Samsung 8K TV ranges set to launch by end of 2018

The proliferation of 4K UHD TVs has been a little slower than manufacturers anticpated, but nevertheless 99 per cent of 60in-and-above TVs sold last year were 4K UHD. Now Samsung is gearing up to go to the next level: 8K.

Samsung hosted its second annual QLED & Advanced Displays summit in Los Angeles at the end of June, and high on the list of topics for discussion was the company's plans for a full 8K ecosystem.

Speaking at last month's summit, David Jung (senior engineer at Samsung Visual Display) said "8K requires more cooperation and dialogue between industry players... we must cooperate with all stakeholders in the ecosystem, including content makers and distributors".

And in a masterclass of understatement, Jung added "we feel we have to sufficiently explain to industry players in the ecosystem, and most importantly the consumers, the value proposition of 8K".

Simon Lucas is a freelance technology journalist and consultant, with particular emphasis on the audio/video aspects of home entertainment. Before embracing the carefree life of the freelancer, he was editor of What Hi-Fi? – since then, he's written for titles such as GQ, Metro, The Guardian and Stuff, among many others.