Nowadays it is practically impossible to enter a store and buy a TV that is not UHD, resolution also known as 4K. The days when Full HD TVs disrupted jaws and woke up whispers are over, but a new format is coming that promises to put today’s 4K TV models to shame: the 8K.
Proof that the battle for the best image quality is endless, the major manufacturers are finalizing the launch of the first 8K models. But what exactly does this label mean? What advantages does it bring? And what is almost as important: is there content with the necessary resolution to take advantage of it? In Technology from you to you we will try to answer these and other questions.
HD vs FullHD vs 4K vs 8K: all the differences
The 8K resolution is a relatively new image standard and essentially defined by its resolution. Its name refers to a slightly rounded number of horizontal pixels, leaving the total resolution at 7680 x 4320 dots. To give you an idea, it quadruples the resolution of the 4K UHD standard (3,840 x 2,160) and sixteen times that of Full HD televisions (1,920 x 1,080).
Given the increased resolution, 8K televisions can display pixels literally invisible to the human eye from an optimal viewing distance. Where a series or movie might be seen slightly faded or artificially on a UHD screen, an 8K TV will show it with impressive clarity. That’s why 8K panels will first reach large TVs, which require high pixel density to preserve picture quality.
Given its huge definition, manufacturers like Samsung promote their future 8K TVs as the closest experience to enjoying our favorite movies with the quality of a 33 megapixel moving picture.
The first 8K TVs make use of different panel technologies (LCD, LCD QLED and OLED), but they all have one thing in common: the use of the new HDMI 2.1. This revision of the HDMI standard is the only one capable of transmitting data at 8K resolution and 60 frames per second with support for effects such as dynamic HDR. This revision of the HDMI standard is the only one capable of transmitting data at 8K resolution and 60 frames per second with support for effects such as dynamic HDR.
Advantages and benefits of 8K
The first and most obvious advantage of 8K televisions lies in their very high resolution. The image clarity provided by its 7680 x 4320 pixels far exceeds any consumer technology ever released to date, resulting in extraordinary definition and greater naturalness. Images are much sharper and more credible, with better-defined edges and no trace of pixels.
However, although 8K resolution is strictly a (large) number of vertical and horizontal pixels, televisions designed to work with this format will incorporate a number of important advances that will not be available on other models. For example, and as mentioned above, they will make use of the new HDMI 2.1 connector, which provides advanced connectivity features for other devices and support for technologies such as adaptive refresh, which is going to be a real revolution for modern game console owners.
Beyond this, the 8K format will be tangentially linked to other advances such as dynamic HDR, which significantly improves other techniques by allowing the adjustment of film brightness values not on a scene by scene basis, but on a frame by frame basis. Sunsets and starry nights will be seen with chilling clarity. It really gives the impression of seeing a real sky instead of a recording.
It’s also worth noting that at least initially 8K televisions will be at the top end of the range. This means that they will be the first compatible models to benefit from features such as state-of-the-art Smart TV centres, more advanced image processing systems and highly refined designs that can be perfectly integrated into any type of environment. Because they will also be surprisingly thin televisions.