Just as 4K televisions and content started to become more mainstream, LG continues to push innovation in the market, unveiling an 8K OLED television at 2018 IFA in Berlin.
LG’s announcement, in part, reads:
BERLIN, Aug. 29, 2018 — Already a leader in advancing TV innovation with its OLED TVs, LG Electronics (LG) is introducing the world’s first 8K (7680 x 4320) OLED TV at IFA 2018. The 88-inch 8K LG OLED TV features over 33 million self-emitting pixels to produce the unmatched contrast ratio and true blacks that define OLED TV’s iconic picture quality.
With OLED TV shipments in the market expected to double in 2018 and reach over nine million units by 2022, LG will continue to increase the OLED share in its premium TV portfolio and drive large scale consumer adoption of OLED TVs. While the 8K TV market is still in its infancy, it is expected to grow to more than 5 million units by 2022 and LG is committed to leading the ultra-premium market with its 8K OLED TV technology.
Brian Kwon, LG Home Entertainment Company president, added: “LG’s first 8K OLED TV is the pinnacle of technological achievement and the next evolutionary step in display technology. 4K OLED played a major role in reshaping TV industry and LG is confident that 8K OLED will do the same.”
Samsung also previously announced they would have 8K televisions coming up, but LG’s is the first OLED 8K television. OLED (organic light-emitting diode) allows individual pixels to be turned off, which delivers perfect black levels.
8K is four-times the resolution of 4K, which was the same jump from full HD to 4K. So 8K is 16-times the resolution of full-HD televisions.
The picture is going to be absolutely stunning, but it remains to be seen how much content will be available in 8K anytime soon, especially while considering regular cable and satellite content is still a ways away. And streaming is likely to be very difficult at that resolution. However, while LG admits the 8K television market is still in its infancy, they expect it to grow to over 5 million units by 2022.
No price has been revealed for the 88-inch OLED 8K television from LG, but expect the cost to be hefty at launch.
Overkill