The 8K Association has released its latest specifications for new-age televisions sporting an 8K resolution out-of-the-box. Right now, 8K is the highest resolution you can find on any consumer television.
8K UHD TVs provide around four times sharper images than 4K UHD TVs, which themselves are jaw-dropping for many of us. But there are many other factors which contribute to the viewing experience, including color performance and High Dynamic Range (HDR).
According to 8KA, the new specification suggests recommended levels of these performance aspects for all of its members, including Samsung Panasonic, AU Optronics, TCL, etc.
In the future, the association will put a logo on the 8K TVs that meet or exceed the performance standards. It will help potential buyers get an idea of what they should expect when they walk into a store.
A new 8K TV should meet the following basic set of specs:
- Screen resolution: 7680 x 4320 pixels (16:9)
- Input Frame Rate: 24FPS, 30FPS, and 60FPS
- Display Luminance: More than 600 nits peak Luminance
- Codec: HEVC
- Interface: HDMI 2.1
The HDMI 2.1 standard has been made compulsory as it supports 8K video streams at up to 60 frames per second which will be required to display content on these screens. In fact, it even supports 10K resolution.
8KA has provided a more in-depth list of parameters to its members. It includes specifications “for 8K input parameters (bit depth, frame rate, chroma sub-sampling), Display Performance (resolution, peak brightness, black levels, color gamut, white point), and the interface & media formats (HDR, Codec).”
The Association says that these “key performance indicators” will help consumer brands and panel manufacturers provide better devices to the users and keep up with the pace of technology.
Should I go for an 8K TV?
Of course, yes. You can go buy an 8K UHD TV from leading brands including Samsung, Sony and LG in some parts of the world. But there is a more important question: Where is the 8K content?
Speaking of TV channels, the world’s first 8K TV channel ‘BS8K’ was launched by Japan’s NHK to broadcast 2020 Olympics, and movies including 2011: A Space Odyssey.
Apart from a limited number of Youtube videos, there aren’t many places where you can find 8K videos to watch, not to mention the super-fast internet connection and massive amounts of bandwidth it would require. On top of that, a lot of technical development is required before 8K content becomes mainstream.
So, you’ll have to wait for a while if you have dreams of watching Netflix and Amazon Prime in 8K.
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