The next generation
Higher than hi–def, bigger than big, and coming soon?
Is now the right time to make the jump to 8K?
Word is, 8K is about to take off. That, at least, is according to television manufacturers and “industry leaders.” At CES 2019 in Las Vegas in January, one of the world’s biggest consumer electronics shows, 8K TVs such as Samsung’s 98Q900 and Sony’s Z9G wowed the crowds and grabbed the headlines. Then again, both are massive 98–inch screens, so they’re hard to miss.
To put it simply, 8K is the next–generation hi–def TV standard. Compared to 4K, it boasts double the number of pixels horizontally (around 8,000, hence 8K) and double the number vertically — 7,680 x 4,320, to be precise. Do the math and this means 33 million pixels, four times the pixel count of 4K, or 16 times that of HD. That’s why 8K promises even larger screens, as well as a more immersive viewing experience, with no pixels perceptible even up–close.
According to Sharp — one of the pioneers of 8K, and the company that introduced the first–ever 8K TV at CES 2013 — “8K technology is set to revolutionize the broadcasting and video industry.”
Hold on, though. Aren’t we still just catching up with 4K? It’s true that 4K (or “Ultra HD”) has been around for about a decade and has taken a while to build up to speed. But according to one estimate, 75 per cent of all TVs sold commercially in the US in 2017 (the last year for which figures are available) were 4K capable. As of June 2018, according to statista.com, 31 per cent of US households own a 4K TV.
The slow growth in adoption of 4K, experts say, was largely down to a lack of 4K content, and there’s already a move in the industry to shooting in 8K. Since Guardians of the Galaxy 2, the first feature film shot entirely in 8K, others have followed, including Deadpool 2, Hacksaw Ridge, and Venom. Netflix’s Lost in Space was shot in 7K on a RED Helium camera, although Netflix has yet to actually offer 8K content. YouTube already supports 8K video streaming.
Paradoxically, however, now that consumers have finally perceived the benefits of ultra–hi–def image quality, they might be more willing to upgrade to the next level even before much 8K content becomes available — particularly if 8K TVs are able to upscale 4K footage to 8K on–screen, as is promised soon.
What’s more, while 4K broadcasting is slowly rolling out, Japan’s public service provider NHK has already launched the world’s first 8K TV channel, which went live on December 1, 2018, although for now it will broadcast only 12 hours a day.
It’s not quite that simple, though. NHK is using the 8K60 video format, which is not compatible with the 8K30 format used in Sharp’s and Samsung’s 8K TVs. Eventually, NHK plans to move to 8K120.
In addition, adds one specialist observer (Rasmus Larsen, at flatpanelsHD.com): “Before 8K can become reality in the living room, consumers must also invest in 8K TVs with full HDMI 2.1. These TVs do not exist yet. The transition will take many years and perhaps even longer than for 4K because while many movies and video productions can be remastered to 4K based on the original 35mm film negative, 8K will typically require 70mm or content shot on new digital cameras such as RED’s cameras.”
This might not be as big an issue if effective upscaling is built into your TV. And on the consumer side, the price of 8K TVs is already falling: Samsung’s Q900 retails for $15,000 — still a substantial investment, but much less
than Sharp’s first 8K TV commercially available in Japan, which cost $133,000 in 2015.
On the production side, RED’s DSMC2 Helium 8K S35 camera, for example, lists at $24,500, but Sharp previewed a prototype DSLR–like 8K camera at CES 2019 expected to cost under $5,000, although final pricing and release date are yet to be announced.
On the desktop, the iMac Pro supports 8K, and Final Cut Pro X can handle 8K processing and editing. There have been rumors circulating since September that Apple has an 8K monitor in the works. Otherwise, all the technologies are in place to support 8K workflows on the Mac, including Thunderbolt 3 for fast data transfer — 8K files are gargantuan, and file handling bottlenecks were previously an issue with working even with 4K. (Raw 4K footage weighs in at around 67GB per minute. Uncompressed 8K footage runs to an estimated 265GB per minute, or 24 terabytes for a typical 90–minute feature film.)
So 8K certainly looks set to be the next big thing — and for now, things don’t come much bigger.