Fortunately, you don't need to worry about that because consumer TVs are all 3840×2160 and are likely to stay that way for the near future. 4096×2160 is a film-industry standard and is more likely to be found in cameras rather than displays. You may have read about a new color standard associated with Ultra HD, Rec.
No, 4K TVs aren't on their way out since they're not even IN yet. Most people still owns regular HDTV and many can't even tell the difference between regular HD and 4K.
The successor to the 4K display resolution is 8K resolution. 8K resolution has four times the number of pixels as a 4K display while 8K TV has a resolution of 7680 x 4320, so an 8K screen will be able to show images with much more detail and clarity than a 4K TV. The first 8K TVs were introduced at CES 2019.
There's never been a better time to invest in a new 8K TV. Prices are dropping, while picture quality continues to improve. The best 8K TVs to buy online in 2023 include a wide variety of innovative features. These eye-popping displays offer impressive upscaling, vibrant colors, and sharp pictures.
Maybe you're still using a 1080p TV. Whatever your current screen status is, you've probably heard about what's coming after 4K: 8K. It's the next big jump in TV resolution. And like the upgrade from 1080p to 4K, the transition from 4K to 8K will require new technologies.
Omdia forecasts sales of 2.7 million 8K TVs by year-end 2026. For comparison, last year the Consumer Technology Association projected 28.6 million 4K TVs would ship in the US alone in 2022.
We're well into the age of 4K now. HDTVs with 1,920-by-1,080 resolutions have been effectively placed with bigger, brighter 4K TVs with four times as many pixels. 4K has gone through its early steps and various growing pains for early adopters, and is now solidly mainstream as the standard type of TV you can buy.
Nope. In general, once again, 8K TVs likely account for less than 1 per cent of the TV market. That's a fraction of a fraction. In all likelihood, there are far more people using 720p HD TVs than there are using 8K TVs today.
Resolution: It sounds obvious, but 8K TVs have a better resolution than 4K sets. 8K models have four times as many pixels as 4K and 16 times as many compared to a 1080p TV. They may have better quality, but we reckon that most of us will still be more than happy with 4K.
Signs It Is Time for a New TV
If your TV is more than 6 years old, whether it is still working or not, consider getting a new one. Older technology is often not compatible with the newer technology coming out today. This could cause connectivity issues with devices and even issues when streaming shows and movies.
If you almost exclusively watch livestreams or broadcast TV, there's not much point to 4K, since the majority of what you're seeing will be in 1080p or even smaller resolutions. If you specifically want a TV measuring 40 inches or less, 4K probably won't be an option unless you turn to a high-end gaming monitor.
Basically, 4K devices provide four times the normal pixels, improving the picture and screen quality. It's a great addition to any TV or computer monitor and takes your viewing to the next level.
Televisions: 4-6 years
With the rapid changes in the way video is transmitted to your TVs and the ever-increasing resolution jumps (4k-8k-16k!), TVs start to show their age around the 5-year mark. Time to failure is typically 8-11 years or about 50,000 hours of use.
In looking at standard 4K LED TVs vs 4K OLED TVs, both offer great viewing experiences and improvements over 1080p. But LG OLED technology will truly transform your home entertainment experience with superior blacks, cinematic colors and High Dynamic Range with Dolby Vision support.
A 32-inch 8K monitor's pixels are a quarter of that size. No human can reliably distinguish between 0.007in from 0.0035in with their eyes, much less so when you're focused on the game and not on the pixels. If you're going to bring up large 8K TVs for gaming, it would still be futile.
In short, the more pixels in a display, the more fine detail that can be shown. Resolution isn't the only part of image quality, but it's probably the single most important factor. So an 8K TV has the ability to show a level of detail significantly more than before.
The most commonly discussed 16K resolution is 15360 × 8640, which doubles the pixel count of 8K UHD in each dimension, for a total of four times as many pixels. This resolution has 132.7 megapixels, 16 times as many pixels as 4K resolution and 64 times as many pixels as 1080p resolution.
The world's first 110″ 16K TV prototype has been unveiled by Chinese manufacturer BOE at the Display Week trade show in Los Angeles. The 16K resolution (15,360 x 8,640) screen is made up of almost 133m pixels across the 3.3 sq metre screen. This is four times as many as an 8K TV and 16 times as many as a 4K TV.
So with more resolution even with the same luminosity, edges seem sharper, colors seem brighter and so does contrast. And lastly, the simple fact that there are a lot more pixels helps with gradients looking smoother. This helps curved objects look more like a continuous surface rather than a sectioned one.
None of the major streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, or Amazon Prime Video currently offer any native 8K content. Thus, it is currently not possible to stream 8K content on demand from any of these platforms.
A human with excellent vision can differentiate up to 160 pixels (80 intensity pairs) per degree of field of view. It's possible to see the difference between 4K and 8K video, but depends on the size of the display and the distance from the viewer. The human horizontal field of view (HFOV) is about 175 degrees.
YouTube was experimenting with locking 4K resolution behind its paywall. Those in the experiment saw the word “premium” next to the 2160p option. The company has confirmed it has ended the test and non-premium viewers should have access to 4K again.
ATSC 3.0 may, in theory, support 4K HDR, but at this point, 4K broadcasts are virtually nonexistent in the United States. One reason for this is that the FCC decided against a hard transition to ATSC 3.0 that would have left everyone without a compatible device in the dark.
The Netflix Standard with ads, Standard, and Premium plans all support Full HD (1080p) streaming, but the Basic plan only allows for streaming in normal HD (720p). 4K UHD and HDR (High Dynamic Range) streaming is available only on the most expensive Premium plan, so it's worth at least double-checking.