8K TV and the Future

8K TV and the Future

What is 8K TV And What You Need To Know

Here is the technical component broken down.

  • 4K TV has just over 8 million
  • It has 16 times more pixels than an ordinary HD TV
  • It has 4 times more pixels than 4K TV
  • This means 8K TV higher resolutions can equate to over 33 million pixels

TVs are made up of horizontal and vertical gridlines and these gridlines are doubled in an 8K application. So imagine the visual of 4 X 4K TVs put together. The pixels of 8K is 16 times greater than that of a 4K TV. With a much higher pixel density, the picture presents a superior sharpness. With this increase in clarity and viewing it will be movies and sport that excite people initially. It will almost feel like being at your favourite sporting event. Benefits will include small print being incredibly clear and jagged edges will now become smooth. Less colour banding will be noticed where compression has not been adequately applied.

The way we now watch TV is getting bigger – and smaller. Even though we are watching shows on tablets and phones, our dedicated living room screen size averages 60cm. We now entertain outdoors a lot more and many of those enclosed areas now incorporate a TV as they are considered a second living room. These are generally a wall mounted the large screen.

History of 8K TV

In August of 2016 Japanese broadcaster NHK, started beaming back content from their 8K satellite. Although the testing was being done there was nothing actually being broadcast. The Japanese are at the forefront of this technology as the 2020 Olympic Games are being held in Tokyo. If you do not have an 8K TV by then don’t worry. NBC Universal will be broadcasting in Ultra HD from the United States. However, it has proved to be a very popular category that people are researching and predicted sales in 2019 are set to reach over 1 million units.

Upscaling And What’s It All About

Upscaling is a process whereby algorithms match the pixel count of output or the standard of a non-high definition video.

It utilizes local dimming and an AI (Artificial Intelligence) Powered “Full Scene Mode”. This is how the device upgrades HD and 4K subject. This is really important because you won’t just be limited to watching 8K format, you will be able to upgrade any content you wish to watch.

This very current TV technology has been around for a couple of years now. However, it is set to light up the next CES conference in Berlin. 8K TVs are on the lips of everyone in the tech world so look forward to learning a great deal more and enjoying a visual feast for the eyes with your new 8K TCL television.

What About 8K Content?

The Japanese were first to experiment and now have a dedicated 8K channel. The Koreans who export a number of TVs are also scrambling to produce high levels of content. Much of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in 8K broadcast mode. The Brazilians were taking advantage of the viewing capabilities for last years’ soccer world cup. That had the option of being viewed on 8K technology. Netflix, Stan, YouTube, Vimeo are all early adopters.

Native 8K content looks amazing on a dedicated 8K screen. The difference between 4K content and 8K broadcasting is glaringly obvious. 8K video is also being played around with by the movie industry and we are sure to see some blockbusters come out shortly with this outstanding 8K resolution.

Also, the cream on top from the movie industry is they will be releasing 8K Blu ray movie for our viewing pleasure.

Who Is Making 8K Content?

The good news for content is everyone is arriving at the party. The Japanese were first to experiment and now have a dedicated 8K channel. The Koreans who export a number of TVs are also in research and development mode.

The Brazilians were taking advantage of the viewing capabilities for last years’ soccer world cup. That had the option of being viewed on 8K technology. Netflix, Stan, YouTube, Vimeo are all early adopters.

How streaming has changed the Australian lifestyle

How streaming has changed the Australian lifestyle

Rewind back to a time not so long ago, where the television was typically the center of “family time”. Parents and children would gather around excitedly waiting for their show to begin. If the show was on free-to-air, you would be conscious of the starting time, because if you missed it there was no replay button and you would be relying on your friends to catch you up the following day. Hired movies were physical copies borrowed from the local video store, available only until the rental time expired.

Today, however, it is a somewhat different story. Streaming services now provide us with real-time response to our viewing demands, regardless of where we are or what we are doing. Portable devices have enabled us to access content 24 hours a day 7 days a week and have dramatically changed the family dynamic.

How have streaming services affected our lives?

Online streaming has gained solid traction in the past decade. Many people can lay in bed with their tablet or phone, sit at the bus stop or in a cafe with a device in hand ready to catch up on their favourite tv show. An average of 6.6 devices with screens are now present in households, making streaming more accessible than ever. This includes TVs, tablets, computers and phones. Predominantly, streaming has meant a disconnect for family viewing time. Unless agreed time is allocated to watch something on the one screen as a collective, 58% percent of us are watching content on our own.

