news hardware Samsung proves 8K TVs are feasible by 2022
While 4K TVs are just starting to gain popularity, Samsung is again communicating about its very latest Neo QLED 8K. Having 8K at home is pretty expensive, we’re on the very high end. As you will see, Samsung’s latest 8K TVs are a real concentrate of technologies. But is it useful? Today we will try to answer this question.
Neo QLED 8K: Samsung offers very high-end
Tech fans should already know that at CES 2022, the annual pinnacle of technological innovation, Samsung announced its next line of very high-end TVs: the Neo QLED 8K.
Neo QLED TVs use 2 technologies. On the one hand the Mini LED and on the other hand the famous “Quantum Dots” from Samsung. This beautiful mix makes it possible to create extremely bright televisions, with an extremely precise color reproduction and, above all, a level of contrast never before achieved in the entire television market (except OLED).
Mini LED technology is very new. On paper, it’s not very complicated to understand. To display an image, your screen must be backlit. The trick of the Mini LED is to slide under the shield of the diodes 40 times smaller than a conventional LED television. These thousands of tiny diodes are then very precisely controlled by the TV’s AI.
By only illuminating the diodes required for each image displayed on the screen, Samsung Mini LED TVs work wonders: much more contrast, more accurate colors, less blooming (that’s the “halo effect” you can see around subtitles for example), much thinner and truly borderless design (in the case of the Neo QLED 8K we’re talking about a TV of only 15 millimeters). )… in short, everything is better.
The 2022 Neo QLED 8K therefore have one of the best panels in the world. Under this crazy screen there is also a powerful processor (we will come back to it), all the classic options of a connected TV, all the cutting-edge technologies for cinema such as To play (Dolby license, HDR, HDMI 2.1, 120 Hz panel, VRR, ALLM…) and a particularly innovative sound system.
When you pair the Neo QLED 8K with a Samsung soundbar, you’re entitled to it for the first time Dolby Atmos sound… wireless. You might not realize it, but it’s a major feat of engineering. Even without a soundbar, these high-end TVs come with a 6.2.4ch 90W configuration that aims to produce particularly immersive playback.
The Samsung Neo QLED 8K range 2022 consists of 3 models, QN900B, QN800B and QN700B and will be available in 55”, 65”, 75” and 85”. Pre-orders are already open.
See Samsung TVs on the official store
Why talk about 8K TVs in 2022 when not everyone has a 4K TV yet?
If you’re reading all this, you’re probably wondering what the point of 8K is in a world that hasn’t even completed the transition to 4K yet. Mirroring isn’t silly per se, many people don’t have a 4K TV yet.
Content-wise, most TV networks don’t broadcast in 4K, only the PS5 and Xbox Series X are 4K video game consoles (and they’re very hard to find) and even Netflix you have to pay extra to access up to 4K… just in one part of the catalogue.
However, technology advances. Today almost all new TVs on the market are 4K TVs and there really is something for every budget (from 300 to several thousand dollars). Gradually, this level of resolution is becoming the norm. And manufacturers cannot only produce for the standard. You always have to be one step ahead. This is where 8K comes in.
Yes, there’s almost no native 8K content (apart from the movies, which most high-end smartphones on the market can record). However, it is relevant for a builder to look to the future. All the more so if these manufacturers manage to simulate 8K as well.
It’s important to remember that the sizes of our televisions are getting bigger and bigger. People want to feel like they’re in the cinema from their couch. The 4K resolution has enabled a new standard format: 55 inches (i.e. 139 cm diagonal). Thanks to 4K, a 55-inch or even 65-inch (diagonal 165 cm) television can be viewed very comfortably at home afterwards. If you want more comfort forever, there are no 36,000 solutions: you need 8K.
In fact, the great strength of the Neo QLED 8K is the Neural Quantu 8K processor. A real power animal. Even if you throw it a source in Full HD (that is, classic 1080p), the TV’s AI will analyze the image and make sure that 8K is simulated on the screen. In technical jargon we speak of upscaling.
While this simulated 8K is necessarily a little less accurate than native 8K, the final rendering is still pretty impressive and, let’s be honest, better than what a classic 4K TV can display.
8K therefore has several genuine interests. Improving the image regardless of its fundamental quality, anticipating the future, making bigger TVs and moving the market forward. If 8K TVs are quite expensive and very high quality for now, it is thanks to the experience Samsung is gaining with this technology that it will be mature and more accessible when the general public will be ready.
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