Advanced Television

Sharp to sell world’s first 8K TV

September 17, 2015

Sharp has confirmed plans to sell an 8K television screen in Japan from October – priced at ¥16 million (about €117,000).

Although several companies have developed ‘super hi-vision’ resolution test models, this is the first such TV to be made commercially available. The 8K format provides 16 times as many pixels as 1080p HD and creates an image so detailed that it can appear three-dimensional.

Japan’s NHK is the only broadcaster so far to announce plans to create and broadcast 8K content, and the format isn’t expected to be deployed with any sort of regularity until at least 2018.

According to Paolo Pescatore, Director, Multiplay and Video at CCS Insight, despite Sharp announcing that it will start selling 8K TVs in October, we are unlikely to see any consumer demand outside of Asia. “This is predominately due to a lack of industry support behind the technology. All eyes are firmly on Japan where the Japanese broadcaster is seeking to introduce 8K content ahead of the Tokyo Olympic games.”

“The battle among consumer electronic providers is so ripe that some are looking to steal a march on others with the rollout of new technological features. We believe that greater focus should be placed on enhancing the image with high dynamic range rather than increasing the number of pixels. The rest of the world is trying to offer a superior 4K experience, which has led to the formation of the Ultra HD alliance and separately the Ultra HD Forum.”

Categories: Articles, Equipment, UHD