China's Hisense has rejoined Samsung, Panasonic, TCL, Philips and others in the 8K Association to help shape the future of 8K.
The 8K Association was formed in 2019 to help promote 8K. Hisense was one of the founding members but later left the initiative as 8K TVs failed to appeal to consumers.
Hisense now says that it once again wants to contribute to building out the 8K ecosystem.
- "We are eager to contribute to the 8K ecosystem and collaborate with other industry leaders to accelerate the integration of 8K technology into the home entertainment experience," said David Gold, President of Hisense Americas and Hisense USA.
Where is LG and Sony?
Since 2019, most major TV makers have either abandoned or significantly reduced their ambitions for 8K TVs.
After riding the wave in the first years, TCL and Sony decided not to launch new 8K TVs in 2023 and 2024. Panasonic and Philips have yet to launch their first 8K TV, both arguing that the market is not ready. Hisense is still flirting with 8K but has also scaled back, and 8K does not appear to be a major focus for the company at this time.
Hisense's last 'mainstream' 8K TV was the U80G from 2021, pictured here. In 2022, Hisense launched only a 75-inch U800GR
LG and Sony have never been members of the 8K Association.
Samsung remains committed to 8K, despite the company's 4K QD-OLED TVs offering better picture quality than its 8K "QLED" LCD TVs. Check the TV Database to see which TV models feature 8K resolution.
However, Samsung did reduce its 8K line-up this year to exclude the QN700 series.
Where is 8K going?
None of the major streaming services, such as Amazon, Disney or Netflix, are members of the 8K Association either, and so far they remain dismissive of 8K when asked.
The 8K Association hopes to change all of that through standardization efforts, certification programs, consumer education, promotion of 8K, and more. Besides TV makers, members include MediaTek, NovaTek, Google, Intel, IMAX, and others.
