8K Association Formed To Help Develop 8K Ecosystem

January 11, 2019

A group of the world’s leading display technology brands have come together at CES 2019 to form a new industry organization: The 8K Association (8KA).  Founding companies for the 8KA include leading panel supplier AU Optronics (AUO) along with consumer electronics giants Hisense, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics and TCL Electronics.  Panel supplier Samsung Display is also in the process of joining the 8KA.  This international group of leaders recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form the nonprofit organization to advance their common vision and mission. 

Specific goals of the organization include:

·       Promoting 8K TVs and 8K Content to consumers and professionals

·       Helping educate consumers and professionals about the 8K ecosystem

·       Helping secure 8K native content for members

·       Encouraging service providers (especially OTT) to develop 8K offerings

·       Facilitating communication within 8K ecosystem to help with commercialization

·       Developing initial technical requirements for 8K input signals

• Developing initial 8K TV categories and minimum specifications for image quality

The organization will work on developing the entire value chain for 8K with an initial focus on supporting the early commercialization and adoption of 8K TVs.  A web site for the organization with some additional information can be found at: www.8kassociation.com.

“The 8K Association will not only provide an effective introduction to 8K technology but will also accelerate the beginning of the 8K era,” said Hyogun Lee, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “By leading the early stages of ecosystem development, Samsung will further solidify its global leadership in the 8K market.”

"8KA helps to accelerate the development of 8K eco-system and the popularization of 8K products,” said Dr. Weidong Liu, the chief scientist of Hisense Electronics.  “Hisense will bring 8K ULED products to market and will provide consumers with excellent picture quality and extraordinary visual experiences.”

Building on the newly founded 8K Association and powered by major investments in the latest-generation large-screen 8K-ready panel production facilities, the newest of which enters production in early 2019, TCL will pave the way for an 8K era and actively encourage a wide range of business partners - from streaming services and hardware manufactures - to take the lead in making 8K widely available and accessible.

“The newly founded 8K Association will help drive the introduction of 8K technology in the North American and world market,” said Chris Larson, Senior Vice President of TCL North America. “TCL will become a global leader in 8K display technology and push our partners, both streaming services and manufacturers, to provide consumers with the best possible content in this emerging new market.”

“AUO has long been devoted to the development of advanced display technologies and was among the first to have introduced 8K technology to large-sized TV displays, said WeiLung Liau, CTO of AUO. “It is hoped that through the founding of 8K Association with partners of the ecosystem, globally consistent standards will be established to accelerate the adoption of 8K technology, delivering the best image performance possible for viewers worldwide.”

"In Japan commercial 8K broadcasting via satellite was launched from 1st December 2018. Accordingly, we at Panasonic strongly expect that this Association will lead the 8K ecosystem creating both business opportunities and consumer benefits." said Michiko Ogawa, Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation.