8K resolution is on track to become the new standard for TVs and monitors, but is it really worth the extra money? Read on to learn about the technology, the content, the requirements, and other things to consider before investing in 8K.
We’re only just beginning to see 4K video widely accessible through our favorite content providers, but its successor – 8K – is already available.
So what’s the difference between 4K and 8K resolution? How can you record 8K video? Where can you watch 8K content? And is it worth the additional cost? In the following article, we answer these questions and many others.
What is 8K resolution?
8K resolution is the next step up from 4K resolution, with four times the number of pixels of its predecessor.
As with 4K, the term applies to both devices that record in this resolution (cameras and smartphones, for example) and displays capable of showing it off (televisions and computer displays).
Whereas 4K recording devices and displays use 4840 x 2160 pixels, 8K devices and displays boost this to 7680 x 4320 pixels – a combined total of 33,177,600 pixels (33.2MP).
Some 6K devices, which sit between the two, also exist, although this resolution tends to be confined to a handful of professional recording products rather than widely available consumer devices.
Resolution comparison table
| Full HD | 4K UHD | 8K UHD | |
| Dimensions | 1920 X 1080 | 3840 x 2160 | 7680 X 4320 |
| Total pixels | 2.1MP | 8.3MP | 33.2MP |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 16:9 | 16:9 |
Why is it called 8K?
The name 8K refers to the number of pixels found on the horizontal edge of the image, which is approximately 8,000.
While this name is commonly used as a catch-all term, it’s actually broken down into two main sub-categories: 8K UHD (Ultra-High Definition) – also known as UHD2 – and 8K DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives – a partnership between a number of major movie studios that was formed to establish standards for digital cinema systems).
8K UHD vs 8K DCI: What’s the difference?
8K UHD has the standard 16:9 aspect ratio used by the majority of modern TVs and computer monitors, and has 7680 x 4320 pixels.
8K DCI refers to the slightly wider 256:135 aspect ratio used in movie projection, measuring 8192 x 4320 pixels.
This dual format is common to previous display resolutions, such as 4K UHD vs 4K DCI and Full HD vs 2K DCI, as illustrated in the diagram below.
The reason for the difference is simple: by making movies in a wider aspect ratio, people still have a reason to go to the cinema.
Widescreen cinema was first adopted in the early 1950s, when TVs were becoming a common feature in people’s living rooms and the movie industry wanted to be able to offer viewers something extra.
While modern 16:9 TVs are now much wider than their 4:3 ancestors, the differentiation remains, enabling cinemas to provide a more immersive widescreen experience.
How does 8K work?
To understand how 8K works, it is important to understand resolution. The term ‘resolution’ can mean different things, but in this article, we’ll be talking about pixel resolution – that is, the total number of pixels included within an image or frame of video footage.
Learn more: What is image resolution? Everything you need to know
Each of these pixels can only represent a single value, so the higher the number of pixels in each frame of footage, the more detailed a video can potentially be. And when you consider that 8K includes four times the number of pixels found in 4K, its capacity for additional detail is huge.
However, that’s not to say 8K automatically makes a video better. There are many other factors that determine video quality, such as the quality of the lens used to record footage and the skill of the videographer, along with the choice of frame rate, bit rate, and color depth.
How do you record 8K video?
In order to record 8K video, you need to use a device that is capable of creating footage at that resolution.
These cameras used to be reserved for professionals, but recording in 8K is now much more accessible to the everyday consumer.
In fact, many mirrorless and 360 cameras have this option, while advances in mobile sensor and processor technology mean that it’s even possible to record 8K footage on some smartphones.
Qualcomm has even taken it a step further by recently releasing the first ever 8K HDR footage recorded on a smartphone.
As long as your device has this capability, there’s little more to it than selecting the option to record at 8K resolution and pressing record. There are, however, a couple of things to consider beforehand.
First, a higher resolution results in a larger file size (assuming all other things are kept equal), so you should make sure you have plenty of memory card space.
Second, all this additional information requires additional processing power, so you should check that your memory cards are fast enough and that your post-production setup can handle it.
