Sony’s Colorworks Launching 4K TV Postproduction Department

4K “Ultra HD” TVs made a splash earlier this month at the International CES, but while displays from select manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and Toshiba include technology that upscales HD content to 4K, some stakeholders are asking where native 4K television content would come from.

our editor recommends

CES 2013 Wrap: 4K TVs Have Arrived—Now Where’s the Content?

CES 2013: Set Makers Unveil 4K Displays

Forget HDTV, Because Ultra-HDTV Is On the Horizon

To address that question, Sony is preparing to launch a 4K television postproduction unit in the Capra Building at Sony Pictures in Culver City. It will be branded as a division of Colorworks, a Sony Pictures Technologies’ postproduction company that resides on the lot.

Aimed at increasing the amount of available 4K content, the facility will offer 4K post to support any programming that is shot in the format, as well as 4K remastering for archived series that were shot on film. For new series, the company intends to provide both an HD master for today’s distribution requirements and a 4K master that would be available for future use.

At this stage there isn't a distribution system in place that would enable consumers to access a steady amount of 4K content. Sony, as well as various other stakeholders and associations, have started to explore methods for delivering 4K to the home in a way that could be both technically feasible and economically practical.