Will The First 8k TVs Be Viable
If you remember, the first 4K televisions couldnt display more than 30 frames per second and had a limited colorimetry. To truly enjoy higher frame rates and HDR technology, we had to wait for the second generation of televisions fitted with HDMI 2.0 controllers. Its the same with 8K TVs. However, the electronic compartment of some models could be replaced with a new one that features a HDMI 2.1 controller.
Is It Worth Buying An 8k TV In 2021
If you’re looking for an immediate payoff, then it probably isn’t worth upgrading to an 8K TV right now. This is because while the TV may support 8K resolutions, very few other devices do.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X, for example, are both capable of running in 8K. However, this function has yet to be enabled on the consoles. Microsoft’s explanation for this sums up the problem with 8K perfectly:
As there is not media content or games that currently support 8K resolution, we have not enabled the option within the system settings at this time. Xbox Series X was designed with the next 8 to 10 years of advancements in mind, and as 8K becomes a more widely adopted format, the console will support it.
Essentially, 8K technology is still a fresh innovation. Most developers see 4K or 1440p as a desirable resolution. Developers can reach while still supporting higher frame rates and overall better performance. As most games released in 2021 still need to support the PS4 and Xbox One- consoles not even capable of 4K output – developers have yet to prioritise 8K resolutions.
K Content: Can I Actually Watch Anything In 8k
Without 8K content, an 8K TV is just a 4K TV with a few thousand dollars stuck to it with duct tape. Samsung talks up fancy “AI” upscaling technology on its TVs, designed to improve the look of mere 4K and 1080p sources on an 8K screen. And other TV makers like Sony and LG have touted their own 8K special sauces. But to get the most out of all those 33 million-plus pixels, the incoming source needs to be 8K too.
There are three main aspects to getting any new format, like 8K, into your home:
1. Content recorded in the new format
2. Transmission of the new format
3. Playback of the new format
An 8K TV represents the last part of the system: playback. That’s the easy part. Any TV manufacturer can design and produce a TV with any resolution it wants. It’s just up to the company and its resources.
Creating content in the new resolution, meanwhile, is a lot tougher. While the number of 8K-capable cameras has dramatically increased in the last few years, they’re still expensive to buy or rent. In most cases, these cameras are used to create 4K content instead. There are lots of reasons it’s a great idea to capture in 8K. The end result, however, is 4K, because of the second part of the process .
The Red Monstro 8K VV “Brain” has a 35.4-megapixel CMOS sensor, can record 8K video at 60 fps, has over 17 stops of dynamic range, and costs — brace yourself — $54,500.
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Peripherals: 4k Vs 8k
To go along with an 8K TV, there needs to be 8K Blu-ray players and discs, media streamers, game systems, incredibly fast Internet/Wi-Fi speeds, and upgraded HDMI cables. 4K is still making inroads when it comes to hardware, so 8K is certainly several years out. And 8K streaming standards have yet to be developed. That said, the advent of 5G will certainly help with streaming video. Reports vary, but it looks like home broadband will require between 50 Mbps and 1 Gbps speeds to handle 8K. When it comes to cabling, the HDMI Forum has developed a new HDMI 2.1 cable standard that supports 8K resolution at 60 frames per secondand 4K at 120 frames per second, making gamers everywhere happy. Compliant 8K HDMI cables bear the label Ultra High Speed. HDMI 2.1 cables are beginning to filter into the marketplace. They support a 48 Gbps bandwidth and variable refresh ratesalso ideal for gaming. VR experiences should be more immediate and immersive and Dynamic HDR content more nuanced. The Audio Return Channel is enhanced to keep pace with new audio codecs. Note that 8K-compliant HDMI cables wont upconvert anything. So even using Ultra-High-Speed HDMI 2.1 cables, older devices will still pass along their native formats to an 8K TV. Users can only hope the upconverter on their 8K TV will do a decent enough job till the rest of those 8K peripherals come along.
What Is 8k Should You Buy A New TV Or Wait
4K is the resolution standard for televisions now, but we’re starting to see 8K TVs trickle out. How much better is 8K, and is it worth waiting for?
Maybe you’ve had a 4K TV since they first came out. Maybe you upgraded only recently. Maybe you’re still using a 1080p TV. Whatever your current screen status is, you’ve probably heard about what’s coming after 4K: 8K. It’s the next big jump in TV resolution. And like 4K, the transition requires new technologies. Here’s everything you need to know about 8K: what it is, when it’s coming, and what it needs to work. The short explanation is: 8K TVs are here, but you shouldn’t rush to buy one.
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Is There An 8k Standard
Whenever anything happens in TV, there’s a set of standards and some badging that comes along. In the case of 8K, we’re seeing different factions pushing 8K standards and wanting to push its label as the one to look for.
