To answer eight common questions about 8K, Samsung Newsroom reached out to Bill Mandel, President of the 8K Association and Vice President at Samsung Research America and Chris Chinnock, Executive Director of 8K Association. Read on to learn more about topics like the state of the 8K ecosystem, market prospects, leading industry players, 8K content production methods and what users can expect for the future of the technology.

Q: Who’s leading the creation of the 8K ecosystem?

In 2018, Samsung and a handful of other TV and panel makers planned the organization of a trade group focused on the evangelization and development of the 8K ecosystem. They approached Insight Media’s Chris Chinnock to discuss the future development of products and content. They also took concrete steps to establish the 8K Association (8KA) by developing the 8K Association Certified logo for 8K TVs and establishing consumer and industry-facing educational materials.

This was how the 8K Association was created in 2019 to benefit users, content creators and technology developers alike. Since then, the 8KA has put out a variety of materials to teach people about 8K technology, including a detailed “State of the 8K Ecosystem” report, educational seminars and webinars, and a weekly news service called The 8K Monitor. The Association also has a number of committees involved in developing new 8K TV specs and testing methods, along with encoding and decoding activities, content creation, marketing and promotion and more, with the goal of expanding the 8K ecosystem. Moreover, the 8KA continues to work with several standards development organizations to help create 8K specifications and support the technology’s certification.

Q: What kinds of companies have joined the 8KA?

When the 8K Association was created in 2019, it featured just five member companies. Having focused its efforts on expanding the 8K ecosystem over the last three years, the Association now features 30 members in all, which include not just TV brands but also panel makers, chip makers, content creators, streaming service providers and equipment providers, among others. Global companies like Google, IMAX, and Intel are some of the leading brands that have joined the 8K Association and are helping to bring consumers the best 8K experiences across as many devices as possible. (See the 8KA’s full list of partners.)

Q: What makes 8K-enabled devices different from others?

In addition to announcing Test Specifications at IFA 2019 and CES 2020, the 8K Association has established common industry standards, including an 8K certification program, to enable consumers to enjoy consistent, high-quality 8K experiences.

The certification program is enhanced each year through the addition of specific criteria, and strict evaluations are conducted based on various requirements. The program is composed of elements that provide users with more three-dimensional, highly immersive experiences. These include video decoding and multi-channel surround sound that supports a wide variety of 8K streaming content, as well as resolution, brightness, color and connectivity, which ensure high performance on large screens.

Q: How many 8K-enabled devices are currently on the market?

The number of 8KA Certified TV models is increasing each year. With the launch of its 2019 QLED 8K displays, Samsung became the first manufacturer in the industry to feature a complete lineup of 8KA Certified TVs. As of August 2021, 47 Samsung 8K TVs have received the 8KA Certified logo. Today, Samsung, Hisense and TCL have introduced more than 70 8KA Certified TVs to the market.

Q: How is 8K content typically produced and distributed?

A great deal of 8K content is captured using cinema-grade 8K HDR cameras. However, most of this content is finished in 4K or HDR resolution before being distributed to consumers.

That said, it is clear that the amount of 8K content available continues to expand. Content platforms YouTube and Vimeo also feature a great deal of short-form 8K content, which is mostly focused on nature and travel. This is quite similar to the way that 4K content was introduced to the market. The 8K Association is working to put the pieces in place to enable more 8K movies and shows to become available to consumers.

Q: Will 8K TV users be able to freely enjoy high-quality video even if native 8K content is not widely available yet?

8K devices’ AI-assisted upscaling technology allows users to overcome the issue of not having enough native 8K content. Samsung’s 8K TVs in particular are capable of improving resolution and picture quality using deep learning AI technology. The technology precisely analyzes various elements of every frame of content, including lines, details and noise levels, in order to upscale low-quality images to 8K.

Q: Will we be able to game in 8K?

Major gaming consoles are expected to support 8K playback through the HDMI 2.1 interface, and 8K gaming will also be possible with 8K TVs’ upscaling technology. On the PC gaming side, high-end graphics cards from manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD may include support for 8K output, even with features like ray tracing and upscaling enabled on the GPU. Although the 8KA has not yet introduced an 8K certification program for games, it is closely monitoring this area and exploring various options.

Q: What is the outlook for 8K’s adoption and expansion?

8K’s expansion is centered around users who long to test out and adopt the latest display technology. If this trend continues among these users who have historically led the widespread adoption and acceptance of new technologies, over time, this will lead to both reductions in cost and the establishment of a larger content experience ecosystem. This was the path for HD’s adoption, and 4K followed a similar route. We are seeing a similar pattern when it comes to 8K’s adoption, which has been aided by the work of organizations like the 8K Association.

For more information on the 8K Association, visit https://8kassociation.com/.

At the Summit, hosted by Insight Media – a display focused consultancy, more than 100 attendees including display and equipment firms, video producers, tech media and global tech reviewers from the US and Europe showed strong interest in basic technologies related to filming and transmission of high-quality images such as 5G network technology, filming equipment and image compression codecs.

This year, the QLED summit was held under the theme of 8K display for one day with intensive sessions of ▲8K technology and current market situation ▲8K content ecosystem and ▲8K-related technologies.

At the event, experts from the 8K ecosystem along with market research firms – ranging from display panels, filming equipment, content production, as well as compression and transmission technology industry to academic circles – shared the recent direction of 8K-related technologies from various perspectives and discussed future prospects.

The activity progress of 8K Association was also shared as it held its first public seminar in the US Broadcasting equipment event NAB Show in April. Since then, the 8K Association continued their activities such as unveiling plans to gradually increase its members from the current orientation towards TV manufacturers to establish a foothold for standardization and expand the 8K ecosystem.

“With the rapid expansion of 5G wireless network technology, 8K display market is expected to make great strides,” said Sonia Chen, Director of Display Marketing at Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions America. “In particular, it will receive the spotlight among the millennial generation who are familiar with fast internet speed and high-quality image viewing.”

Professor Yung-Kyung Park, Head of the Color Design Research Institute at Ewha Womans University attended the summit to present the experimental results stating, “When we are viewing an ultra-high resolution image, our ability to recognize objects comprehensively tend to increase.”

“8K display technology is not a future technology – it is here today- and is available to viewers in Japan and other regions,” said Chris Chinnock, the president of Insight Media, who co-hosted the summit. He added, “unlike some concerns over a lack of 8K content, the development of all technologies and cooperation in the industry are proceeding rapidly. The industry prospects from experts who attended the summit are very positive, too.”

Meanwhile, guests in attendance, which included academics, industry professionals and members of the media, praised Samsung’s commitment to moving the 8K display industry forward and found value in the demonstrations of the technology through its QLED 8K TVs.

Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics Visual Display Business, showed confidence in the mainstreaming of 8K TV, stating that “for 4K TV too, there were concerns over a lack of content in its early days, but these concerns faded away after people experienced the actual picture quality. The best picture quality experience will be chosen by consumers after all.”

For more information about Samsung’s QLED 8K TVs, please visit www.samsung.com.

For more information about the 8K Display Summit, please visit www.displaysummit.com.

About Insight Media
Insight Media is a technology consultancy focused on emerging technology in the ProAV, cinema, broadcast, consumer electronics and display industries. The company authors white papers and articles on these topics, provide technology and market assessment services and hosts events to discuss key technology trends in these market segments.