4K vs. 8K TV

4K, or 3840×2160, is about 2 million pixels and it contains almost four times the number of pixels on a screen compared with 1080P (current) technology.

8K resolution is 7680×4320 pixels. It is 16 times more dense than 4K. The numbers show 4K at 2 million pixels is compared to 8K at 33 million pixels. Today’s TV technology is not yet capable of handling this kind of raw power.

Other comparisons show current HD is 24 frames per second, 4K ultra HD is 60 frames per second, and 8K super Hi Vision is 120 frames per second.

For human eyes to actually differentiate between 4K and 8K resolutions, 8K televisions need to be at least 70 and 80 inches in size and you need to sit very close. To truly enjoy 8K, the television sets need to be even larger than that. Panasonic has developed a plasma television that is 145 inches.

2020 Olympics will all be broadcast in 8K - Samsung, LG, Sony, and Panasonic have all announced plans to have 8K TVs ready for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Incidentally, as of September 2017 an 85 inch 8K TV costs $133,000 and is only available in Japan. Oh, and the old wives tale of sitting too close can hurt your eyes is a myth.

HDMI Cable Facts

So, you bought a new 4k TV and the salesperson is trying to sell you new whizbang goochi goochi 4k, or Ultra HDMI, or HDMI-2 cables to handle the new high speeds. Do not listen. It is a scam to increase store profit.

It is important to understand that HDMI cables are pipes, just like water pipes. Liquid goes in liquid comes out. The pipe does not care whether it is water or soda or rum. In HDMI cables, data goes in and data comes out. No decisions are made, nothing is done to the data, it simply passes through the cable. The cable does not care what type of data it is.

A quote from HDMI.org: "Version 2.0 of the HDMI Specification does not define new cables or new connectors. Current High Speed cables (category 2 cables) are capable of carrying the increased bandwidth."

By definition, HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. There have been two HDMI cable standards, standard and high speed. Standard HDMI cables have been out of date since about 2010, but still support devices up to 1080. High speed cables support everything, including 4k, etc. They do not care whether the signal is standard, HDR, 4K, ULTRA, HDMI1, or HDMI2. HDMI cables are marked on the package and on the cable, so just avoid cables marked "standard" and you will be fine for 4K.

Gold ends, fancy cord wrapping, etc., are pretty, but not important for delivering signals to the TV. Manufacturing quality may have some slight affect and might not last long if abused. Of course, when was the last time you abused your cables. You plug them in, hide them behind the TV and forget about them.

The difference in cable quality does matter when you buy longer lengths. Usually HDMI cables are less than about 9 feet in length. If you want to string a 50 foot HDMI cable to a different part of the house, then quality is important, so the signal is not lost along the length. It still has nothing to do HDR, 4K, etc., it is simply manufacturing quality and potential signal loss.

Incidentally, there is a new standard coming out toward the end of 2017 called HDBaseT. The HDBaseT cable combines audio and video signals, USB, network, and even power into one single cable and is set to replace HDMI in the long run. It will be in the next generation devices, but that will likely take years.