"4K is not going to have a major lifetime on a plastic disc."

Before this week, the state of 4K content was fairly dire. While 4K cameras are slowly trickling into TV production, networks like AMC and Fox aren’t anywhere close to broadcasting in the higher-quality standard. Sony's media player is a high-end device tied to Sony televisions, and a Blu-ray standard won’t be locked down until the end of the year at best. When consumers start buying the first wave of affordable 4K TVs like Vizio’s $999 P-Series this year, the only way they’re going to get content is by streaming it over the internet.

"One of the interesting pieces is that 4K is not going to have a major lifetime on a plastic disc," Netflix’s chief product officer, Neil Hunt, tells us. "It’s not going to fit on a Blu-ray disc, and it’s unlikely that people are going to want to upgrade their DVD players."

It’s a streaming-first view that’s held not just by Netflix, but the industry at large: Vizio CTO Matt McRae and Sharp senior VP of product marketing Jim Sanduski both told us that they’re betting on streaming as the future of 4K. "A lot of it will come from streaming," says McRae. "And I think one of the best things that can happen is have streaming be first with content, be first with UHD [Ultra HD], be first with some of the [new] features."

That plays right into Netflix’s strengths: in addition to having the most popular 4K-capable distribution system in the market, the company also an ace up its sleeve: actual 4K content. The Emmy-winning House of Cards is ready to launch its second season in 4K in the second quarter of this year, and Hunt also told us that "all major original content going forward" will be shot and finished in 4K.