Should You Believe in an Apple Inc. (AAPL) 4K TV?

Microsoft would have to optimize the operating system; low-margin PC vendors would have to spend extra to buy premium panels; software developers would have to optimize their apps and content; all of this while conveying to the consumer why such a high-resolution PC is worth the premium.

This is simply something that a segmented value chain couldn’t deliver, but a highly integrated player with powerful marketing and messaging like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) can. The Windows value chain was faced with a chicken-and-egg dilemma, while Apple delivered the chicken and egg at the same time. Only now that Apple has catalyzed the industry can the Windows ecosystem work together.

There are a lot of scaling algorithms necessary to make Retina happen in PCs, and Apple built them into OS X. It’s long been a premium PC brand, so was able and willing to pay extra for better displays, while the company also offers plenty of first-party apps that were Retina-ready and similarly incentivized third-party developers to do likewise. Add in a pinch of hyperbolic marketing and you’re on your way.

This time is different
With TVs, it’s a totally different game. Instead of a premium of $0 to $500 that’s borne by the consumer, we’re talking about 4K TVs costing anywhere from $40,000 to $300,000. With full HDTVs right now going for under $500, good luck with that.

On the flip side, the primary content source for TV is Hollywood, instead of armies of developers. Creating 4K content is much more expensive than optimizing an app for high-resolutions, something that the TV and film industry won’t commit to unless consumers are on board. These are chickens and eggs that not even Apple can deliver simultaneously.

At the same time, the actual benefit for 4K in everyday usage is questionable, since TV viewing distances haven’t changed. In fact, pixels on a current 40-inch 1,080p HDTV aren’t discernable from 5.2 feet or more, so buying a TV that costs as much as your car or house to make pixels you already can’t see even harder to see is what I like to call a “tough sell.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may launch a 4K TV one day, but not for a very, very long time.

The article Should You Believe in an Apple 4K TV? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Microsoft.

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