8K TVs arriving this year, who's gonna be 1st

[Flint]

Sony is launching an 8K TV in a month, or so, but it far from consumer grade.

However, this tech is inevitable that it will be commonplace in the next few years. I've been looking at demos of 8k for over two years, so the industry wants it to be a reality.

Given that 8K is high resolution enough to let us watch entire football fields without the need to zoom in to read the names on the jerseys, there it a huge potential for new visual experiences in entertainment and sports. It could open new doors in how we enjoy content.

So, who's interested in this and who thinks th er y would intentionally upgrade when they can afford it?

 

[Towen7]

Given that 8K is high resolution enough to let us watch entire football fields without the nerd th o zoom in to read the names on the jerseys, there it a huge potential for new visual experiences in entertainment and sports. It could open new doors in how we enjoy content.

I’m optimistic that the content makers can do some creative things but I want to see something before I say I’m excited.

 

[Xgm3]

I'll buy one 10 years from now.

 

[Akula]

I’m optimistic that the content makers can do some creative things but I want to see something before I say I’m excited.

At the moment about the only 4K content that's widely available is either streamed or via disc. I quit paying attention to DirecTV's 4K capability because it was so limited (I check back every 4-6 months and that never changes). My local cable company's view of 4K is along the lines of LOLWUT? Sure, it's a theoretical possibility for OTA, but again- not happening.

I'm sure there will be 8K content, but I'd be surprised if it's available for broadcast in most markets or is more than just the occasional event like the Super Bowl (and that only with a special receiver box and extra cost package). Given how lukewarm most networks have been towards 4K, I just foresee 8K as being no different- most likely even less enthusiastic.

 

[Flint]

Broadcasting is going to die over the next ten years. However, networking technology is about to leap forward about 10x over the next 7 years as 5G wireless will create solutions which demand stunning speeds, latencies, and overall bandwidth capacities which we have never seen before, and the internet will be WAY behind when it starts and have to catch up quickly. I predict we will all be upgrading to 10Gig broadband internet to our homes before 2025, though it might be wireless rather than fiber. With that speed, we could easily get 8K HDR content with Atmos audio to our homes.

 

[Batman]

From what I’ve read, they’re not even close to broadcasting in 4K. I don’t see a football game being broadcast that way regardless of the resolution. Regarding football specifically, I think they’ll continue to zoom into where the action is at and during passing plays zoom in and out as needed. I get emails from this site, at the very least I find their content interesting. This is what I read about lack of current 4K broadcasts and it alludes to sports quite a bit.

 

[Flint]

I saw q demo in the Sony booth 2 years ago at CES where they has a 110 inch 8K TV showing a soccer match where an 8k camera was simply placed high in the stadium so the entire pitch was in frame. Watching it was like being at the stadium during the match, and it was pretty glorious. A close friend of mine in Singapore told me his local sports bar installed one of these TVs and gets a 8k feed on some matches in the Pacific Rim nations, and he truly prefers those broadcasts over the classic zoom and pan broadcasts.

I think I would prefer that as well.

 

[Batman]

Damn Akula addressed the point before me and Flint responded. Flint I always defer to your inside information and knowledge so it will be interesting to see what will happen. Either way while I’m skeptical at the moment, at some point I’ll need a new display and I’m sure the vast majority of options will be whatever mfrs are pushing whether it be 8K, 32k or whatever the hell it is. I mean I don’t expect this to ever stop since the manufacturers have to produce product.

 

[Towen7]

... an 8k camera was simply placed high in the stadium so the entire pitch was in frame. Watching it was like being at the stadium during the match, and it was pretty glorious.

I don’t see that as a good thing at all unless it’s a casual viewing at a bar. I think most Americans find the viewing experience from home is far better. The advantage of being at the game is the experience itself, not seeing the entire field at the same time.

 

[mzpro5]

Considering the gradual deterioration of my vision (due to macular degeneration) I will not be upgrading.

 

[Flint]

The full view of the entire court without need of zooming to recognize everyone is also useful for sports like tennis and basketball.

You say that's not what Americans want, but we dont really know that. People dont like dramatic change, so they would resist it if out of the blue the broadcast of their favorite sport radically changed one day. With an 8k TV you wouldn't need 8k cameras for the close in shots. 8k cameras would only be needed for the large wide shots. So, the broadcaster could use one new camera for the full field/court view, then the same cameras they use today for the rest and just add the wide view to the broadcast as it fits. Like kick returns or punts where the whole field is used by the teams. Overtime people may learn they enjoy that view more often. Also, people won't all get 8k TVs overnight, so broadcasters would need to accommodate older TVs for several years after they are streaming 8k.

 

[Batman]

I wonder what a 110” 8K television will cost.

