception! and art is about expansion of perception for me! :D

November 30, 2012 at 5:59PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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guto novo

interesting shift from acquistion to delivery.
i wonder if red sees the writing on the wall...
when the greatest strides in video capture quality have been made, where do you go?
lots of room to expand in this new area though.

November 30, 2012 at 6:47PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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ruben huizenga

I wonder who will distribute thru odemax though... Pretty sure Sony Pictures will not distribute thru this medium:D

November 30, 2012 at 7:48PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Mike

Never say never. If overall ticket sales keep going down Sony Pictures will go wherever the audience is.

November 30, 2012 at 7:56PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Maybe. But Sony makes tvs, players, has a huge Playstation network which they can leverage.
I doubt that they would convert to this RED format. They killed DVD-HD with bluray(a format they pushed forever). They went down with the Betamax ship. They still make memory sticks(egad!). So good luck to odemax.

December 1, 2012 at 5:46PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Mike

Eventually they will. I imagine the independents will be an early adopters.

November 30, 2012 at 8:37PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Natt

Waiting for the smartass jokes about Redray breaking down every five minutes due to overheating etc. Let it all out, guise.

November 30, 2012 at 8:33PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Natt

I can see it doing some serious business in the mall advertising and billboard world. And yes, your average film festival will look a LOT better. Yay for that. I can't see it being viable as a major theatrical release delivery system. Happy to be proved wrong there.
Once 'Ultra HD' sets drop under 2k, you will get some pickup maybe, but unless ESPN, MLB or the NFL commit to 4k acquisition, its a non-starter as a broadcast or home format. And I'll repeat my prediction - next jump will be to 8k at 50/60fps in about 5-6 years for broadcast, certainly in Europe.

November 30, 2012 at 8:38PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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marklondon

oh. Well hello there beautiful.

November 30, 2012 at 8:46PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Nate

4K PLAYers with no displays because of price and broad avalability , Jim is a waterdowned version of STEVE JOBS R.I.P in the filming field. He is overdoing the 4k thing and putting the Kart before the HORSE , so to say.

November 30, 2012 at 9:21PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Jayyyy

Ryan, just earlier today I was looking at Sorenson Squeeze and noticed the pro version said "RED" in the file types. I just assumed they meant .R3D files. Might want to check on that. Stoked about this player!

November 30, 2012 at 9:37PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Hurray! Red is trailblazing and we are reaping all the benefits. Imagine having your own small theater, the price is that affordable.

November 30, 2012 at 10:37PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Lorenzo S.

RED needs to dominate Sony. Sony's too big. Love the 3D fish.

November 30, 2012 at 10:49PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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i am much more interested about the odemax than the red ray player itself. what i have found on reduser, it is gonna have 30% cut of the sell... and for theatrical release, 50% owner, 30% theater and 20% odemax...

how the owner gonna know how many people are watching a show? what is the solution? trolling me :/

same question was on reduser by Mark L. Pederson :
[[How am I protected from a small theatre - (think art house) - from just buying a player and downloading for $10 - and then charging for tickets for 300 people to watch in their theatre - and no paying me anything. I just get $7 and they sold 300 tickets.]]

Y no ans??? :(

December 1, 2012 at 2:32AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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mizanul nasim

That's amazing. For the screenshots of ODEMAX they are using the shorts selected for their firts Shot On Red Film Festival. Maybe the intention is to add these to a first distribution deal through the ODEMAX site.

December 1, 2012 at 2:35AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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So could this new .RED codec be used in a camera to record 4k at the data rate my t2i could theoretically be able to handle with an sd card?

December 1, 2012 at 4:54AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Content is king not technology. Good for dailies but distribution now way. What will they distribute? The 4k stuff shot by redusers on there scarlets, that camera been out a while now and can't say I've seen anything worthwhile. Jannard thinks people watch for resolution, he is wrong. The big films shot on RED are tied to studios, unlikely they will be licensed through this. Let's work on producing decent 1080 content first, as it is there is much garbage around.

And no we are not interested in your amateur shorts and first time features just becasue they are shot at 4k.

December 1, 2012 at 10:39AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Terry

Lol.

December 1, 2012 at 9:55PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Hilarious.

