No, an engineer would write a set of tech specs on the front of the packaging so absolutely convoluted that a consumer wouldn't know if they are buying a graphics card or a 3rd year computer science text book.

We fall into this trap all the time. I fall into this trap occasionally even when talking to management. People on the whole do not want to know technical details. We are engineers blaming engineers for something that graphic designers and a marketing team put on the front of the package.

Bluray is now over 8 years old, HD-DVD is slightly older.
3D Bluray is now over 5 years old.

Just what is it that you are upgrading every 6 months?
 

And these people don't own bluray players right?

I know plenty of those people as well. But most of them have the setup out of pure ignorance. When I show them where to button is to adjust the screen width they have all corrected it without fail.

You've contradicted yourself.

So the answer is actually yes, not nope. Consumers will lap up crazy marketing gimmicks regardless of technical merit.
Consumers may also not be willing to upgrade, but how long do modern electronics last and will non-UDH variants be around when your screen finally dies?

The answer is definitely yes, but for many people it won't be for technical reasons.

The answer is only no for slashdot users.

We live in our own little bubble of technical genius. Slashdot users here are currently arguing the merits of living room sizes and TV dimensions with plenty for and against a move to 4k.

Consumers however have no such drive. They are driven by shiny and marketing. When they are standing 2ft from a TV in a showroom they will go "whoar" and then will buy it.

The answer in this case is yes. Consumers will buy 4k, just like they bought HD despite at the time everyone on slashdot claiming that NTSC was "good enough".

Eventually even you may upgrade it by basic attrition. Can you even get a non-HD TV anymore?

Forget the hobbit. Have a look at all current TVs on the market. Some of their big features are various smooth motion playback schemes to artificially image process up the framerate and make the motion smooth. I appear to be the only person who has this disabled (but only because my bluray player doesn't have a delay audio option and the TV adds about 100ms of lag to the resulting video).

Sorry for double posting.

The hobbit LOOKED amazing.

I then proceeded to give it 2 out of 5 on a few review sites because it was an incredibly crap trilogy with very little in the way of story.

If you want something well received AND technically amazing then you need to provide a complete package. The hobbit wasn't it, but I I do give them kudos for making a movie which wasn't jerky and blurry as hell when watching it in 3D.

Couch? Oh what a novel idea. I've sat on the couch once I think we were watching the news or something.

Yes my couch is what you would consider a "normal" distance from the TV. Movies on the other hand are watched from beanbags and pillows on the floor with bowls of chips (crisps for the Americans out there).

There is no idea or no concept of "normal" for a distance for a TV. There is a concept of "optimal" for any given resolution, but just because something doesn't fit your use case does not mean it is applied globally. And while you're right there is almost no 4k media in current circulation this is much like the early cases of 3D or the early cases of HD. If you have full support for the standard and you do like what you see then you will seek out media. Sure you may not get the latest blockbuster but simply lumping it into "Starwars hasn't come out on 4k yet so you're not actually watching 4k" is just stupid when you think about it.

Does every product which doesn't have the features you personally want or doesn't run on the platform you personally want qualify as a Tech Demo?

Shit is Windows a Tech Demo because it doesn't run on PowerPC?

I understand what you're saying. The WhatsApp online client is a big WTF moment, but it is their client, their software and their service which they are under no obligation to provide.

You using a different service now? Well more power to you. Though you have convinced me, I was planning on looking into what'sapp but I think I'll give it a miss.

Quick question: In what way is the user targeted? They aren't. The app itself is targeted. They are not disabling WhatsApp accounts, they are not leaving users high and dry. They are simply saying that if you want to use WhatsApp then use the official client.

Skype did this, ICQ did this, MSN did this. I remember multiple times over the years where Jabba clients, trillian, etc broke because the service provided decided they are not providing free access to 3rd party apps. And really why should they!

The g600 certainly looks programmable - is there no option to reassign the primary buttons? Hell, it seems like even the buttons on my normal Logitech office mouse can be reassigned, certainly the click-wheel can be. (on Linux at the moment, so I can't double check)

If the advertising said X was a feature, and that claim was a factor in me buying it for the asked-for price, then I paid for that feature. All else is irrelevant.

On the other hand, almost my entire video collection is DVDs, but I would still much rather watch them on a 1080p screen. My computer has enough horsepower to upscale and deinterlace them beautifully. And then there's the few works of video art where the additional detail is worth the added storage space.

Meanwhile for the un-tech masses a DVD, Blue-ray, or UHD video all take roughly the same amount of storage space - one ~5" plastic disc, plus case (usually)

That's not a bug, it's a feature.

Seriously - who notices such things except the people who enjoy spotting them?

So what's the problem? It's not like 1080p TVs took the world by storm - it's been almost two decades and plenty of people still have CRTs. Most people replace their TV when the old one starts to fail, at which point I will certainly be willing to pay a modest premium for 4K. In the mean time let the enthusiasts have their fun.

Personally I suspect one of the major drivers behind 4K screens will be computer monitors - there's much to be said for standardized resolutions, and even on a 30" screen the difference with 1080p is dramatic. Hell, I'd kill for a 4K screen on my 15" laptop, I'm tired of reading blocky, pixelated text.