TVs are always a hot item around this time a year. With Christmas sales, year end sales and even pre-Super Bowl sales, a lot of people end up bringing home a new HDTV. The "HDTV" itself was a big deal not too long ago, then 3DTV was all the rage a while back and now 4K Ultra HD is the newest television fad. But, what should you know about Ultra HD before purchasing? CTAM (Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing) recently released some talking points about 4K Ultra HD. Some of what the guide points out to us in the cable industry is useful to you, the consumer. First off, they break down what all is involved in the "ecosystem" of television:

Television is an ecosystem. The actual television set itself is one part of it - an important part, to be sure - but a single part. It follows that the evolution to better pictures and sound is more than just 4K Ultra HD TV sets. From cameras, to production gear, to capacity, entire industry segments are gearing up to build out their parts of the next chapters in video. Innovation, in other words, happens everywhere. High Definition TVs came faster than HD content.

What was discussed above, the same was true for 3DTV just a few years ago. However, with 3DTV,  the live and linear programming just never caught on. As far as the Ultra HD sets available now, there are plenty of options in the stores and have been since Thanksgiving 2013. However, the content hasn't caught up yet. There is no deliverable Ultra HD content available through a cable or satellite provider. Packaging 4K video into a standard Blu-ray disc isn't possible just yet, but there should be a solution available by next Christmas. As with most technology, pricing will come down over time and with little to no content available at this time, it makes sense to wait until the programming catches us, unless of course you find a deal too good to pass up.