8K is on the way

The next jump in TV resolution is now expected to go mainstream within two years, with the first 8K TVs to go on sale this year.

We have seen 8K panels on display at CES both in 2017 and this January, when Samsung, LG and Sony were all showing 7680 × 4320 (8K) TV panels. But until now it hasn’t been clear when they’ll appear in shops for people to buy.

At CES 2018, LG had an 88-inch OLED concept on show, while Sony’s concept 8Ker was notable in achieving an astonishing 10,000 nits brightness. Samsung did indicate at CES that it would put its 85-inch 8K Q9S model on the market during the second half of 2018, but there was no timing or pricing shared.

Samsung’s promise to release that 85-inch Q9S begs the obvious question of “what can we watch?” — there is next-to-no 8K content available, demos excepted, nor much prospect of any before next year at the earliest. No matter, says Samsung, claiming its ‘Machine Learning Super Resolution’ (MLSR) ensures that “AI technology has all but eliminated this obstacle by enabling the television to transform all pictures into 8K”. Even SD, it says. Brave talk!

Now research guru IHS Markit has weighed in with a report confirming the imminence of 8K. IHS follows manufacturing information rather than sales trends, so its reports can be significantly ahead of the ball, and its Display Long-term Demand Forecast Tracker is essential reading for those attempting to untangle the TV market.

IHS expects 8K-resolution displays to make up about 1% of 60-inch and larger display market in 2018, rising to 9% by 2020, and 19% by 2024. It claims that most TV panel suppliers are planning to mass produce 8K displays by the end of 2018.

“As UHD has rapidly replaced full HD in the super large-sized TV display market, panel makers are willing to supply differentiated products with higher resolution and improve profit margin with premium products,” says Ricky Park, director at IHS Markit. “Year 2018 will become the first year of the 8K resolution TV display.”

Just as China led UHD panel consumption (partly because it hugely improved the legibility of Chinese characters), it will be Sharp TV and Chinese brands that will get the very first panels, developed by Innolux, which produced its first ever 8K LCD TV display (60Hz, 65-inch) in the fourth quarter of 2017. Sharp began mass production of its first 70-inch 8K LCD TV in the last quarter of 2017 to support the Sharp TV brand in China.

IHS Markit expects Samsung and Sony to drive the global market initially, and between them to consume almost all 65- to 85-inch 120Hz 8K panels from Innolux, AUO and Samsung Display.

LG Display will likely focus on developing OLED 8K, developing the prototype shown at CES 2018.

One bonus — we’ll most likely be spared another neologism to get higher than Ultra High. C’mon everybody, let’s just call it ‘8K’...