8K TVs: Not Dead Yet, But Pretty Close
BERLIN—Contrary to some industry expectations, the European Union’s energy-efficiency mandates have yet to unplug the 8K television format in the EU. But that ultra-ultra-high-definition variant continues to face other obstacles, most of which don’t stop at this side of the Atlantic.
The IFA tech trade show’s exhibits provided ample evidence of 8K’s relevancy struggles. The companies trying to make 8K a thing could talk up the size of their screens but didn’t promise anything new to watch in that resolution, while other electronics vendors with TVs on their menu either stuck to their 4K fare or switched their emphasis to efficiency and sustainability, two adjectives that 8K can’t claim today.
The EU painted a target on the power consumption of 8K sets in a regulation that went into force in March. With a resolution of 7,680-by-4,320 pixels and processors to upscale lower-resolution content, they use considerably more electricity than 4K sets and their 3,840-by-2,160 resolution.
That update to earlier “ecodesign” requirements ended an exemption on sets with above-4K resolution and instead holds 8K sets to the same “energy efficiency index” metric as 4K displays.
In a post last October warning of this impending rule, FlatpanelsHD calculated that an 85-inch 8K set could draw more than 169 watts. The tech-news site shared this prediction with TCL Europe product development director Marek Maciejewski, who responded: "If it happens, no more 8K.”
That prediction didn’t pan out because TV manufacturers latched onto a loophole in the EU rule: While it grades TVs on the electricity they use in their default setting, it lets them offer other settings if the set warns the user about the potentially higher power draw.
"The default
Read more on pcmag.com