What age groups watch tv?

Nielsen studies show SVOD adopters have changed their viewing habits. 52 per cent say they watch less free to air while 46 per cent say they are less likely to download movies or TV shows. They now tend to rent these though TVOD (TV On Demand) platforms such as Google Play or iTunes.

Broadcast content is now viewed mainly by those aged 60 and over. This is a representation of 96 per cent of people surveyed. SVOD is taken up by those between the ages of 18-34, which represents 81 per cent of those surveyed.

Catch up tv statistics indicate this is used predominantly by 45-59-year-olds. This represents 88 per cent of those surveyed.

VOD (Video On Demand) adopters view 80 percent of content at home over a week. 27 per cent report watching VOD on portable devices in various locations at least once a month.
One of the most telling statistics is that 58 percent of viewers are watching content alone.

Do streaming services have an effect on piracy?

The short answer is yes. One of the key findings of the online on-demand report is the rate of unofficial streams or downloads is declining. This means piracy is decreasing, which is good news for our local screen industry. Viewer convenience and affordability is driving us to join SVOD. It offers maximum flexibility for the user around viewing time, content, portability and of course less ad interruption.
So what is television streaming and how does it work?
The term refers to a stream of data originating from a server. Streaming requires three things, a decoder, the information and a server. It is travelling video and audio information that begins from the server. It then feeds out information that is put through the decoder to allow the viewer to watch either live TV or prerecorded original content.

What are the popular streaming services available?

Research shows that Netflix currently has 9.8 million users in Australia, which means that 48 per cent of Australians using a streaming service are watching Netflix.

Here are the most popular streaming services available in Australia:

  • Netflix
  • Stan
  • Foxtel Now
  • Quickflix
  • Hayu
  • YouTube Red

FFALCON’s 2019 range includes your favourite apps such as Netflix, Stan and Youtube.

But the options don’t stop there. The list of available streaming services is ever growing and doesn’t look likely to stop, with on-demand and live TV streaming catering to specific markets.
Sports streaming is a good example of this, where most sports now have their own streaming service as well as live streaming. Kayo, for example, is a newer emerging app which caters for both on-demand and live TV streaming. As a multi-code app, you get access to over 50 sports including the more popular codes Australian Test cricket, AFL Premiership season, and NRL Premiership. Essentially we now have everything available at our fingertips.

Free catch up services

Free catch up services are provided by the individual television stations and give you the ability to watch shows that have recently run on their channels. Some examples are ABC iView, Freeview Plus, 7Plus, 9Now, 10Play and SBS on Demand.

Disney streaming on Stan in Australia

Disney streaming on Stan in Australia

Your Film and Television Favourites from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and Disney Channels to stream on Stan from Friday, December 14.

Stan today announced a deal with The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand which will bring some of Disney’s best live-action and animated films and TV programmes to the Australian streaming service this Friday, December 14.

Stan subscribers will be able to enjoy content from Disney’s biggest brands: Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and Disney Channels, in one place, and all at no extra cost. A line-up of Disney’s monster hits will be available on Stan this Friday, in time for the holidays.

The magic of Disney and Pixar on Stan includes enduring family favourites such as Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, Frozen, The Lion King, Cars and Cars 2, Monsters Inc. and Monsters University, Big Hero 6, The Incredibles, Up, Wall-E, the animated Beauty and The Beast, Maleficent, The Little Mermaid and the live-action Cinderella. These titles will feature alongside films from the past year including Coco and A Wrinkle in Time.

The partnership will also bring the mighty Marvel universe to Stan including this year’s blockbusters Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3, The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor and Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Ant-Man.

Fans of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars universe will be able to enjoy recent box office hits Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Alongside the movie collection will be a huge selection of Disney’s kids TV programming from Disney Channel and Disney Junior. Key titles include Disney Junior’s Sofia the First and The Lion Guard, and Disney Channel’s Tangled: The Series, Star Wars Rebels, Andi Mack and DuckTales.

Mike Sneesby, Stan’s CEO said “Disney is one of the most iconic entertainment brands globally and we are very proud to be partnering with them to bring a huge collection of their biggest live-action and animated films and TV programmes to our customers. With hits from across all their biggest franchises including Disney Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm as well as Disney Channels’ TV series and movies, the deal further illustrates Stan’s ongoing commitment to provide our customers with the world’s very best premium entertainment.”

Source: Stan Media Release, December 2018

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