86 March/April 2022
Big Important
(^12) Product
THE 8K TRICKLE
DOWN—AND HOW IT
COULD BOOST YOUR
INTERNET SPEED
The proliferation of 8K could impact
our everyday gadgets, from routers to
streaming devices. Higher-resolution
content requires more bandwidth to
stream smoothly. The average American
home receives internet speeds of only
100 Mbps, which doesn’t cut it for
streaming 8K. This will possibly accel-
erate the installation of fiber-optic wire
throughout the country. As the cable
companies get to work on fiber installa-
tions, we may finally witness the death
of the cable box, with providers opting
for internet TV distribution to support
8K resolutions through apps on stream-
ing devices. With the resulting faster
internet speeds for routers to tap into,
networking product manufacturers may
advance their system on a chip (SoC)
configurations for more powerful pro-
cessors, extensive storage, and antennas
to meet the growing bandwidth needs.
Starting up close and stepping farther away,
we could see that the 8K television’s resolution
fared better than the 4K model, showing less
noticeable pixelation while up close. Amplified
by refinements in QLED nanomaterial and over
160 local dimming zones filled with thousands of
micrometer LEDs, the resulting picture is incred-
ibly bright and able to reproduce a full 100 percent
of the DCI-P3 color space (the standard for sets of
colors used in moviemaking).
The level of luminance and color accuracy for
all 33 million pixels in the R648 6-Series is a feat
in itself, since each pixel blocks light. A 4K TV
needs enough lighting to fight through just 8 mil-
lion pixels. But a higher-density 8K display needs
a more powerful backlight, and this is where the
mini LED technology—which TCL does well—
shines. Vibrant QLED colors especially popped
in the greens of plants and red hues of f lowers in
the nature film, and were further enhanced by the
high level of contrast.
The screen isn’t perfect, though. Relying on
mini LED tech, TCL’s 8K QLED display can’t
reproduce the true blacks and individual pixel
control of an OLED panel. As Young puts it, “More
zones create better contrast and improved HDR
performance. Think of fireworks in a dark sky.
OLEDs can turn on or off each pixel. Mini LEDs
do this in zones, and there are 160 zones for the
65-inch TCL versus the 33 million of an 8K OLED
panel.” Despite this, the 6-Series’s brightness
capabilities ensure that the screen looks crisp in
various lighting conditions. OLED excels specif-
ically in dark room performance, but struggles
against natural lighting and carries the risk
of burn-in for static elements. TCL’s R648 can
play games with a heads-up display, leave vid-
eos paused, and display news tickers without the
accompanying worry of destroying the panel.
TCL took a future-for ward stance on this T V by
including the latest display technology features,
like Variable Refresh Rate and a THX-certified
game mode. That makes the company’s decision
to limit HDMI 2.1 to just two of the four ports a
tad disappointing. This latest specification allows
for higher resolutions and refresh rates on content
playing from devices connected over HDMI. As
someone who already owns both next-generation
gaming consoles, I would be unable to reach a 4K
resolution at 120 frames per second or 8K at 60
frames per second with another HDMI 2.1 device.
Meanwhile, the 4K LG C1 includes the higher
bandwidth standard in all four HDMI ports.
Audiophiles will want to purchase a separate
sound bar for punchier bass. While the TV’s two
15-watt speakers and 30-watt subwoofer can get
loud, a good sound bar can better balance the
audio and bring things like explosions or rum-
bling in movies and games to life.
At $1,999, the 65-inch 8K TCL model costs
less than the highest-rated 4K TVs, such as the
Samsung QN90A or LG C1 OLED. Yet it boasts
competitive performance, with features like
120-hertz refresh rates and vivid HDR. With the
ability to display native 8K and upscale 4K content
without artifacts, the 6-Series surpasses TV rivals
in this price range as a future-proof investment.
This picture for the money is a first for the 8K
market and is likely to bring down the cost of the
competition. And as more people get their hands
on this higher resolution, we’ll see films, games,
and streams jump to new heights of clarity.