Time to start meditating on 16K TVs? In the ongoing race among TV manufacturers to outperform their contenders, technology standards are continually being pushed to new heights, meaning that 16K resolution, the next step after 4K and 8K, has arrived.
For most homes, 4K is the standard resolution for the best smart TVs. It's strange getting a new TV without 4K being part of the minimum you'd expect. But it is by no means the best resolution option on the market today. In truth, even 8K TVs aren't the best free-to-air, given the advent of ultra-advanced 16K displays.
With the promise of unmatched clarity, sharpness, and detail, this is probably the holy grail of an unusual cinematic experience. Still in this form, the technology is still fairly new and expensive, which raises the question of exactly how it differs from 4K and 8K, and will it become a base resolution alternative?
Sony was the first essential brand to introduce a 16K television in two thousand and nineteen. Its 16K glass led display was, and continues to be, a beauty. Its brightness of one zero nits, fifteen three hundred sixty x eight six hundred and forty pixels and modular configuration allow this technology to create a "near virtual" reality that offers immersive viewing. It practically sounds too good to be true ... and if you're not a business buyer, unfortunately you are. For now
While each and every one of the preceding quirks makes it too tempting to say goodbye to 4K forever, without overlooking 8K entirely, we can't. That's for the fact that 16K is a family standard, that's a long way off. Most of the home entertainment is not free nowadays in 16K. To be fair, there are still many channels that do not offer true 4K, and this resolution is free from two thousand and twelve.
Still, while we can't all get one now, our guide can explain what 16K TV really means, what we know so far about this technology, and ultimately whether it will ever dominate our living rooms.
What is 16K?
Basically, the term 16K refers to the number of pixels in an image. But to put the fifteen three hundred sixty x eight thousand six hundred forty 16K pixels into perspective, we must look at what 4K and 8K resolutions offer. Generally, 4K is defined as three thousand eight hundred forty x two thousand one hundred sixty pixels, while 8K is seven thousand six hundred eighty x four thousand three hundred twenty. This means that 16K televisions have a pixel density sixteen times greater than 4K and 8 times greater than 8K. It is a huge improvement.
Since pixels have to be smaller to fit that much on a screen, individual pixels can't produce as much light either, so it's vital that 16K TVs deliver baseline brightness. Hence, the thousand nit marker is such an essential feature of 16K resolutions.
Assuming that 16K televisions preserve the modular configuration presented by Sony, the television would generally be made up of sixteen x eighteen inch square screens with a resolution of three hundred sixty x three hundred and sixty in each and every one. This would give 120Hz frame rates, ten-bit grayscale, and a ninety-nine% black area, leaving deep blacks and great contrast. Again, this means that other brands opt for similar specifications.
Are 16K displays really better than 8K?
It may sound outrageous to ask, but do 16K screens really make a difference? It is essential to ask yourself before you start dreaming about the arrival of such advanced screens in our homes, due to the fact that they are far from being installed.
It really all depends on the size of the TV, what content you are going to be watching (do you watch 16K content?), And how far you are sitting from the screen.
The higher the resolution of a screen, the closer you need to be to see the increased detail. So if you're sitting ten feet from a television screen, you're probably not going to be able to see the difference between 4K and 8K, much less 16K.
If it's close enough, you'll need native 16K content (video that was either shot or created in 16K) to see how good it can be. Today's 8K TV manufacturers always and under all circumstances strive to advance low resolution content efficiently, and the greater the disparity between content resolution and screen resolution for a TV processor.
Therefore, there is going to be a noticeable difference in quality compared to 4K or even 8K, but that difference would be minimal unless certain conditions are met.
The downsides of 16K right now
As we mentioned in our 4K TV explainer, the file sizes for 4K content are considerably larger than those for low-resolution content. Streaming this genre of content over the Internet at home or in data is now quite difficult, and that's without the inclusion of higher resolutions. In short, bandwidth is still not free, not only for broadcasters but also for viewers, as most people do not have broadband, particularly in more rural areas where a reliable Internet is lacking. .
When you start adding these variables, the benefits of clean images and smooth movements start to fade in comparison to the potential downsides now.
What about 16K games?
It is possible, but it is not a simple access alternative, which is a recurring theme with 16K. Gamers have played in 16K before, as YouTuber Linus Sebastian proved after setting up sixteen 4K displays to play. Their results were astounding, but you could say that they are not true 16K, nor the smooth graphics that we have seen produced in 16K since then.
There's also the fact that the latest PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles have been dipping into 4K options lately, so expecting 16K is in huge demand now. Computer gamers, as always and in all circumstances, do better than their console counterparts, but it is the cost that will always and in all circumstances make it quite difficult to get 16K.
Are we ready for 16K resolution?
Commercially, yes. In housing, no. Now, 16K is a luxury that few people are really going to be able to pay for and / or enjoy properly. If you are only focusing on Sony for now, the cost is supposed to be € 000 (about € seven five hundred / AU € fourteen zero) per module, on top of this you have the logistics to do. make this amazing technology work. In its unbeatable conditions.
As users, we are hungry for the latest and greatest technology, and there is no doubt that manufacturers are capable of running 16K, but the daily cleaning is not done yet. Nor is it going to be for the next couple of years. If it's ever going to be 16K for everyone, it's going to be a relentless, gradual process, with 8K TVs set to be as widespread as 4K TVs now.
What's next for 16K TVs?
While this is an exciting prospect for home theater connoisseurs, 16K TV is still in its infancy. The innovation we've witnessed opens up many possibilities, but it's about time 16K delivers the high standards we demand from such technology, with the affordability needed for widespread acceptance.
There's also the fact that the 8K resolution has yet to run its course, although the way it quickly gains momentum means that it may finally be the right moment. The number of 8K units sold has doubled in the last year. When it comes to natural next steps, it seems clear broadcasters and viewers will want to move to 8K before moving to 16K.