COVID-19 Delays 8K Rollout, Says 8KA Head

The COVID-19 pandemic impeded the 8K ecosystem’s progress by “up to a year,” estimated 8K Association Executive Director Chris Chinnock on an association webinar Tuesday. Events are being held virtually, so there’s “not as much exposure," he said: “High-profile sporting events are kind of what raise the value of 8K to consumers and professionals,” yet the 8K-centric 2020 Tokyo Olympics were canceled. Deploying 8K streaming services will be key to bringing the technology to mass scale, as it was for 4K, said Chinnock, acknowledging that “bigger players” in the over-the-top space won’t launch 8K service offerings for at least two to three years. The brainchild of Samsung, the group has been unable to sign 8K TV rivals LG and Sony as members. 8KA is starting to see smaller OTT services launch 8K offerings, including in Europe, said Chinnock.