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Tech industry sets official standard for 8K TVs
The tech industry just took another step to nail down the specs for 8K TV. The Consumer Technology Association has unveiled the official display definition for 8K sets, including a logo TV makers can use. Any model needs to output at a minimum 7,680 x 4,320 resolution, support 24, 30 and 60 frames per second, produce 10-bit color, support key HDR functions and use HDCP 2.2-level content protection. It also has to upscale any video to 8K.
Samsung and SK Telecom partner to build a 5G-capable 8K TV
The race to develop the world's first 8K TV with 5G speeds is heating up. Samsung announced today that it is partnering with SK Telecom to develop and commercialize the world's first 8K-5G TV. The end product would be a TV with an ultra-high resolution screen that is also capable of extremely fast connection speeds, enabling users to download VR and other data-heavy content.
Samsung brings its HDR10+ tech to 8K TVs
Samsung has announced that it will support 8K HDR10+ streaming, meaning 8K movies and other content will have richer colors and deeper blacks on 8K TVs. It said that three European OTT streaming services, Chili, The Explorers and Megogo, will adopt 8K HDR10+ to go along with their 4K HDR10+ content. This is a mostly symbolic announcement for now, as none of those services offer 8K streaming of any kind right now and hardly anyone owns an 8K TV.
LG's mammoth 88-inch 8K OLED TV goes on sale
LG introduced an almost comically massive 88-inch 8K OLED TV, its largest to date, at CES in January. Now this behemoth is going on sale, offering a viewing experience that makes even the most feature-packed 4K set look outdated.
8K Association lays out 'key performance attributes' for 8K TVs
More manufacturers are selling 8K TVs or have models going on sale soon, and ahead of the IFA 2019 tradeshow an industry group has released its "performance specification" for consumer TVs. The 8K Association includes members like Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Panasonic, Intel, Hisense and TCL.
Sharp will show off the 'world's biggest' 8K LCD TV at IFA Berlin (updated)
If the 55-inch 4K TV in your den is starting to look too small, Sharp wants you to know something to the tune of 120 inches is coming. On Wednesday, the company announced it plans to showcase the world's largest 8K LCD TV at the upcoming IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany, which starts on September 6th. For those who are wondering, the world's biggest 8K TV is actually Samsung's 292-inch The Wall Luxury, but that's based on MicroLED instead of LCD.
Samsung to fight falling profits with midrange phones, 'mainstream' 8K
As Samsung expected, its Q2 profit is off from last year's by about 56 percent. An operating profit of $5.6 billion (6.6 trillion Korean won) is no small figure, but obviously not up to par for the electronics giant, and follow a similar result in Q1 of this year. A big reason for the fall is a drop in prices for memory chips, which Samsung is a major supplier of for products like smartphones and servers. It's also negatively affected by weak iPhone sales since it supplies Apple with parts, and is facing slower sales for its own high-end phone models. Last year Samsung was looking toward foldable devices to help turn around the trend, and after a delay it's still expecting the Galaxy Fold to join its Galaxy Note 10 as an "innovative" new product launch. According to the company's report, it's also pushing ahead on 5G.
DisplayPort 2.0 supports 8K monitors
With 8K displays in the pipeline and Apple's 6K Pro Display XDR on its way, the DisplayPort standard was in need of an update. Today, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) addressed the demand for increased bandwidth and revealed DisplayPort 2.0. It's the standard's first major update since 2016, and it will provide up to a threefold increase in bandwidth over the previous version. It will support 8K monitors, higher refresh rates, HDR support at higher resolutions and improved support for multiple display set-ups. It could also give AR and VR displays a boost.
Samsung's next The Wall TV can stretch to 292 inches with 8K
Samsung's 146-inch The Wall TV? That's for chumps. The electronics giant is fulfilling its promises of a home version by introducing The Wall Luxury, an even more ambitious TV designed for the poshest of abodes. It starts at 'just' 73 inches and 1080p, but its MicroLED tech lets it scale all the way to 292 inches and 8K. That's over 24 feet in the diagonal, folks. You could very nearly cover a large living room wall with your screen. Appropriately, Samsung is hyping up the use of its Ambient Mode to decorate your space with art when you're not using the TV. You can certainly afford the power bill if you can afford this model, after all.
LG's 8K OLED TV is as big as it is expensive
Sorry, 4K TV owners, your days of bigging up your entertainment setup to pals is nearing an end -- 8K has officially arrived, and as LG's newest offering proves, it's almost sarcastic in its lavishness. LG is now accepting pre-orders for its 8K OLED -- the world's first -- which boasts eye-watering resolution and a price tag to match.
Huawei’s first television could also be the world’s first 5G 8K TV
Huawei is reportedly working on the first 5G 8K television and could unveil it as early as this year, according to Nikkei Asian Review. The Chinese tech giant, which makes its own 5G chips, would be a newcomer in the television space. Few companies, if any, have floated the idea of a 5G TV, but that kind of connectivity would allow users to quickly download VR and other data-heavy content and watch it on an equally high-res display.
Sony's 98-inch 8K TV will cost a staggering $70,000
Sony is finally nearing the release of its 2019 TV line, and you'd better brace for impact if you're hoping to buy one of its highest-end models. The company has detailed pricing and availability for the sets, and the 8K-capable Master Series Z9G will start at $13,000 for an 85-inch model when the series arrives in June, and a mind-numbing $70,000 for the 98-inch star attraction. While that's more affordable than Samsung's $100,000 Q900, it still makes the Z9G virtually inaccessible for anyone but wealthy viewers who insist on the best -- and don't mind that 8K content is still very rare, for that matter.
