Home Theater Geeks 528 Transcript
Please be advised that this transcript is AI-generated and may not be word-for-word. Time codes refer to the approximate times in the ad-free version of the show.
Scott Wilkinson [00:00:00]:
In this episode of Home Theater Geeks, I do not mourn the death of 8K TV, so stick around. Podcasts you love from people you trust. This is twit. Hey there, Scott Wilkinson here, the home Theater geek. In this episode, I'm going to talk about the death of 8K TV. Now, as I've said many times, I don't see the appeal of 8k. 4k is plenty of resolution, more than enough at normal seating distances, and so 8k is just wasted resolution. Also, there's little to no 8k content available and 8k TVs are generally more expensive than 4k and their performance is really not that much better.
Scott Wilkinson [00:01:08]:
In fact, in some cases it might even be worse. Now it seems I'm not alone in this assessment. According to an article on Gizmodo, most of the major TV manufacturers are exiting the 8K market. The article lists several sources indicating that LG is the latest to shelve its 8K TV products, at least for now. They cite an interview at another site called flat panels HD and they say this is from LG. QUOTE LG display reached the pinnacle of resolution in 2019 by launching the world's first 88 inch 8k OLED TV and has already secured sufficient technological capabilities in this area. However, we are taking a comprehensive view of current display market trends and the Trends within the 8K content ecosystem. As our technical readiness is already complete, LG Display is fully prepared to respond immediately whenever the market and customers determine that the timing is right.
Scott Wilkinson [00:02:38]:
Now I'll point out that LG Display is different from LG Electronics. LG Electronics makes and sells consumer products, TVs and such. LG Display makes the raw panels that LG Electronics and other manufacturers use in their TVs. Now there's another Flat Panels HD article that reports LG is pulling the plug on 8K. Several sources are quoted saying that LG's latest 8K TV, the QNED 99, which is a mini LED backlit LCD TV, was being discontinued. It's currently on sale for 2500 dollars for an 86 inch model. That's down more than half of its original MSRP of 50 $300. So that should tell you something.
Scott Wilkinson [00:03:47]:
Now Sony, TCL and Hisense have also stopped offering 8K TVs, leaving only Samsung. So I think the writing's on the wall there. We'll see what Samsung does. In fact, in 2023, TCL said, quote looking at the market, it's not what people had expected. So why the exodus? I'm sure it's because consumers have not bought into 8K TVs. They have not bought into the hype for several reasons, which some of which I mentioned earlier, 8K TVs are much more expensive. Well, except when they go on deep sale as LG did. The extra resolution at normal viewing distances is imperceptible, there's virtually no 8K content, and the performance is no better and in some cases worse.
Scott Wilkinson [00:04:46]:
Now, speaking of content, here's something interesting. Sony introduced launched the PlayStation 5 in 2020 with a big 8K sticker on its box, but few games ever supported it. Among them were no Man's sky and the Tourist T O U R Y S T Nice spelling there. And a few, like Gran Turismo 7 supported extra pixels on the PlayStation 5 Pro thanks to upscaling. But in 2024, Sony removed the 8K notice on the box for that gaming console. Now manufacturers have pivoted to new display technologies like RGB mini, LED backlights, QD, OLED, and in LG's case, primary RGB tandem OLED, which I think offer more benefit than 8K, particularly in terms of brightness and color saturation. So RIP 8K, I will not mourn your demise. There are so many incredible 4K displays available right now that offer a superb image, and that's more than enough for me.
Scott Wilkinson [00:06:25]:
Now, if you have a question for me, send it on along to htgwit TV and I'll answer as many as I can right here on the show. And if you have a home theater you're proud of, send me some pics. I'd love to get you on the show to talk about it. Until next time, geek out.
