Consumer Preferences for TV Screen Size Will Determine Growth Rates for 8K TV, IHS Says

Japan’s plan to broadcast the 2020 Olympics in 8K will spur​ a new round of resolution increases, an IHS report said Monday. While 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels) shipments haven’t started in meaningful commercial volumes, 8K Ultra HD TVs are expected to increase from 2,700 shipped worldwide this year to 911,000 in 2019, IHS said. The IHS 8K TV forecast hinges on the 65-inch screen size, which has by far the highest volume in production and will account for almost 80 percent of 8K TV shipments in 2019, it said. “The biggest inhibitor to the growth of 8K TV will be consumer screen size preferences,” IHS analyst Paul Gray said, noting that 8K requires a very large screen for the higher resolution to be perceptible. Although the average screen size in the TV market has grown “by an inch each year over the past decade,” Gray said, “it is still a long haul before sizes over 70 inches become commonplace.” With new LCD manufacturing plants due to ramp up in the next three years, capacity to produce 8K TV displays will increase “dramatically,” Gray said. Chinese consumers have adopted new TV technologies early, as shown by their recent uptake of 4K UHD, he said. A combination of enhanced local panel production and “consumers eager for the latest technology will make China the driving factor in 8K television growth,” Gray said.