OPINION: Is the end near for 8K TVs?
Earlier this week it Sony revealed that it had no plans to launch an 8K TV in the near future – that didn’t come as a surprise to me considering at its European launch for its 2025 TVs there was barely a whisper about anything 8K.
And that yawning silence regarding 8K can be heard right across the TV industry.
Sony’s last 8K TV was back in 2022. LG last released one back in 2023. TCL stopped bothering with it in 2024 stating there was little to no demand for it. Hisense doesn’t seem to release 8K TVs outside of China despite re-joining the 8K Association in 2024.
8K was meant to be the next evolution in the TV experience, offering super high resolution images that would blow 4K out of the water. And to be fair to 8K, it does exactly that, but no one is interested in it.
The future looks far off and dim for 8K
I’ve said before that it’s a shame that 8K hasn’t gained momentum. Watching actual 8K content is amazing – the level of brightness, the clarity and detail levels, the range of colours – it’s easily better than anything the best 4K TV can muster.
But 8K suffered from expectations and a timeline that it couldn’t live up to. The reality is that TV brands tried to force 8K and they were met with indifference from those who make the content to public who’d buy the TVs.
Some would say they’re too expensive, but considering there are 97-inch OLED TVs going for £24999, I don’t believe cost was a real issue. Buying an 8K TV is like buying a Ferrari – do you need one? No, but for those who could afford it, it’s a drop in the ocean.
Others might say there’s not enough 8K content to justify buying an 8K TV, but despite 4K TVs being the norm, many people don’t watch 4K on their 4K TVs. More often than they’re watching a live broadcast in HD. Or worse yet, in Standard Definition.
Broadcasters and streaming providers haven’t helped 4K by restricting it to their premium tiers on their streaming service or not even bothering to shoot those events in 4K in the first place.
In light of the restrictions that have wrapped themselves around 4K, what chance did 8K have to succeed? In hindsight, not much.
8K was ahead of its time
8K didn’t flourish because it arrived too soon, pushed too early by companies hoping to steal a march on their rivals by creating a new market they could dominate. Unfortunately, they jumped the gun.
So where does that leave 8K? Well Samsung continues to push 8K as the best TV that it offers, but even its messaging has had to adapt. It’s not about delivering the best 8K experience, it’s about making 4K and HD content look even better. That’s not the most exciting message.
But all is not lost. The last place of refuge could be in the form of projectors.
I’m not a betting person, but the convenience of projectors could give 8K the appeal it’s lacking. Samsung’s Premiere 8K projector is one I’ve seen a few times over the last few years, and it looks impressive. JVC has projectors that can do 8K, and Hisense has an ultra-short-throw projector, although currently it’s not available outside of China.
There’s a future for 8K, but instead of its future being as bright as the sun, it’s now the twinkle of a distant star. You have to wonder if it’s going to go the way of 3D sooner rather than later.
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