Ultra-high definition television is bending Australian viewers’ minds

ULTRA high-definition televisions are set to become the norm within five years in Australia, with prices starting at $3000.

Models pose with a Samsung Electronics curved UHD television.

ULTRA high-definition televisions are set to become the norm within five years in Australia — even though there is virtually no way local buyers can make use of the cutting-edge technology.

Australian consumers have until recently had access to just a handful of UHD TV models, also known as 4K, with most beyond the price range of average families.

But Harvey Norman audio-­visual national manager Nigel Dent said that would change next month with the introduction of more than 50 new options from major manufacturers, some starting at $3000.

“Obviously there is a replacement cycle, but you’d have to think that within the next two or three years, everything (for sale) will be UHD,” he said.

Industry giants Samsung and LG are also pushing ahead with curved-screen 4K TVs, designed to provide a more immersive viewing experience. Fans of UHD laud its phenomenal picture quality, with a 4K screen effectively cramming in four times the picture information of current high-definition sets.

That means viewers can sit closer to a big-screen television without compromising image quality.

But apart from a few YouTube videos, Australian viewers still have few options to harness the technology. Television shows, DVDs and even Bluray discs don’t broadcast in 4K, and, even if they were available online, 4K movie files are so enormous they are not practical to download for anyone on a capped internet plan.