The 8K Association – an industry body formed to oversee the development of the 8K ecosystem – has outlined some basic public specs for what an 8K TV should offer, including: 7,680 x 4,320 pixel resolution input frame rates of 24p, 30p, 60p more than 600 nits peak brightness HEVC support and HDMI 2.1.
A new 8K Association Certified logo from the 8K Association marks out 8K TVs that pass a certain standard. Samsung has reiterated its commitment to the 8K Association, but 22 companies are now members of the 8KA so expect to see the logo spread far and wide.
Rival LG has teamed up with the Consumer Technology Association in the US to standardise 8K TVs under the 8K Ultra HD banner. LG will also be using the expression “Real 8K”, suggesting that anything else isn’t real 8K.
Ultimately, most of this doesn’t matter: for 4K we saw a similar range of labelling but that seemed to have little impact in stores.
K Vs 8k: Is It Worth Upgrading To ‘full’ Uhd
It’s difficult to keep up with TV tech. Anyone who has bought a new TV over the past few years will likely know the feeling. You’ve saved money for a new, high-endTV and, shortly after you’ve set it up, a new wave of next-generation TVs is announced, which promises to outperform your new set in absolutely every way. All by the same brand that just promised you had the latest and greatest.
That’s where we currently are in the battle between 4K vs 8K TVs. Although having widespread access to true 8K UHD content is a long way off, many TV manufacturers are hoping that the impressive upscaling and greater clarity offered by the newest wave of 8K sets will be enough to convince enthusiasts that it’s worth upgrading from4K TVs for good.
In an effort to demonstrate the difference in visual fidelity between its top 4K and 8K TV models, we were invited to Samsung’s Australian headquarters back in 2019 to spend a few hours viewing both sets side-by-side.
Here’s what we took away from our time comparing Samsung’sQ9F 4K QLED TV from 2018 to its Q900R 8K QLED TV flagship, along with some more recent news and updates about which TV tech is best.
- Still not sure what 8K is all about? Read our 8K FAQ: the top questions about 8K answered by Samsung
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Are 8k TVs Compatible With 4k And Hd Content
Yes. The new 8K televisions by Samsung and LG are backwards compatible with lower definition formats. When compared to a 4K television of the same size, 8K panels include more pixels and reduce the singular between each pixel.
Therefore, a program in HD or 4K gains in density and precision on an 8K TV.
How Much Does An 8k TV Cost
There’s a range of 4K TVs available to buy with many of the best known television manufacturers including Sony, Samsung, LG, Philips and Hisense offering their own version. While there aren’t as many 8K TV options available, new designs are imminent. The average 55″ 8K TV can be bought for around $1,233, while you can pick up a 55 4K TV from around $410.
You’ll really reap the benefits of an 8K from sizes 75″ and above when the pixels really make you feel immersed in the action. But bear in mind that the cost of large 8K TVs goes up in price considerably after 65″. A 75 8K TV will cost you around $3,083, compared to the average 75 4K TV, which costs from around $973.
Its also worth remembering that the majority of 8K TVs offer LCD screens. The exception is LG who offer an 88″ OLED TV, but over $13,000 it’s not a light investment.
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Sony Master Series Zg9
In the case of the highest range of the Sony catalog , the podium goes to the MASTER Series ZG9 . It is an 8K Full Array LED screen with a contrast up to twenty times higher than that of conventional LED televisions. It also incorporates X-Reality PRO, so that the images that we reproduce in it are converted to a quality closer to 8K.
In short, as you can imagine in the case of one of Sonys highest ranges, this is a television that looks spectacularly good, with good viewing angles and cinema sound Of course, all that technology has to be paid for. The best 8K TV from the manufacturer so far is available in 85 and 98 models, reaching a maximum price of 79,999 euros .
Is 8k TV Worth It Right Now
The LG Z9 8K TV is the best TV Ive ever seen, and its what Id like to put in my living room. But since theres no 8K content available today, youre paying mostly for the 88-inch screen size. The Z9s performance with current HD and 4K content is very similar to that of the 4K C9 series, which maxes out at a 77-inch screen size, for about $5,000. When you move up to the 88-incher, you add nearly $25,000 to the price, but this version is only 30 percent larger. Its pretty hard to say that extra bit of improvement is worth the price difference.
When the first 4K sets debuted from Sony and LG, in September 2012, they had an 84-inch screen size and cost $20,000 to $25,000. The first 77-inch 4K OLED cost $25,000 when it debuted in 2014. Today a pretty good 65-inch budget 4K TV costs less than $1,000. Hopefully the Z9 and other 8K sets will follow a similar price-drop pattern so that the technology becomes more affordable to us in the future. But for now, if you want the best TV, we think youre better off saving your money and going with a great 4K TV instead. If you really want a screen size over 80 inches, consider Sonys 85-inch X950G or Samsungs 82-inch Q80Rboth are upcoming picks in our Best LCD/LED TV guide and both cost less than $4,000. And we highly recommend the 77-inch LG C9, for around $5,000, if you want to have the biggest 4K OLED you can get today.