ODEMAX will be a way for major studios to distribute 4K content highly cost effectively as well. It's not just a little niche REDuser thing, though at first glance I'll give you it is hard to take in exactly what it is. ODEMAX are not becoming distributors ie: selecting materials to distribute, they are a creating a delivery platform through which ANYONE can open a channel and look to distribute DIRECT TO THEATRES and manage it the whole way. It's a powerful attempt to help level the playing field. Not a lot to hate about that. But a lot to be excited about.

If people don't see that. Then you don't really understand this aspect of the industry and the reality of trying to make a living producing independent films.

As to the 1080P or 4K nonsene... A shit film is a shit film. It doesn't matter what it was shot on. But I'd certainly rather watch a great film in 4K than in 1080 and I'd imagine most people would.

Content is king, yes, we all know it, (Though I'd argue we live in an age where marketing is the overlord)
but great camera will certainly help in creating great content.

December 2, 2012 at 1:09AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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How can this player be "DCI compliant" if it only supports Rec 709??

December 1, 2012 at 1:00PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Nej

Jarred confirmed on REDuser that thankfully it doesn't only support Rec 709.

December 2, 2012 at 12:34AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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It's quotes like this that make me EXTREMELY excited by where this could go.

"Odemax charges 30% of each DRM transaction and delivery of content to the home. A Channel Owner is NOT charged for their venue, sales or management tools. Only on what you sell. In the case of Theatrical Delivery, Odemax offers a no bull breakdown. 50% to Channel Owner, 30% to Theater Owner, 20% to Odemax. Odemax is compatible with existing point-of-sale Box Office ticketing software and services. Theatrical Sales reports are delivered directly to the Channel Owner/Distributor, hourly, daily, and week ending.

All you need is a 4K movie, and even if your film is in process, we'll take a 4K trailer for up to 30 days prior to actually receiving your REDray feature master file.

As Jarred said, you can limit to a specific player or number of players. As long as the End User (Home or Theatrical) account has those players linked..."

Jon Farhat (On REDuser)

December 2, 2012 at 12:32AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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I expect the 4K for cinema to be great. However for normal home use it means TV. And about 4K TVs I share this guy's ideas: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57491766-221/why-4k-tvs-are-stupid-...

4K TV really needs much larger screen than 1080p or you need to sit much closer to the TV to see any difference. And majority of people will not want to do any of that.

Perhaps eventually the 4K TV prices will come down to the same levels as 1080p TVs or 1080p TVs will not be sold any more. But before that happens I don't see any high adoption rates. Or maybe Apple will get into TV business and convince everyone we need 4K TVs :-D

December 2, 2012 at 5:16AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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PeterK

APPLE. Thats the company that will introduce and fast forward 4K co tent for everyone. And it will be called "Retina Display". They already started with those products a year ago ( HELLO New iPad is 2K!!!) intruducing new iMacs with 4K retina displays and eventually 40-80ins version of their Apple Cinema with 4K retina display will follow. Then everyone will want one! RED and Sony needs to sit down woth Apple for a standard agreement. Expect it next year.

December 2, 2012 at 2:54PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Quobetah

Yes as I noted in the earlier Sony thread. Apple's long rumored move into make televisions is probably waiting for 4K availability. They are not going to snooze through this transition, they have the oomph to own it, and likely will.

What does this mean for us? Well it does mean contrary to the doubters that Apple will have FCPX and Mac Pro's as a crucial enabling technology for their 4K transition. They are not going to cede the tools story to their bitterly estranged wife Adobe. And they will need machines capable of running the tools, and that may be why the revised Mac Pro is held up. They have to control their own destiny with something this critical and if they pour $100M/yr into FCPX4K R&D it won't even register on their balance sheet but will blow Avid, Adobe etc. clear out of the water.

RED and Sony may know about this and rushed these things out now before there are even displays for them, trying to get out in front and relevant while the giant marshals its forces. Apple can virtually dictate the standard if it wants.

December 2, 2012 at 3:05PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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Peter

Speaking of Apple, they could probably buy Sony, RED, Panasonic and a few others for cash today if they wanted to. So Sony 4K TV business is no threat to Apple whatsoever. 4K TVs are not like smartphones. Few people would really want/need them and fewer still would be able to afford them. So take it easy with the 4K revolution.