How do you watch 8K video?
You need an 8K-ready display in order to watch 8K footage. These are now quite commonplace, with current 8K TVs relatively cheap compared to the more expensive price tags attached to earlier models. 8K computer monitors are also readily available for consumers, although these are more expensive.
That said, an 8K display is pointless if you have nothing in 8K resolution to watch. Of course, if you have the means to record in such high resolution, you can watch the footage you create in all its glory, but for the vast majority of us who aren’t professional filmmakers, endless home videos might leave a little to be desired. So where can you find 8K content?
Can you stream 8K content?
The short answer is yes, but it comes with a couple of caveats.
First, the only streaming services that currently support 8K are YouTube and Vimeo, and while the footage looks great on 8K and non-8K displays alike (see video below), the choice is limited.
Second, the bandwidth required to stream 8K content is estimated to be 20-50Mbps. If your connection does not support this, you may encounter issues.
While these internet speeds are available in most territories around the world, there are still large numbers of people who would not be able to achieve them. Therefore, be sure to check your connection before investing in a new 8K display.
Is 8K gaming possible?
Once again, the short answer is yes, but it needs a bit of unpacking.
It’s possible to buy a PC that supports 8K gaming, and the latest PlayStation and Xbox consoles are also capable of supporting this resolution. However, the problem lies with a shortage of 8K games to play on them.
In the video game world, resolution has never been the priority. Developers have instead preferred to focus on other aspects of graphic quality, such as texture, dynamic range, and – arguably most important – frame rate.
What is frame rate? Put simply, frame rate is the number of frames that are displayed in sequence every second to create a moving image. The more frames per second (‘fps’ or ‘p’) that are displayed, the smoother the moving image.
There are a number of additional benefits that high frame rates bring to gaming, so making a game at 4K/120p is more desirable than making a game at 8K/60p.
Watch the video below to learn more about the fundamentals of frame rates in gaming.
This means that video games are often one step behind a console or PC’s resolution capabilities because game developers will instead use the extra processing power these machines possess to improve frame rates and other areas of graphic quality.
It’s for this reason that, while the latest consoles have the power to support 8K gaming, the feature is not yet available to actually use. Manufacturers have said full support for 8K will be activated via a future system update once the format is more commonplace. So, bear this in mind if resolution is your main reason for upgrading.
Does Blu-ray support 8K?
The answer to this is a slightly more straightforward ‘no’, but the situation could still change.
4K is currently the highest resolution Blu-ray supports, via its Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and players. However, while there’s no indication that 8K Blu-ray will be launched any time soon, it remains a possibility.
With the high demands that 8K places on storage and bandwidth potentially leading to unstable playback, there are certainly advantages to playing content directly from a disc over streaming.
Can the human eye even see 8K?
This seems like a simple question, but it’s actually quite complicated. First, we need to answer another question: what is the resolution of the human eye?
While this is a complex subject, with endless variables (watch the above video for an entertaining explanation), scientist and photographer Roger N. Clark did the calculations and concluded that the resolution of the human eye is 576MP.
576MP is, of course, much higher than 8K’s humble 33.2MP, but that doesn’t settle the issue. We must also consider the size of the display and the distance it is from the eye, as both of these factors also play a significant role.
Why’s this? Imagine you are standing on a shingle beach. Looking down, you can clearly see each individual stone around your feet in detail, and you can make out the different colors and textures of each one. Now imagine you are standing at the top of a tall cliff that overlooks the same beach. From such a distance, the stones have lost all their individual color and definition, blending into one.
The same is true for screen resolution in that the further away from the screen you sit, the less detail you will see, until you eventually reach a distance at which it’s impossible to tell the difference between 4K, 8K, and even lower resolutions like Full HD.
When dealing with super-fine resolutions like 8K, the optimum viewing distance can become very short. Therefore, while your eyes are indeed more than capable of seeing the benefit of the additional pixels, any enjoyment you gain will likely be offset with discomfort at having to sit so close.
