Super close-up in 4K ultra-HD for ‘House of Cards’

LAS VEGAS Fans of Netflixs hit series, House of Cards, are about to get an up close and personal look at Kevin Spacey.

Netflix CEO and Silicon Valley bigwig Reed Hastings made a surprise appearance at the popular Consumer Electronics Show here Monday morning to announce plans to film the political drama in 4K, or ultra-high definition.

While might unnerve the South Orange, NJ, native it is good news for TV manufacturers, which have seen sales slip in the last few years and are counting on ultra-HD sets to lift business.

House of Cards will be one of the first major shows available in 4K, Hastings told the packed crowd at the LG Electronics press event in the Mandalay Bay convention center.

LG, meanwhile, will be Hastings partner in the experiment. LG execs announced plans to launch 12 so-called UHDTVs this year, all with Netflix-streaming content.

Skeptics have scoffed at 4K, calling it just another fad, but some experts say prices are eventually expected to drop to HD levels, making it the obvious choice for buyers.

The price for Samsungs 55-inch LED UHDTV, for example, has recently been dropped for a second time to $3,500, down from $4,500 previously and $5,500 before that.

Plus, most of the new UHDTVs are smart TVs that act as computers, complete with apps, web browsers and more.

Indeed, LG announced today that its newly acquired webOS smart TV platform will come with all of its new UHDTVs, which will allow users to treat their TVs like a computer, including tweeting and browsing the Web while watching movies or streaming Netflix.

The TVs also are getting bigger. LG last month unveiled a 105-inch curved UHDTV that is expected to compete with a similar-sized product from Samsung. Samsung is expected to announce its latest gadgets later Monday.

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Super close-up in 4K ultra-HD for ‘House of Cards’

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