Sony's new 8K TVs will be less expensive than last year's models but not exactly affordable. Sony's Z8H in the US and ZH8 in Europe are available in 75 and 85-inch sizes.
Sony 8K in 2020
Samsung launched its first 8K TVs in 2018 and Sony entered the market segment last year with its Z9G (ZG9). Most other TV makers have yet to launch 8K TVs that offer four times as many pixels as 4K TVs.
As part of its 2020 line-up, Sony is introducing the Z8H (ZH8) in 75 and 85 inches. The new LCD TVs feature full array local dimming (FALD), Sony's X1 Ultimate video processor, HDR support (HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision), IMAX Enhanced and Dolby Atmos support. They are equipped with HDMI 2.1 ports capable of receiving 8K60 and 4K120 input from next-gen consoles and players.
Also read: Sony 2020 TV line-up
Also read: Review (2019): Sony Z9G (ZG9) 8K
Sony has also integrated 'Acoustic Multi-Audio' that uses a vibrating tweeter unit to turn the TV's frame into a speaker. The goal is to create more direct sound as if voices were coming from the actors in the picture, the company explained.
A dearth of content
Like other Sony TVs, Z8H is powered by Google's Android TV platform. It comes pre-installed with Android 9.0. From the Google Play store you can download apps and games but while some streaming services offer 4K HDR streaming, there is still a dearth of 8K content.
YouTube has made user-generated videos in 8K available to stream but it requires the TV to support AV1 hardware decoding. Major streaming services like Amazon, Netflix and Disney+ have yet to announce plans to offer 8K content.
Sony's Z8H in the US and ZH8 in Europe are available now in 75 and 85 inches. We refer to the table below for more details.
Sony Z8H/ZH8 8K TVs - prices & dealers
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