8K resolution


8K resolution refers to an image or display resolution with a width of approximately 8,000 pixels. 8K UHD is the highest resolution defined in the Rec. 2020 standard.
8K display resolution is the successor to 4K resolution. TV manufacturers pushed to make 4K a new standard by 2017. At CES 2012, the first prototype 8K TVs were unveiled by Japanese electronics corporation Sharp. The feasibility of a fast transition to this new standard is questionable in view of the absence of broadcasting resources. In 2018, Strategy Analytics predicted that 8K-ready devices will still only account for 3% of UHD TVs by 2023 with global sales of 11 million units a year. However, TV manufacturers remain optimistic as the 4K market grew much faster than expected, with actual sales exceeding projections nearly six-fold in 2016.
In 2013, a transmission network's capability to carry HDTV resolution was limited by internet speeds and relied on satellite broadcast to transmit the high data rates. The demand is expected to drive the adoption of video compression standards and to place significant pressure on physical communication networks in the near future.
In 2018, few cameras had the capability to shoot video in 8K, NHK being one of the few companies to have created a small broadcasting camera with an 8K image sensor. By 2018, Red Digital Cinema camera company had delivered three 8K cameras in both a Full Frame sensor and Super 35 sensor.

History

In 1986, Sony introduced a smectic light valve LCD laser projector that could display high resolutions up to 8K resolution. In 1995, Japan's public broadcaster NHK was the first to start research and development of 4320p resolution, with the Super Hi-Vision system intended as a successor to their Hi-Vision HDTV system.
File:NHKHitachi8Kcamerademo.JPG|thumb|right|NHK and Hitachi demonstrating their 8K camera at the 2013 NAB Show
8K Ultra HDTV was first demonstrated by NHK, JVC and Ikegami Tsushinki researchers with the Super Hi‑Vision system in January 2003. The format was standardized by SMPTE in October 2007. The interface was standardized by SMPTE in August 2010 and recommended as the international standard for television by ITU-R in 2012. Followed by public displays at electronics shows and screenings of 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and public viewings in February 2014 and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in June 2014 using HEVC with partners AstroDesign and Ikegami Electronics.
On January 6, 2015, the MHL Consortium announced the release of the superMHL specification which will support 8K resolution at 120fps, 48-bit video, the Rec. 2020 color space, high dynamic range support, a 32-pin reversible superMHL connector, and power charging of up to 40 watts.
On March 1, 2016, The Video Electronics Standards Association unveiled DisplayPort 1.4, a new format that allows the use of 8K resolution at 60Hz with HDRR and 32 audio channels through USB-C.
On January 4, 2017, the HDMI Forum announced HDMI 2.1 featuring support for 8K video with HDR, which will be "released early in Q2 2017".
8K Association Formed at CES 2019 to Help Develop 8K Ecosystem.
In early February 2020, Samsung Electronics announced during their Unpacked event that their Samsung Galaxy S20 can video record in 8K, which uses 600MB of storage per minute.

First cameras

On April 6, 2013, Astrodesign Inc. announced the AH-4800, capable of recording 8K resolution.
In April 2015, it was announced by Red that their newly unveiled Red Weapon VV is also capable of recording 8K footage.
In October 2016, they announced two additional 8K cameras, Red Weapon 8K S35 and Red Epic-W 8K S35. The Red Weapon Dragon VV has been discontinued as of 2017, when Red unveiled the Red Weapon Monstro VV, their fourth camera capable of shooting 8K, with additional improvements in dynamic range and noise reduction, among other features.

