RedRay player. (REDRAY)

The RedRay Player is the first commercially available 4K set-top box and for most the only way of accessing ultra-high definition content before 2014.

If you're in the market for a new TV, have the requisite spare $20,000 US to splash out on an ultra-high definition TV from Samsung, LG or Sony but are put off by the fact that there is currently next to no native content available, then there's good news.

The RedRay Player is the first commercially available 4K (four times high definition) streaming player, and in the US can be pre-ordered now at a very respectable $1,450.

The player is able to stream from the company's own cloud, from its internal 1TB hard drive or from a connected or networked hard drive. Described by its makers as the first plug-and-play friendly device capable of delivering 4K content to 4K displays, the RedRay player can also automatically upscale existing HD content to ultra-high definition resolution and supports 3D playback at 48 or even 60 frames per second. What's more, as is quickly becoming the norm with such devices, there is also an app that allows owners to turn their iPad into a remote control.

Currently, the only other 4K options for early adopters of ultra-high-definition TVs are a handful of YouTube channels that support the format, the Eutelsat Communications station -- which broadcasts test imagers and technology workshops in Europe to test the boundaries of the technology -- and the pledge from the Japanese government that it will screen the final of the 2014 Fifa World Cup in 4K.

The RedRay player can be pre-ordered at http://www.red.com/store/products/redray-player