For example, research suggests that in order to appreciate the benefits of 8K resolution on a 60-inch screen, you would need to sit between 0.6-1.25m away from it.
Another factor to consider is visual acuity (or clarity of vision), which can vary significantly between individuals.
For example, Warner Bros. and a number of other movie production companies reportedly collaborated to perform a double-blind study to see if people could tell the difference between 4K and 8K. While the overall results showed the majority of subjects didn’t see a huge improvement, visual acuity did play a significant part.
Why buy an 8K display?
With so little 8K content available to enjoy, combined with the fact you’ll probably not even notice the difference in an everyday environment, why buy an 8K display at all?
First of all, 8K displays are perfectly capable of showing lower-resolution content by automatically upscaling the video to fill the extra pixels.
This means that you can not only watch 4K Blu-rays and Netflix shows, and play video games on such displays, but also be able to get the most out of them in the future when watching footage that was originally recorded in 8K.
Another advantage is that, because 8K is still relatively new technology, the TVs and monitors that support it are often the latest models with the most up-to-date features. This means they are more likely to benefit from things like fast refresh rates, high dynamic range (HDR), and wide color gamut (WCG), which are arguably more important than resolution when it comes to overall image quality.
So the inclusion of an 8K badge on a display’s box could translate into a lot more than just higher resolution, but it’s not a given and could even go the opposite way. Therefore, be sure to check specifications carefully and compare them to your current display before committing to a purchase.
What’s the point in recording 8K?
While the benefits of an 8K display may be hard to see for the everyday consumer, the benefits of recording in 8K are abundant. Indeed, many of us are already enjoying them without even realizing it.
More shooting and editing freedom
Shooting 8K footage for a 4K production brings great advantages for filmmakers.
With 8K offering so many more pixels than 4K, it’s possible to crop significantly into footage without losing the resolution required for 4K output.
This brings much more freedom when framing shots because it makes it possible to alter composition and stabilize footage in post-production.
It’s even possible to pan across an image or zoom in when working with such high resolutions. A filmmaker could, for example, record a long, wide-angle shot, before splitting it into wide and close-up shots by simply cropping in. This means one camera effectively does the work of two, saving both time and money.
Potential for better overall quality
It’s not unusual for hardware manufacturers to have their devices record 4K footage at a higher resolution if it’s possible (such as 5K or 6K) before downsampling the footage to 4K for output.
It is often claimed that by doing so, better quality footage can be obtained than if it were simply recorded at 4K to begin with.
So it’s entirely possible that the surplus of information that 8K recording brings may also benefit downsampled footage, with respect to certain aspects of video quality such as color and image noise control.
Futureproofing
While this is still new technology, there will come a time when it’s the norm, so there’s no harm in being prepared by adopting 8K now. Filmmakers will be ensuring their work stands the test of time and editors will already have the processing power and storage in place to ensure they’re ready for a seamless transition.
What about 12K and 16K?
12K and 16K may sound like they’re a long way off, but they’re closer than you think.
Back in April 2019, Sony unveiled a huge 63ft by 17ft 16K commercial screen at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show, estimated to be worth up to $5m. Later that same year, it announced that it would be bringing the same capabilities to its consumer products.
Footage for a screen this size currently has to be made using more than one camera, but with companies like Blackmagic already offering 12K recording capabilities, it won’t be long until they reach the next stage.
Conclusion
So is 8K worth it? From a viewer’s perspective, it very much comes down to the individual and their specific display. As mentioned, visual acuity, preferred viewing distance, screen size, and overall display specification all contribute to the viewing experience, so they all need to be considered.
From a production point of view, the answer is much more straightforward. Recording at 8K and even 12K resolutions gives producers and editors an unprecedented level of creative freedom. While storage and performance issues need to be considered here, if it allows filmmakers to overcome certain challenging conditions on location, or achieve more creative compositions, or save time and money on additional equipment, it ultimately ends up appearing as the most logical option.
SmartFrame’s image-streaming technology is revolutionizing the way we view images online. Explore our website to learn how this image security, display, and monetization solution is benefitting content owners, publishers and advertisers around the globe.
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