Sharp has demonstrated 8K TVs in the past, and at this year’s IFA show Samsung and LG exhibited beautiful 8K TVs, too. LG plans to start selling 8K displays within a few years.
8K TVs are inevitable. Signed, TV makers
4K TVs have just arrived, but TV makers are already preparing for the next step in resolution. 8K resolution has 16 times more pixels than a Full HD TV, but you need a truly gigantic screen to take advantage of all those 7680x4320 pixels.
LG and Samsung both demonstrated 98-inch 8K TVs at IFA in Berlin. Samsung’s TV was showing a pretty tame demonstration of a shopping mall, whereas LG’s TV was playing a video with great shots of fruits, various landscape and water. LG’s prototype was not available in the public space, but instead hidden in the press room out back.
Both TVs looked very impressive. The fruit and sand/water demos on LG’s model looked particularly amazing. You could perceive even the tiniest details, but you had to move very close to really appreciate the extra pixels. 8K is considered well beyond what the human eye is capable of seeing at a typical TV viewing distance.
Both were flat 16:9-format LCD screens by the way.
Samsung had no plans to share regarding the roadmap for 8K, but LG told us that they are planning to release 8K displays within a few years. LG also told us that they are currently the only display makers capable of mass producing the panels, but we do not if it is true.
LG will most likely sell the 8K panels to professional users initially, but we think it is safe to assume that at some point within the next 2-4 years we will start seeing large-size 8K TVs for consumers. If we can afford them is probably a whole different story.
