Apparently this will be enough to spur a new round of resolution increases, even though shipments have not yet started in serious commercial volumes.
According to IHS shipments of 8K ultra-high definition (UHD) resolution (7680 × 4320 pixel) TVs are expected to increase from 2,700 shipped worldwide in 2015 to 911,000 in 2019. The IHS 8K TV forecast hinges on the 65" screen size, which has by far the highest volume in production and will account for almost 80 per cent of 8K TV shipments in 2019.
Paul Gray, principal analyst for HIS said that the biggest inhibitor to the growth of 8K TV will be consumer screen size preferences. "8K requires a very large screen or the higher resolution becomes invisible at normal viewing distances. The average screen size in the TV market has grown by an inch each year over the past decade, but it is still a long haul before sizes over 70" become commonplace."
We would have thought that the biggest inhibitor is the fact that there is still no content for 4k and a complete lack of support from Big Content. TV and satellite companies are just getting around to sending out HD signals and it will be years before they upgrade again.
However according to the IHS Quarterly TV Design and Features Report that does not matter because the manufactures are making the gear.
It said that new LCD fabs in China are scheduled to come online in the next three years, so the capacity to make 65" 8K TV displays will increase dramatically. At the same time, Chinese consumers have proven to adopt new TV technologies early, as evidenced by their recent uptake of 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel) resolution.
"We can be confident that a combination of enhanced local panel production and consumers eager for the latest technology will make China the driving factor in 8K television growth," Gray said.
We wish we could be that confident. To get that confident you have to be more tranquil than Deepak Chopra after chanting "hum" for six hours straight after an all organic carrot juice fast. Still the advantage of a prediction like this is that by 2020 we will have all forgotten who said something this daft and when.
