In the race between the two great television giants, LG has surpassed Samsung and has given itself the right to claim the first television: 8K Ultra HD & # 39; to the world, certified by industry standards. Specifically, this means that LG is the first to use the "8K Ultra HD" logo (below) and the definition set by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), starting with l&Company's "true 8K TV" range. unveiled at CES 2020.
(Image credit: CTA) The logo and definition were revealed by CTA in September and are designed "to help retailers and consumers identify products that meet the technology industry's 8K Ultra HD requirements." The full criteria for this certification are quite broad and include the need to have "at least 33 million active pixels, with at least 7680 horizontally and 4320 vertically in a 16:9 viewing window," as well as the ability to augment SD. , HD Video and 4K to 8K. These TVs must also have at least one HDMI input capable of supporting the aforementioned resolutions as well as 10-bit bit depths, but especially for LG", the display must respond to a minimum of 50% contrast modulation using a model 1x1 grid."
Contrast modulation
Contrast modulation (CM) is a method of measuring ``visible resolution'' & # 39; & # 39; of a display, which distinguishes between the number of pixels that can actually be seen rather than the number that is technically present; it is possible, for example, to have a 7680 x 4320 display that does not visually reflect such a high resolution The CM measurement is defined by another standardization association, the International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM), and is a percentage that compares the luminance of pure black and white lines with the width of a single pixel. The higher the luminance of the white pixels and the lower the luminance of the black pixels, the better the overall CM measurement as a percentage. To meet the CTA definition of an Ultra HD 8K display, a percentage of at least 50% must be achieved. LG says its 2020 lineup of OLED Signature 8K TVs and NanoCell 8K TVs offer "CM values in the 90% range, while other industry models remain in the double digits." These results have been verified by two third-party testing organizations: Intertek and VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker). Technically, LG had already reached this threshold, having announced that its range of Real 8K TVs had exceeded this standard in early September, before CTA even revealed its logo and definition, but now third parties have proven the claims, LG and CTA they formalized it.
Big caveats
It all looks like a clear win for LG, but unfortunately it gets even more complicated from now on. Basically, CTA is not the only association that measures 8K standards, because the aptly named 8K Association (8KA) also has a minimum threshold set for the technical specifications of a panel, and not 39; does not include contrast modulation. The 8KA was founded in part by Samsung and the South Korean tech giant continues to be a key member of the association, along with most other major panel makers, with one notable exception: LG. Although Samsung's panels don't meet the CM standards imposed by the CTA, they certainly meet and exceed those set by the 8KA, so it's possible the two TV giants are at odds at this stage. Regardless of the apparent shift in targeting posts and the dense sea of acronyms and niche metrics, it's clear that healthy competition between Samsung and LG will yield some impressive TV tech, but we recommend you take the marketing by talking about the two companies with some caution.