Samsung will open three real stores in the US February 20th
On the same day we meet the Galaxy S10, Samsung is going to "celebrate 10 years of Galaxy" with three new retail locations in the US. While it has previously opened stores around the world, in the US Samsung has preferred to spread its Experience shops as store-within-a-store pop-up shops that mostly exist inside Best Buy. So now in the US, customers can go to a Samsung store and actually purchase something. The Americana at Brand– 889 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210 Roosevelt Field on Long Island– 630 Old Country Rd, Garden City, NY 11530 The Galleria in Houston– 5085 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77056 There are also hands-on demos and walk-in repairs available. The three locations opening February 20th are in California, Texas and New York, and Samsung claims these locations "are just the beginning." Even if you're not interested in picking up a Galaxy slate or getting the battery in your Note replaced, they'll also have 8K TVs, a 4K gaming lounge and 4D VR. If Samsung expands these stores to more cities, it could put some interesting pressure on other tech companies-turned-retailers like Apple and Microsoft.
Samsung says its new 8K TV chips will eliminate bezels
A simple chip could help bring 8K TVs into the mainstream and make them more awesome at the same time. Samsung has unveiled a single display driver IC chip with enough bandwidth (4 Gbps) to allow true 8K images to be transmitted to 8K display panels without the need for other components. That will eliminate the need for a bezel (where electronics are normally hidden), allowing for true all-display TV sets.
CBS Super Bowl coverage features augmented reality and 8K
CBS has big, high-tech plans for its Super Bowl LIII coverage this February. To start with, it's using 14 cameras, including aerial systems, to create live virtual graphic elements designed to blend into the background. The network promises to show you those AR graphics up close and from various angles -- even if you're just watching on TV -- by using wireless handheld cameras that can track them on the field.
Samsung dives into 8K, MicroLEDs and more at CES
As we expected, 8K TVs were a huge topic at CES this year. Samsung already showed off its 8K QLED at IFA, but at CES we got a glimpse at the shipping models, including the huge 98-inch Q900R. It's cool tech, but there won't be any true 8K content for a while. Samsung's Scott Cohen explains why he thinks the company's AI upscaling could help give consumers a reason to go 8K. Additionally, the company showed off its latest MicroLED sets at CES, which includes a sensible 75-inch version and an enormous 219-inch set. As Cohen explains, that tech could give consumers more flexibility to deploy large screens. And honestly, it seems a lot more useful than 8K at the moment.
Sony's 'super-large' 8K TVs are coming home this year
This year at CES Sony is one of the TV makers jumping into 8K with two "super-large" Z9G displays that are big enough, at 98- and 85-inches, to make use of the format's 33-million pixel resolution. According to Sony, these screens have "completely new" full array LED backlighting, plus a Picture Processor X1 Ultimate to manage the signal and upscale any lower-res video, which is important since 8K content will be hard to find for a while. Sony didn't mention much about content, but they are ready for IMAX Enhanced content, which will be available via the Privilege 4K service in the spring, and all of its TVs have support for Netflix Calibrated Mode. Plus, like so many other TVs we're seeing this week, all of the Sony models announced here will get support for Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit later this year. That high-res screen is surrounded by four speakers, with two at the top and two at the bottom, which Sony says can deliver an experience similar to its OLED TVs that deliver "Sound-from-Picture"reality. Assuming you have a home theater speaker setup (and for TVs like these we'd expect you would), it can also make the TV a center channel. It didn't call out support for HDMI 2.1 in the press release, but with 8K, as well as home theater equipment supporting features like Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), we'd bet on having it.
Samsung's imposing 98-inch 8K TV defines CES opulence
Samsung's initial 85-inch 8K TV was just the tip of the iceberg. The electronics giant has formally unveiled its 2019 TV lineup at CES, and the QLED-based Q900 series will include a range of 8K models headlined by a massive, intimidating 98-inch version -- if you have the room and cash for it, you can make sure you see every last pixel. There will also be 65-, 75-, 82- and 85-inch sets in case your bank account or living space isn't sufficiently enormous.
TCL is working on 8K Roku TVs
Today, TCL announced that it's working on a range of 8K TVs that will be available in screen sizes of 75 inches and larger. They will fall under the company's 8-Series line which, somewhat confusingly, will also include some 4K HDR options later this year. TCL said its 8K TVs will run Roku's lightweight software and support upscaling for 4K and 1080p content, as well as "the latest HDMI standards," ensuring they play nice with future video game consoles and set-top boxes. They will also use Quantum Contrast, a new backlight technology based on mini-LEDs, and QLED, which uses Quantum Dots to improve color brightness and intensity. Chas Smith, SVP and GM of Roku TV, said: "In designing and delivering 8K TCL Roku TVs we will reach new heights by offering beautiful picture quality combined with America's No. 1 TV streaming platform."
Live from LG's CES 2019 press event!
The CES 2019 madness is kicking off with LG's press conference today. As we found out earlier this week, the company will be showing off its new OLED and LCD TVs, including two 8K sets. Rumor has it LG could be ready to unveil a foldable phone, though don't be disappointed if that doesn't actually happen here in Las Vegas. It may be waiting to introduce it later in the year, when it wouldn't have to compete for attention with the thousands of other gadgets being announced. Either way, we'll find out together and bring you the news as it happens at 11AM ET / 8AM PT. Keep your eyes on this page.
