The fact that the best 8K TVs outperform 4K siblings in multiple picture quality areas crucially helps to justify their higher prices, of course. Samsung has actually reduced this sort of wider specification differentiation between its 2023 8K and 4K ranges, but as we explain in our 75QN900C review, there are certainly still areas of difference in the 8K screen’s favour that go beyond mere resolution. Samsung, in particular, has consistently reserved its highest level of screen specification, including offering more brightness, more local dimming zones and a wider colour palette, for its 8K TVs. Some 8K TVs crucially also deliver other picture quality benefits beyond those directly associated with their resolution. It’s true, to be clear, that upscaled HD and SD content can look a bit soft on 8K TVs - but even with this content the best of the latest upscaling systems are actually uncannily good at spotting the difference between real picture information and picture noise, even with very low-quality sources, as they go about their upscaling work. This doesn’t take into account, though, the remarkable capabilities of the latest upscaling engines, and the impressive real world experiences they can now provide with 8K TVs playing 4K content. Some purists will also argue that upscaling is pretty much an abomination by default. Especially when it comes to depth of field and immersiveness. Some will continue to say there isn’t much perceptible difference between 4K and 8K resolution images, but repeated head to heads between the two resolutions we’ve witnessed over the years (see my recent full review of it) have consistently shown there are visible differences. This is a massive deal in a world where it’s impossible to still feel convinced that significant amounts of native 8K content will be turning up any time soon.Īre 8K TVs worth it? (Image credit: Samsung) What’s more, while the 8K picture advantage is predictably at its most pronounced with native 8K sources if you can get your hands on any, the AI-bolstered picture processing inside today’s premium Samsung, Sony and LG 8K models means that even upscaled 4K pictures can look better on 8K screens than they do on even premium 4K TVs. It’s like looking through a window rather than looking at a screen. Put similarly sized, similarly specified (apart from their resolution) 8K and 4K TVs side by side and the 8K screen will produce pictures that look sharper, more textured/detailed, denser, more three dimensional, deeper, and best of all, more immediate. You don’t have to stick your head right up against the screen to appreciate all those extra pixels. And it does so, moreover, in ways that actually are visible from regular viewing distances. The main argument or 8K TVs, based on our experience of both this year’s QN900C and 2022’s flagship Samsung QN900B, is that 8K resolution does make a different to picture quality. But the whole kerfuffle raised awareness among consumers that an 8K TV can have more impact on your electricity bill than a 4K one. Samsung managed to work round these limitations by shipping its 8K TVs set out of the box to low-brightness Eco picture presets (though we also noticed that, whether for power or picture quality reasons, the 75QN900C was significantly less bright even outside of the Eco preset than its 2022 8K predecessor was). One final 8K issue that raised its head this year is the difficulties 8K TVs face with trying to meet the EU’s new stringent TV power consumption regulations. In fact, some say it makes no difference at all from regular viewing distances. The third big argument against 8K is that it doesn’t deliver enough of a discernible picture quality benefit to justify its expense. Clearly fitting 8K’s 7640 x 4120 pixel count into self-emissive screens is quite the challenge. There’s no sign of the Z3 in the US yet, but last year’s 77-inch Z2 8K model cost… $24,999. Sony’s flagship 75-inch 4K LCD TV, meanwhile, only costs $2,700 / £2,999. Most strikingly of all, LG’s 8K OLED TV for 2023, the 77-inch OLED77Z3, costs an eye-watering £14,999 in the UK, while the the same size version of LG’s most premium 4K OLED TV – the LG C3 – costs just £3,999. As for other TV makers, Sony’s 75-inch 8K TV – which, perhaps tellingly, is a hold over from 2022 – the LCD 75Z9K, costs $5,500 / £7,499, while the brand’s 77-inch flagship 4K TV, the Sony A95L Quantum Dot OLED TV, costs $5,000 / £5,999. Meanwhile, the 75-inch sized version of Samsung’s UK flagship 4K alternative, the Samsung QN95C, costs just $4,199 / £4,999, and Samsung’s top 75-inch 4K TV in the US, the Samsung QN90C, costs just $2,599 / £3,799 / AU$5,299. To give you some idea of the 8K price problem, the Samsung 75QN900C we’ve just tested costs $5,999 / £5,999 / AU$8,499. Are 8K TVs still worth a punt or are they a busted flush? (Image credit: Samsung)
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