Everything your sales force needs to know about 8K TV
People didn’t see the point with 8K TVs when they first released, especially because 4K was enough resolution for most people. Now that they’ve been around for a while and prices are falling, there are a few reasons why people might consider upgrading.
The obvious one is the higher resolution. The upscaling technology is another reason. 8K TVs can upscale 4K and other lower-resolution content to the best possible 8K-like quality so you don’t have to wait for 8K content to come out. A majority of the largest 8K TV manufacturers also claim their televisions have HDMI 2.1 inputs capable of handling the 48 Mbps bandwidth needed for the highest resolution and frame rate combinations (up to 60 frames per second).
What do you tell your customers when they come in the door ready to buy a new TV and they ask your opinion on 4K vs 8K?
When it comes to 4K vs 8K, it all boils down to:
• Picture quality vs. room size
• How much OTA and streaming content is available
• Availability of matching peripherals and accessories
PICTURE QUALITY VS. ROOM SIZE: 4K VS 8K
There’s no doubt that 8K is stunning. It has 4 times the pixels as 4K, just like 4K has 4 times the pixels of 1080p HD.
But lots of pixels don’t necessarily mean that your customer’s eyes will notice the difference when comfortably seated in their favorite chair.
One of the keys to figuring out if 8K is a logical jump is called optimal viewing distance.
According to Forbes.com, “The optimal viewing distance is the distance at which the eye can resolve all the detail in the image without being able to see the pixels on the screen. Knowing the resolving power of the human eye, we can calculate optimal distances for viewing screens of different sizes with different resolutions.”
Look at the chart below.
According to the chart, the optimal distance for a 65 in. 8K TV screen is 2 ft. It’s 4.3 ft. for 4K. Who’s going to sit that close to a screen? You can’t even see the whole display at that distance!
Most people sit 9 ft. away from their TV. It would take a massive 275 in. to 280 in. 8K screen to push the optimal viewing distance out to 9 ft! At the prime 7 ft. to 9 ft. distance, 55 in. to 75 in. 1080p TVs remain the most logical choice. However, improvements in 4K imaging, such as HDR, make the jump to 4K worthwhile—or at least justifiable.
However, if someone is looking at 8K for wall-sized displays, a screen that shows images with fine detail because of text and graphics or needs a screen that enables close-up viewing to examine details, 8K resolution is certainly the logical choice.
The chart below illustrates the dividing line for normal 20/20 vision and as you can see, 8K TVs are most beneficial when you’re sitting at a distance that’s far closer than most people are comfortable sitting in.
AVAILABLE OTA AND STREAMING CONTENT: 4K VS. 8K
The next thing to consider is if there’s anything to watch on 8K. As far as over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts in the US, no, there isn’t. In fact, 4K is still struggling to launch. The good news is that OTA standards that support 4K will also support 8K. The bad news is it’s going to be years and years before 8K broadcasting in the US is widespread.
As of January 2022, the only real options for streaming 8K content are YouTube and Vimeo. YouTube is by far the best destination for this content, and true 8K videos are available thanks to the new AV1 codec (assuming your TV supports it). It boasts thousands of 8K videos — though strangely its search filters only let you look for 4K resolution as the maximum resolution. Unfortunately, there’s no way to filter 8K content as there is with 4K or HDR videos (not yet anyway).
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 second—and 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 rates—also 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 won’t 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.
SO, IS 8K WORTH IT YET?
If you want to jump on the 8K bandwagon immediately, Samsung, LG, Sony, and TCL all have 8K models you can buy right now, with sizes that start at 55 in. and prices that begin at around $2,000.
However, 8K TVs are still out of reach for those with limited budgets. But assuming they continue their downward trajectory much as 4K did, we expect to see lots of great 8K TVs priced well below $2,000.
To give an idea of how far things have come, Sharp’s first 8K TV went on sale for professional use in Japan in 2015 for $133,000. The fact that Samsung’s 65-inch model costs less than 3% of the price of that early model shows you just how quickly things move.
Looking over the aspects of seating distance, content, and peripherals, 4K TVs are still the practical way to go. But there will always be early adopters for new tech—whether it’s practical or not—and nothing you can say will dissuade them. The best you can do is prepare them for the reality of limited 8K content and virtually no peripherals.
For everyone else worrying about 4K vs. 8K, you can assure your customers that 4K UHD is an excellent choice—and will be for years to come.