In the wave of consumption upgrade, when will the future of 8K TV come?

The recent Nielsen Research Institute released the "China's second quarter consumer confidence index report", which shows that consumer confidence index continues to grow steadily to 112 points, breaking the 2013 record. With the popularization of various smart products, smart products have become a favorite choice for consumers.

It is in this context of a market full of consumer enthusiasm that intelligent products are constantly improving the overall level of technology in order to better compete for consumers. Among them, smart TV is a typical representative. Sharp will release 8K HDTVs at the end of August, which will be the first domestic manufacturer to release 8K smart TVs. This means that the concept of smart TVs that have been in place for nearly two years has returned to true technological competition.

1, 8K becomes the trend of smart TV under the upgrade of consumption

The Nielsen report shows that Chinese consumers are increasingly pursuing high quality of life, and 75% of consumers in first-tier cities are willing to pay more for the advanced technological advantages of electronic products.

Such a high proportion was previously unthinkable. For electronic products, for a long time, people in China are looking for functionality and utility, and their usability and durability are the key factors. They are unwilling to pay for extra experience and more cutting-edge technologies, but this has happened in the past few years. Reversal.

It is in this kind of consumption upgrade that is willing to pay for technology and experience. HD smart TVs also enjoy an unprecedented industry dividend. According to the “June-June 2017 Consumer TV Trends Forecast for the Second Half of 2017” released by the China Digital Television Industry Development Conference in 2017, sales of low-end and mid-range TVs have declined, but overall sales of high-end TVs have increased.

"China's Color TV Consumption in January-June 2017 and Forecast of Market Trends in the Second Half of the Year"

According to relevant data, 4K TV retail sales accounted for 64%, up 79.6% year-on-year; HDR TV retail sales accounted for 42.4%, an increase of 1196.5% year-on-year, and the demand for high-definition TV users has become increasingly strong. At the same time, the report also shows that the big screen is also becoming a consumer trend.

The 8K HD resolution TV has a direct qualitative difference with 4K and OLED TVs. From the perspective of resolution, it is 4 times more accurate than 4K TVs, which is more in line with users' demand for high-definition TV consumption, while at the same time 8K TVs Both are big screens and meet the needs of users for large screens.

However, the bigger the HD screen is, the greater the R&D investment needed behind it, and the stronger the technical strength. For most manufacturers, the consumption of consumer-grade 8K TVs faces both the technical and market challenges.

Why can't 2K 8K be mass produced?

8K technology has always been the focus of major television giants, in addition to Sharp, in fact, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Hisense has been released 8K television, but it has not really launched for the consumer market.

The biggest reason for this is that, as a giant company in the TV industry, producing an 8K HDTV is not a problem, but it can achieve large-scale mass production and achieve high-quality yields at the same time. This is the difficulty.

On the surface, 8K TVs merely increase the resolution of 3840×2160 pixels of 4K TVs to 7680×4320, which is a four-fold improvement. But behind this, it requires the improvement of overall technology such as frame rate, standard viewing distance, viewing angle mode, and audio standards. .

At the same time, since humans have an effective field of sight of 114 degrees (viewing area: the range of scenes that can be perceived when both eyes look straight ahead), if the viewing distance is constant, like the 3K megapixel "display density" of 8K, A minimum of 70 inches of panel is needed for perfect presentation, which guarantees the on-the-spot presence of viewing. This is also a challenge for the production of TV panels.

In addition, high resolution naturally leads to high power consumption. Decoding chips, channel systems, and the layout of the cables inside the equipment all require a great deal of transformation. These new technologies are currently not verified by the market, so they are good products. The rate is facing a huge test.

Despite the challenges, for Sharp, after the marriage with Foxconn, Sharp's current core strengths in the 8K field have thrown far away its competitors. SDP has the capability to mass-produce 8K LCD panels. It is the highest generation of liquid crystal production line that has been put into production in the world; Guangzhou has newly built an 8K production line of 10.5 LCD panels, which means that Sharp is the most likely brand to achieve the first mass production of 8K TV.

Solved the technical problems, also faced challenges in the transmission. Not to mention 8K, currently 4K is still in the development stage. To meet 4K broadcasting, it is necessary to provide 50M broadband to meet broadcasting requirements. Until last year Unicom released the "4K IPTV Technology White Paper" to provide industry for 4K broadcasting technology. A unified standard solution, and clearly stated that bandwidth conditions above 50M can support 4K TV.

