You’ve heard of 4K, Full HD, and 1080p TVs, videos, and cameras, but now there’s a new kid in town: 8K resolution. Well, semi-new, they technically were revealed at the 2013 CES, even though they weren’t available for purchase until the years following. So who should invest in 8K since it’s such a new technology?
So what exactly is 8K? 8K refers to a resolution, here meaning 8000 pixels or, more specifically, 7680 X 4320 pixels. When compared to its predecessors, 8K is 4 times the resolution of 4K and 16 times the resolution of 1080p. This means you could split-screen watch four 4k videos on one 8k screen and not lose any resolution. Pretty impressive right? Well, there’s some debate about whether 8k technology and video would actually be a step up in the media world.
First off, there’s a matter of diminishing returns when it comes to resolution: the human eye can only perceive so much detail, will 8k resolution really be that much of a step up from 4K? It should be noted that 8K is equivalent to 33 petabytes, while humans see in about 50 petabytes. However, our question remains unanswered given that 8K TVs aren’t widely available enough to be tested.
In fact, 8K TV’s only went on sale in 2015 in Japan for a whopping $133,000. While still a niche product, their starting price point has gone down to $3,500 thanks to Samsung and the competitive technology market.
By now you may be thinking, okay, so if I buy this expensive TV that may or may not be better than 4K, what can I watch with it? Unfortunately, not a lot.
It wasn’t until about 2017 that Vimeo started adding 8K videos. Admittedly there’s now at least several thousands available to watch online, but just having the TV doesn’t mean that you can watch them. 8K TVs require specific auxiliary tech as well as new HDMI cables and a much higher bandwidth for streaming 8K content.
So 8K has a lot of problems, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some pluses. What they mostly do now that they’re commercially available is stream 4K and 1080p at a higher resolution. Not exactly 8K but definitely higher than their original res. Additionally, wildlife videographers and others who work to capture footage of dangerous subjects can use 8K cameras to capture video at a safe distance, and then while editing they can zoom in and the resolution will be a standard 4k or 1080p – not warped.
So who should invest in 8K TV’s, videos, and cameras? Honestly, probably no one yet; the market has yet to flesh out and further specs have yet to be tested. But if you’re a diehard tech fan with an extra $3,500 to $33,000, why not?