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Is There Enough 8k Content Available
Your television may be capable of displaying images in 8K, but there is still a limited library of native 8K content available for consumers. That said, if you buy an 8K TV, even the current 4K content will look much crisper with smoother movements due to the devices faster image processing capabilities.A collection of available 8K video sources is published by the 8K Association, a group that promotes the creation of 8K native content. The few available 8K content includes some games and a small selection of YouTube videos that were filmed in 8K. Many of the major streaming services do not have 8K content available, and no optical discs support 8K.There are still some technical hurdles to jump before 8K becomes an industry standard. To begin with, 8K native footage needs 121.5 GB per minute, which translates into a mammoth 7.29 TB for an hour. The processing capacity needed in order to access, play and edit 8K content is enormous. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was the first major Hollywood movie to be shot in 8K, but not many have followed.Internet speed is one major factor limiting the growth of 8K content, which takes longer to load even if audio and video content is digitally compressed. If your area currently does not have high-speed broadband and you are already experiencing lag when watching 4K content on streaming services, you might want to hold off on buying an 8K television until a faster service can be provided by your ISP.
Native 8k Content Isn’t Necessary
The first thing to clear up is that, unless you live in Japan, you’re not going to have native 8K content any time soon. That means, just because you have an 8K TV it doesn’t mean any of the things you want to watch TV shows, streaming content, movies, even most YouTube videos come in an 8K resolution.
Right now, there are a handful of 8K videos on YouTube, which is likely going to be your best bet for watching true 8K content in the near future. However, YouTube’s TV app is still limited to a maximum resolution of 4K for the time being, and it probably won’t be updated until 8K TVs become more mainstream.
That said, having spent some time with Samsung’s Q900R 8K QLED TV, it became clear to us that a lack of native 8K content isn’t the deal-breaker you might imagine it could be in fact, we’ve come away convinced that upscaling technology will end up defining the 8K era for the foreseeable future.
What we mean by upscaling is that content movies, TV shows, documentaries that’s of a lower resolution and not shot in 8K can be converted by your 8K TV thanks to the advanced image processing inside. Sure this isn’t as impressive as watching 8K content on your 8K TV, but it’s a start and what we’ll have to make do with for now.
After all, the majority of Hollywood’s most expensive blockbusters are still only finished at 2K , so the idea that we’ll be getting a wealth of native 8K content in the near future is unrealistic.
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We Tested A $30000 8k TV Heres What Wed Buy Instead
In the world of consumer electronics, the best thing is always replaced by the better thing . For TVs, that thing is 8K resolution, which offers 25 million more pixels than 4K. But do you need it?
This year LG, Sony, and Samsung all introduced new 8K TVs, and most of them come in very large screen sizes of 85 inches and larger. These new 8K TVs have very steep price tags and are loaded with features, making them the highest of the high-end TV sets. But is it worth the cost to get one? We had the chance to spend a day with LGs $30,000, 88-inch OLED88Z9PUA OLED TV to see for ourselves what 8K brings to the screen right now.
The majority of TVs for sale today have a 4K resolutionthats 3840×2160 pixels. An 8K TV has four times more resolution, with a pixel count of 7680×4320. Unlike the first-generation 4K TVs, which offered only a higher resolution and quickly became obsolete, these new 8K sets are loaded with all of todays most advanced video technologies, including high dynamic range, wide color gamut support, and HDMI 2.1. So they wont become outdated anytime soon.
These TVs also boast the best performance elements that each manufacturer has to offer: the best video processor, the best panel, the best backlighting, and so on. So you know the picture is going to look great. The question is, how much better is the best than a comparable and much more affordable 4K TV? Thats what we wanted to find out.
Most Content On An 8k TV Is Upscaled
Upscaling is the process of taking lower resolution content and optimizing it for display on a display with higher pixel density. Old upscaling techniques used rudimentary pixel doubling, to simply blow up the image. Since this content was never designed for larger, more pixel-dense displays in the first place results were usually disappointing.
This has been achieved through using powerful system-on-a-chip hardware that is now standard on most high-end displays. The higher resolution content you feed your TV, the better the results. 8K TV owners should aim for 4K as a baseline.
This technology not only improves edge-sharpness and clarity in a way that pixel doubling does not, but it also improves lighting and texture reproduction. Different optimizations can be applied to complex textures like grass and skin in a way that older techniques simply cannot match.
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This means that early 8K TVs are considerably better at upscaling than early 4K TVs were. Its hard to quantify the difference, but if youre interested in an 8K TV then it certainly cant hurt to head to a showroom and ask for a demonstration.
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