Just when we were all getting used to the idea of 4K being the benchmark for high-definition viewing, Samsung has taken it upon themselves to present the world an 85-inch 8K QLED TV. The first of its kind to be made commercially available. This whole new level of visual clarity does come at a certain price. And as of today, that price is $15,000 USD (comparable to the cost of a car!).
At 33 million pixels, the Samsung Q900R produces four times as many pixels as the current 4K models. And sixteen times that of your standard high-definition TVs. With a peak brightness of 4,000 nits (2,000 on cinema mode) compared to the 1,700 nits of 4K QLEDs, these beauties will burn as bright as the damn sun.
Then there’s the high-dynamic colour range, boasting of truer blacks and more vibrant colours. All who view this screen will be instantly dazzled by the spectacle at hand… given that the content is up to snuff, that is. Which brings us to the big ol’ caveat regarding this incredible feat of engineering.
When it comes to the human eye, there’s a point of diminishing return. Whether its pixel counts or otherwise, you and I can only process so much detail before it plateaus into territory where the difference become a little less… discernible.
But back onto the content being up to snuff. Right now, there isn’t a whole lot of 8K-native content to warrant getting an 8K television (aside from bragging rights). Hell, right now there isn’t even a whole lot of 4K content in circulation. And although the Samsung Q900R houses AI technology that up-scales overall picture quality, one should be skeptical about features that have yet to be consumer tested. That being said, the Q900R’s up-scaling function does stoke curiosity about what it could do with 4K content.
There is a silver lining in this caveat, however. After the initial hype has settled, and people realise that an 8K QLED TV isn’t all that practical given the lack of full use they’ll get out of it right now, and the sheer overkill when they do, the $15,000 USD price tag will plummet. Just as the price tags for 4K TVs plummeted after the demand for them began to decline. Case in point, 4K QLED TVs at a similar scale of the Q900R were initially priced at around $20,000 USD. Now, they sit at a far more reasonable $5,000 USD average.
The Samsung Q900R 8K QLED is now available for pre-order in select regions of the world for an October 28th ship date. Find out more here.
