How Sony Launched 4K Before the World Was Ready

Inside the $25,000 TV That Came With Its Own PC

In 2012, 4K barely existed outside of movie studios post-production facilities and high-end projectors. Most people were still buying 1080p TVs, and they weren’t in a rush to upgrade. Cable was stuck at 720p or 1080i and Blu-ray was the gold standard for home video. Netflix streamed in HD if your internet could handle it and nobody was asking for more pixels, because most people hadn’t even seen what more looked like.

So when Sony announced an 84-inch television with 3840 by 2160 resolution and a $25,000 price tag, it felt like something from a future that hadn’t arrived yet. This was the KD-84X9000, or the XBR-84X900 in the U.S.—Sony’s first consumer 4K TV and one of the most overbuilt televisions they ever made.