 

[Flint]

It'll be expensive at first. But using price as a deterrent of future technology's potential to sell is ignoring history. If there is some new benefit that leads consuners to pay more, they will.

 

[Xgm3]

I wonder what this will do to attendance at sporting events? I already would rather stay at home and watch the games in HD. Why go to a game and deal with parking and the people when you can stay at home and watch in 8k.

 

[Flint]

I wonder what this will do to attendance at sporting events? I already would rather stay at home and watch the games in HD. Why go to a game and deal with parking and the people when you can stay at home and watch in 8k.

I don't think it will matter. Most of the people who buy tickets to huge sporting events do it for the experience, not just to see a game. How else can you justify the prices when typically you can already watch it for free at home or at a bar.

 

[Akula]

Broadcasting is going to die over the next ten years. However, networking technology is about to leap forward about 10x over the next 7 years as 5G wireless will create solutions which demand stunning speeds, latencies, and overall bandwidth capacities which we have never seen before, and the internet will be WAY behind when it starts and have to catch up quickly. I predict we will all be upgrading to 10Gig broadband internet to our homes before 2025, though it might be wireless rather than fiber. With that speed, we could easily get 8K HDR content with Atmos audio to our homes.

I hope this is the case. You know this far better than I do, so I am not a complete skeptic. Yet, I notice that even here in the suburbs I don't always have 4G LTE connection speeds. I read that 5G is likely only to be rolled out in major population centers because the frequencies don't have the range of the previous technologies (so people like my inlaws, who depend on satellite TV since they're that far out in the sticks, who have not yet received LTE in their location will have zero hope of 5G anything).

 

[Akula]

I don't think it will matter. Most of the people who buy tickets to huge sporting events do it for the experience, not just to see a game. How else can you justify the prices when typically you can already watch it for free at home or at a bar.

This. It's already a better game viewing experience to sit at home and watch it in HD with surround sound. But people pay for tickets, go downtown, and risk getting shot (remember, I'm in STL) because there's something special about watching it with 40,000 of your closest friends.

 

[Flint]

I hope this is the case. You know this far better than I do, so I am not a complete skeptic. Yet, I notice that even here in the suburbs I don't always have 4G LTE connection speeds. I read that 5G is likely only to be rolled out in major population centers because the frequencies don't have the range of the previous technologies (so people like my inlaws, who depend on satellite TV since they're that far out in the sticks, who have not yet received LTE in their location will have zero hope of 5G anything).

It is true that 5G radio will be deployed in heavily populated areas initially, but not because of the available frequencies but because that's the easiest way to reach the most people with the least effort. The plan is to cover the entire US with 5G as it offers just as many benefits in rural areas as in city centers. Low power long-life sensors on bridges, for example, to monitor safety and usage. Same for fleet management of heavy machinery - they will use low-power, long-life 5G monitoring devices. Farmers will put sensors in their fields to monitor soil moisture and temperature. And so on.

Many carriers are decommissioning their obsolete 3G radio networks over time and will repurpose those licensed bands for the new 5G networks they are building, so the range will be similar to 3G for rural 5G networks. Also, the FCC is going to auction off the freed of TV broadcast bands (which are low and very long range) for carriers to offer even greater range than we enjoy today.

So, I would completely ignore those stories of only city dwellers getting 5G, as that is complete BS based on sheer ignorance and the typical "we are victims for not being like them" nonsense. It will come to you, and in time it will be much more prevalent in the USA than 4G ever was.

 

[Akula]

Many carriers are decommissioning their obsolete 3G radio networks over time and will repurpose those licensed bands for the new 5G networks they are building, so the range will be similar to 3G for rural 5G networks. Also, the FCC is going to auction off the freed of TV broadcast bands (which are low and very long range) for carriers to offer even greater range than we enjoy today.

So, I would completely ignore those stories of only city dwellers getting 5G, as that is complete BS based on sheer ignorance and the typical "we are victims for not being like them" nonsense. It will come to you, and in time it will be much more prevalent in the USA than 4G ever was.

That's good to hear. I have no problem believing the news stories are not giving the full story (do they ever?). If they can also utilize the VHF bands for this it would indeed give what is needed to get out to more rural places (at the cost of some bandwidth- lower freqs can't transmit as much info, but in more sparsely settled places there's also less load).

 

[Towen7]

Yes, seeing the whole court is useful for tennis. And televised tennis m atches often do show the entire court. It’s far less useful and IMHO detrimental to the viewing experience for sports with a large field.
Yes, even soccer where changing field position is part of the strategy. Even then there’s little value in seeing more than a third of the field at a time.
But we’re debating the virtues of something that hasn’t been rolled out yet.