There are certain basic principles that you just cannot overturn. iPad's 264 ppi screen is more than adequate for large hand held device. The further you get from the screen, the less ppi you need (and can notice). The closer you get to a screen - from certain point - the less area you can comfortably see. For many people 30" displays are already overkill. Sure, maybe Apple will make 4K 30" displays, but will the majority of people want them at the VERY expensive price? I don't think so. Apple hardware is premium stuff. And Apple 30" displays are top of the premium. Hell, even many pros on Macs actually use Dell or HP displays. To think that 4K 30" computer displays will drive 4K home adoption is naive (sorry). And for 15" laptops you totally don't need 4K. You just wouldn't be able to see the difference.

The only thing that can actually drive 4K TV adoption is either cheap price (not gonna happen) or some serious marketing magic (could happen, but don't count on it).

December 3, 2012 at 8:07AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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PeterK

I agree, that could really change the independent distribution market.

Considering that those theaters which have not yet switched to digital are most likely those who could not afford the DCP stuff (currently a 2K non-3d systems is around 80,000 Euros or 110,000 US$ on average). We all don't know were Crimson is aimed at - price wise - but if its anywhere as disruptive as the RED ONE was, then we can expect it to be like 25,000 to 40,000 US$ for the really BIG screens I would say. Given that they already announced the home projector for less than 10,000 US$ including the player that sounds pretty likely to me.

So imagine, a whole set of theaters, the actual lower end of the Cinema chain, will be those adopting first this new technology. THEY are the first who can actually show off "The Hobbit" in 3D 4K HFR as desired by Peter Jackson then. That allone will pay off those systems quickly. Next year the next episodes of "The Hobbit" and at some point even "Avatar" (where the heck will that pe posted?). Not to speak about the fact that independent movie makers will start providing a true 4K experience, while big studios stay 2K because of budgets. This will take the entire market upside-down.

I would not yet expect that 4K is something everyone will have at home soon. But I can imagine that it will find reasonable market share due to the fact that 4K displays are coming to market these days in masses. The top end bing 84" for 25,000 US$, but apparently the low end being 50" screens for 1,500 US$ - which is remarkable. The cheap ones may not be the best ones, color space wise etc., but they pave the way and the price level for any vendor who wants its market share. Depending on the quality of REDs home projector, it will likely cut pricing for any LED/LCD/Plasma 4K screen quickly into the very same price range I could imagine.

4K is coming, finally.

Btw, in germany we have quite a bunch of cinemas who run digitally but with standart presentation projectors fed by BluRay. Those are the screens originally driven by the Salzgeber Docuzone project, which was originally like MPEG HD playback. Theaters, who aren't rich... RED Crimson might be exactly right for them.

Another interesting point:

Most of todays installed theater systems will NOT be compatible with 4K, and especially not 4K 3D HFR. In turn that means, all those very expensive, often leased 2K 3D enable playback systems are out of date NOW due to the fact "The Hobbit" is being released. When these theaters need to upgrade, REDs new 4K ecosystem comes into play as well.

There is only ONE big question remaining:
Will the big studios adopt to REDs proprietary technology or not?

Given the extremely slow development speed in DCP area, I can imagine that this is possible. Further, DCP technology has pretty much become proprietary in certain aspects as well. So is there only ONE company now remaining which can provide the watermarking technology for DRM. That isn't any better than asking RED directly. Maybe the fact that RED was able to design a fresh new approach together with ODEMAX from the ground up make it more satisfying than the aging compromises created in the DCI specs. The DigitalCinemaNaming convention is a good example for this.

And I am writing this as one of those who actually provide DCP encoding software: http://www.FinalDCP.com

December 7, 2012 at 12:37AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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I do not think is will be the next format we will have do too one main thing
no plastic media just big sata drives at 48gb with REDMAG 1.8" SSD at $500 per

Blu-ray is onat 25gb - 128gb and your can buy a disk a $1+
hd-disk was on plastic media at 15gb - 60gb and your can buy a disk a $2+
dvd was on plastic media at 4.7gb-17.08gb and your can buy a disk a $0.10+
cd is to plastic media at 650mb - 870mb and your can buy a disk a $0.01+
and all of this are 12 cm diameter 1 or 2 cm think

if *.red think were all going to buy big hard-divers (ssd) think again... just think of the Home entertainment
100s+ to 1000s+ disk only take up 50in+ to 100in+ max at maybe 500in+ stack-up in at home but if we go to
ssd it will be like 250ft+ or more it will be like go back it time to VHS cassette is a 187 mm wide, 103 mm deep,

so I don't think it will be the format till it goes to plastic media disk maybe at
150gb -- 750gb or 1tb

January 19, 2013 at 2:47PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM

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marcus