A new TV standard is here. Today, the 8K (7680x4320 pixels) TV standard has been approved. It will support up to 120 frames per second, greater color depth and a wider color gamut. Japanese NHK’s proposal has been selected as the standard by ITU.

8K TV standard approved
4K TVs are coming soon but the standard for 8K TVs is already approved. 8K resolution is 16 times higher than today’s Full HD standard that is utilized on almost every TV today. 8K promises greatly improved picture quality and detailing on large-size TVs.


Sharp’s prototype 8K TV has been exhibited at fair shows

The new 8K standard is also referred to as Super Hi-Vision (SHV) and dictates a 7680x4320 pixel resolution. This is a natural progression from Full HD as 1920 x 4 = 7680 and 1080 x 4 = 4320. Therefore no scaling is necessary and the same 16:9 aspect ratio is kept. The 8K standard supports frame rates of 59.94, 60 and 120 frames per second, which should provide viewers which much more smooth video playback without stutter and blurring.

Lastly, it is mentioned that the 8K standard supports both 10 and 12 bit color depth for better color gradation and a larger color gamut, allowing TVs to produce the most intense green, turquoise, red and blue colors faithfully.


The graph to the left shows the human eye’s color gamut. The small triangle shows today’s color gamut standard and the large triangle shows the color gamut supported with the 8K standard

NHK and BBC jointly made the first 8K TV broadcast available during the 2012 Olympics in London. Sharp has also exhibited an 8K TV prototype with video content from NHK. The 8K standard is also called Super Hi-Vision (SVH) and Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV).

No 4K standard has yet been approved but it is close to being finalized.

- Source: NHK