What is 8K resolution? More TV brands than ever are turning to futuristic ultra-high-definition technology to add to today's premium TVs. This means you're likely to hear the word '8K' more and more, but when it comes to figuring out what exactly 8K means for video quality, your home theater, and you, the answer isn't. it's not always that simple. 2019 was the time 8K really kicked off, with the LG 8K OLED and LG SM99 taking up shelf space alongside the Samsung Q950R QLED, which got a nifty 55-inch size later in the year. - Sony Z9G and the new TCL X Series TV. There are enough 8K TVs out there now that we need a better 8K TV guide just to review them. Plus, there's more to come, with multiple announcements at CES 2020 of new 8K models, promising advances in processing, and ramped-up manufacturing to deliver cleaner, more affordable (but still quite expensive) gaming. In the years to come, you can expect to hear more from the 8K Association, a community of TV manufacturers that includes Samsung Electronics, Panasonic, Hisense, TCL, and AU Optronics. This partnership was established to guide the visual standard of the future and introduced a new 8K standard to make sure consumers know they're getting adequate minimum specs for the high-resolution panel (although LG is taking slightly different steps). Other tele-tangential companies such as Tencent, Xperi, Intel and Chile have also joined the 8K Association, showing a greater desire on the part of technology organizations to invest in (and shape) the development of advanced panel resolution. As manufacturers, broadcasters and production studios begin to coalesce around new technology, it's critical to know what you can expect to see on your TVs in the coming years and what 8K technology is on offer today. You can see all the latest information on 8K in this guide below, along with what exactly 8K is, how it works, and what difference it makes to 4K.
What is 8K resolution?
8K is nothing short of the clearest image you can see. It has four times as many pixels as 4K images, measuring 7680x4320 pixels, which equates to a total of 33,177,600 pixels. On a 65-inch screen, they're so small you won't even be able to make out the pixel structure, even though many 8K TVs are much, much larger.Why is it called 8K?
It's called 8K because the images are about 8000 pixels wide, a few hundred, but the specification is also included in the general term Ultra HD, which is why some people use the term Ultra HD 8K. Others still call it 8K Super Hi-Vision, like NHK, Japan's largest public broadcaster, who invented it in 2000 and rated it in 2012.Are 8K TVs already on sale?
Yeah, and he's been able to do this for a while. We've come a long way since the proof-of-concept 8K TVs we've seen at conferences in recent years. When we first saw Chang Hong's 98ZHQ2R TV in 2017, the 98-inch set seemed to be supported by something that looked like scaffolding, the brackets being very thick. But all that has changed now: the latest wave of 8K TVs are as slim and easy to use as we now expect from our existing 4K TV models.Are there different types of 8K?
LG launched a line of 8K TVs a year after its first announcement (we'll cover those later), but what's interesting is that LG says the competition doesn't offer the same experience as LG's real 8K. . So what is this argument about the "real 8K"? Well, LG cites the Information Display Measurement Standard (IDMS) for pixel differentiation, stating that 8K TVs should not only be defined by the number of pixels they have (7680 x 4320), but also by their capacity. of the TV panel to distinguish/contrast between these pixels. If these little self-emitting dots start fusing the brightness or colors of your output, then there's no point in having so many. LG claims its new 8K TVs achieve this contrast modulation (CM) "in the 90 percent range," leading to what it calls "real 8K." (The IDMS standard only requires 25% for images or 50% for text.) These claims came just a day after the 8K Association, an organization to encourage 8K adoption and development with members including Samsung, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL, but notably not LG, set its own standard. for 8K TVs. Its mostly sensible elements like HDMI 2.1 ports, high enough frame rates, 8K resolution, and a minimum peak brightness of 600 nits, but not to mention the contrast modulation metering used by LG.So what consumer 8K TVs are on the market?
The Samsung Q900R 8K TV came out at the end of 2018 and earned five stars from the TechRadar team, but with an equally huge price. In the UK, you were paying €4,999 for the 65-inch model or €6,999 for the 75-inch, while the 85-inch model retails for €14,999/£14,999. A new 55-inch model was also announced in late 2019. LG 8-inch OLED LED TVs and 88-inch LG Nano Cell 8K have also rolled out in the US, UK, Australia, France and Germany, using the LG a75 Gen 9 processor, with four HDMI 2 ports (unlike the Sony Z2.1G with few ports). So even OLED TVs get in on the action.- Best 8K TV: What are the best 8K TVs you can buy?