Hisense hits 8K

The first wave of 8K televisions seemed almost absurdly redundant. Quadrupling the resolution of 4K Ultra HD, which had itself quadrupled the resolution of Full-HD, seemed potentially excessive when few people were watching even 4K content, and there was no 8K content at all, except a few test scenes generated for the purpose of 8K demonstrations. We saw first Japan’s Sharp launching an 8K TV in Europe, then South Korea’s LG and Samsung presented their 8K TVs to Australian audiences and the rest of the world. At that stage we were somewhat dismissive of the need for 8K. Others pointed out that the higher resolution is impossible for the eye to discern at any normal watching distance. What was the point, we asked, except to have something new to sell?

Well, as this 8K TV arrives, the first we’ve seen from a Chinese manufacturer, our view has since softened. There’s now plenty of 4K content, either streaming or on UHD Blu-rays, if not yet a flurry of 8K, although you can make your own with cameras such as Canon’s EOS R5 and the new Sony Alpha I (both mirrorless cameras). Panasonic’s Lumix S1H does 6K. And our Damascene moment came