30 T3 JUNE 2020IS IT FINALLY TIME TO
UPGRADE?THE CASE FOR 8K
With pixel counts of 7680x4320,
8K T Vs carry four times as much
resolution as 4K ones. While this level
of resolution is arguably not necessary
on screens smaller than 65 inches, it
removes all sense of image structure
on large screens, leaving you with
pictures that look unprecedentedly
immersive and lifelike. Provided,
anyway, that a T V has the colour, light
and motion quality to unleash all those
pixels’ full potential.
There aren’t many native 8K
sources yet, alas. Which isn’t
surprising given the amount of data
8K video eats up. However, there’s
talk of the next generation of games
consoles providing at least a little
8K support. BT is promising an 8K
sports channel, too, YouTube already
carries a few 8K videos, and various
streaming services – including
Rakuten and chili.tv – have said they
intend to introduce 8K streams soon.
Samsung’s latest S20 phones let you
make your own 8K movies as well.
Also, contrary to expectation, the
best 8K T Vs are proving remarkably
good at turning 4K sources into 8K.
The end results often look both more
detailed and clean than they do in
their native 4K form. This means that
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now, rather than only in some distant
future where 8K content is common.
8K T Vs
Behold the most glorious goggle boxes you’ve ever seen
Best TVs for every budget
LG OLED88Z9
No, we haven’t accidentally stuck an extra ‘9’ on the LG
OLED88Z9’s price. It really does cost a penny shy of 30 grand. If you
happen to have that sort of cash lying around, though, there is a
good reason why the OLED88Z9 costs so much more than the other
sets featured here: it uses an OLED screen.
Unlike LCD TVs, where external backlights are shared across
many pixels at once, each pixel in an OLED TV makes its own light
and colour. Which proves particularly handy when you’re talking
about pixels as tiny and numerous as those you get in an 8K TV.
In dark scenes especially, where rival LCD screens would have to
compromise either the intensity of bright highlights or the darkness
of blacks, the OLED88Z9 gives full expression to even tiny details.
OLED viewing angles are peerless too, while the way OLED
technology allows an 88-inch screen to sit on a chassis that’s just a
few millimetres deep seems to defy physics in a breathtaking way.
£29,999, lg.com