Almost four years after launching its first 8K TVs, Samsung can finally offer premium content in 8K resolution. However, it is just one title and it is available in 8K in Germany only.
YouTube offers user-created 8K videos but none of the major streaming services such as Amazon, Disney+ and Netflix have taken the leap from 4K to 8K. As a result, sales of 8K TVs have suffered and forecasts repeatedly slashed.
Samsung is now taking matters into its own hands to demonstrate that it can be done. In Germany, Samsung in collaboration with Sky will stream the third season of Das Boot in 8K from July. The series was produced natively in 8K. There is no word on HDR.
- "As a pioneer of 8K technology, Samsung makes an important contribution and enables the TV audience to achieve high-resolution image quality," said Mike Henkelmann, Director Marketing Consumer Electronics at Samsung.
'Das Boot' in 8K is available exclusively on Samsung 8K TVs
Available in Samsung's TV Plus app
Das Boot is available in 8K from Samsung's TV Plus app in Germany but only in 2020, 2021 and 2022 models. Samsung launched its first 8K TVs in 2018 so early adopters are left out in the cold.
Samsung recommends an internet connection of at least 40 Mbps but otherwise provided few details regarding the technical implementation. It is not clear if it is using HEVC or AV1 video compression. The fact that only 2020+ models are supported may suggest that it is AV1 but this is speculation.
This is one of the first steps for 8K content but we expect it to take several years still for 8K to get a breakthrough.