The challenge of 8K TV is also the bandwidth condition. The related data shows that even if the video in 8K format takes only one minute, it can occupy a full 194GB space. At present, the cable broadband operators stay in the 4K phase, which requires a step-by-step approach, so I am afraid it will be difficult. Keep up with the development of 8K HD.

Therefore, another thing worth looking forward to is the development of 5G wireless technology. The British “Daily Mail” stated that the United Kingdom has already developed 5G data transmission within 100 meters, which can reach 125GB/sec, and will be put into beta testing in 2018. This is completely Meets 8K transmission requirements. From the domestic point of view, although operators are also striving to develop 5G and are interested in surpassing wired broadband at speed, there is no specific timetable. Therefore, although there is potential for development, it will take some time for development. It remains to be seen. .

3, 8K is destined to be the exclusive arena of giants

Even if the technology and network speed are solved, it is unlikely that small manufacturers will participate in the process. This involves price-sensitive, mass-production capacity, lack of film sources, and many other issues.

Although 8K has a higher quality experience, users are also less sensitive to price in the context of consumer upgrades. But prices are always the focus of all consumers. If the price difference of 8K TV is too big, it is full of unpredictability for the market that needs to be developed. Early in the CES 2015 exhibition, Sharp actually showed off the LV-85001 8K HDTV, which was 85 inches in size and priced at 850,000. However, this stage is more of a technical inspection stage than the current stage of mass consumption.

The history and development of industry have striking similarities. Before Ford, the car was a rich man's patent, a symbol of status, priced at about 4,700 US dollars, while the average worker's salary was only 100 US dollars. However, with the Ford's technological advancement and mass production in the assembly line, the price has dropped sharply, and the T-car has dropped from $780 to $360. For the first time, cars have become a means of transportation for the people. On 8K TV, the same pattern will repeat itself. With the improvement and improvement of production capacity, technology, and supply, 8K will enter the homes of ordinary users. However, to achieve this, only giants like Sharp and Foxconn with perfect supply chain and technical capabilities are possible. This is why the outside world is full of expectations for Sharp's upcoming new products.

In the final analysis, TVs are still economies of scale, and they need to rely on volume production to reduce pricing, and ultimately maximize margins. The screen size is a large barrier to entry, and 8K requires a production line of about 70-inch TV panels. Most of the small manufacturers do not have it. In addition, it also involves a variety of new electronic accessories that are suitable for 8K high-definition TVs, which require the supply of various industry chains.

Another constraint is that the current 4K and OLED are the focus of industrial development and are also the focus of investment from all walks of life. Therefore, whether the parties have the extra energy to invest in 8K TV and go all out is also a challenge. Mass production capacity is the key factor in determining whether the price of 8K HDTV is reasonable.

After solving technology and capacity, content is also a key node. Just as 4K and OLED high-definition TVs were developed early, there is not much support for high-definition content sources, and users with high-definition TVs cannot immediately obtain the same higher experience. Current 8K high-definition televisions also face such problems.

The only 8K film currently is from the Galaxy Guard 2 released this year. Marvel is the first company in the world to adopt 8K technology for film shooting. The director believes that 8K shooting can leave more for post processing and visual reconstruction. More space, which has a part of the industry's exemplary role.

In addition, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK is also relatively active in providing 8K technology sources. In fact, as early as the Rio Olympic Games in 2014, it adopted the 8K live broadcasting technology and won wide attention, and at the same time, it also indicated that it would Adopting 8K technology to broadcast the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will also become a force for the entire industry.

However, merely Marvel, and NHK’s promotion in Japan, are still not enough to drive the entire industry. There are still more content providers who need to adopt 8K shooting technology. This may still require the help of companies Sharp, who are interested in developing 8K technology.

Consumer-grade 8K TV is bound to be the trend of the industry, but in the moment it needs to face real problems such as technology, bandwidth, mass production, price, content source, and so on, and these problems will undoubtedly only be solved by giants. The sharp 8K high-definition television that Sharp will release at the end of the month will deliver an answer. We can wait and see.