Mobile phone cameras

In May 2019, mobile phone vendors started releasing the first mobile phones with 8K video recording capabilities, such as the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 3 series.
This is enabled by the sufficient resolution of image sensors used in mobile phones, and by the sufficient chipset performance. However, mobile phones with up to 5K or 6K video cameras have never been released.
In 2007, the original 65mm negative of the 1992 film Baraka was re-scanned at 8K with a film scanner built specifically for the job at FotoKem Laboratories, and used to remaster the 2008 Blu-ray release. Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert described the Blu-ray release as "the finest video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined." A similar 8K scan/4K intermediate digital restoration of Lawrence of Arabia was made for Blu-ray and theatrical re-release during 2012 by Sony Pictures to celebrate the film's 50th anniversary. According to Grover Crisp, executive VP of restoration at Sony Pictures, the new 8K scan has such high resolution that when examined, showed a series of fine concentric lines in a pattern "reminiscent of a fingerprint" near the top of the frame. This was caused by the film emulsion melting and cracking in the desert heat during production. Sony had to hire a third party to minimize or eliminate the rippling artifacts in the new restored version.
On May 17, 2013, the Franklin Institute premiered To Space and Back, an 8K×8K, 60fps, 3D video running approximately 25 minutes. During its first run at the Fels Planetarium it was played at 4K, 60 fps.
In November 2013, NHK screened the experimental-drama short film "The Chorus" at Tokyo Film Festival which was filmed in 8K and 22.2 sound format.
On May 1, 2015, an 8K abstract computer animation was screened at the Filmatic Festival at the University of California, San Diego. The work was created as an assignment in the VIS 40/ICAM 40 Introduction to Computing in the Arts class taught at UCSD by Associate Teaching Professor Brett Stalbaum during the winter quarter of 2015, with each student producing three hundred pixel frames. The work's music soundtrack was composed by Mark Matamoros.
On January 6, 2016, director James Gunn stated that the 2017 film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 would be the first feature film to be shot in 8K, using the Red Weapon 8K VV. The movie was shot with 8K cameras, although the digital intermediate of the movie is in a lower resolution.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK began research and development on 8K in 1995, having spent over $1 billion on R&D since then. Codenamed Super Hi-Vision, NHK also was simultaneously working on the development of 22.2 channel surround sound audio. The world's first 8K television was unveiled by Sharp at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2012. Experimental transmissions of the resolution were tested with the 2012 Summer Olympics, and at the Cannes Film Festival showcasing Beauties À La Carte, a 27-minute short showcased publicly on a 220" screen, with a three-year roadmap that entails the launch of 8K test broadcasting in 2016, with plans to roll out full 8K services by 2018, and in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, about 200 hours of material from the Tokyo Olympics, including the opening and closing ceremonies, were broadcast in 8K.
The specification for an 8K Blu-ray format was also completed by the Blu-ray Disc Association for use in Japan by December 2017. As of the end of 2024, there are no standalone Blu-ray players certified as 8K capable, and no home video releases in 8K on physical media by any major studio.
On December 1, 2018, NHK launched BS8K, a broadcast channel transmitting at 8K resolution. Documentaries constitute a large part of that channel's programming. Feature films shown in 8K on that channel include 2001: A Space Odyssey and My Fair Lady ; in both cases, 70mm analog prints were used as a basis for the remastered 8K version. New productions filmed with digital 8K cameras have also been aired in 8K on that channel; they include the Edo period drama Kikyo – The Return and the WWII dramas Wife of a Spy and Gift of Fire.
In Germany, the third season of Das Boot was made available in 8K on the Samsung TV Plus streaming service.
In China, the state-owned CMG conglomerate launched a TV channel broadcasting at 8K resolution, known as CCTV-8K. Test broadcasts started in 2021 while the official launch was in 2022.

Gaming

The Sony PlayStation 5 Pro generates 8K graphics and output, making it the first and only game console to do so, though as of 2025 no full 8K games for it have publicly released. The GeForce RTX 3090, released in September 2020 at an MSRP of $1499, was marketed by Nvidia as the first graphics card capable of 8K 60fps HDR gaming, recording, and streaming with ShadowPlay on PCs. However, only its successor, the GeForce RTX 4090, is often regarded as the first graphics card to achieve playable frame rates at 8K in many modern titles.

Resolutions

This is the resolution of the UHDTV2 format defined in SMPTE ST 2036–1, as well as the 8K UHDTV format defined in ITU-R BT.2020. It was also chosen by the DVB project as the resolution for their 8K broadcasting standard, UHD-2. It has 33.2 million total pixels, and is double the linear resolution of 4K UHD, three times the linear resolution of 1440p, four times the linear resolution of 1080p, and six times the linear resolution of 720p.