LG and Samsung 'fight head to head' to compete for 'good' 8K TV standards

In the race between the two giants in the world's largest TV industry, LG surpassed Samsung and claimed the right to claim to be the first "8K Ultra HD" TV manufacturer in the world. by industry standards.

Specifically, this means that LG is the first company to use the 8K Ultra HD logo and definition according to the standards set by the American Consumer Technology Association (CTA), starting with the product line. "Real 8K TV" will be revealed at CES 2020.

The logo and definition were announced by CTA in September and are designed to help retailers as well as consumers accurately identify products that meet the 8K Ultra HD display quality standards. standard of television technology.

The full criteria for obtaining this certificate are quite numerous, including the need to have "at least 33 million positive pixels, with at least 7,680 horizontally and 4,320 vertically, in the aspect ratio." 16: 9 "image, as well as the ability to upscale (upgrade) from SD quality, HD Video and 4K to 8K.

These TVs must also have at least one HDMI input capable of supporting the aforementioned resolution as well as 10-bit color depth. But most especially for LG is that the display must meet the ability to regulate a minimum of 50% contrast using the 1x1 grid type.

There is an element of concern here which is the Contrast Modulation (CM) value. It is a method of measuring the "display resolution" of the screen, distinguishing between the number of pixels actually visible instead of the technical presence index. For example, there may be screens with display specifications of 7,680 x 4,320 pixels but that does not visually reflect such high resolution.

The CM measurement is set by another standard association - the International Display Metrology Commission (ICDM) - and is the ratio that compares the luminance of completely black and white lines with the width of a pixel. The higher the luminance of the white pixels and the lower the luminance of the black pixels, the better the CM measurement as a whole as a percentage. To meet the CTA definition of an 8K Ultra HD display, the product must achieve a percentage of at least 50%.

LG claims that its 2020 lineup, the Signature OLED 8K TV and the T8K NanoCell TV all provide CM values ​​within the 90% range, while "some other TVs in the industry" remain low. These results were confirmed by two third-party testing organizations, Intertek and VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker).

Technically, LG has reached this threshold, as they stated that their Real 8K TV line exceeded this standard in early September, even before CTA revealed its logo and definition. But now the third parties have tested and authenticated, so both LG and CTA have officially announced.

All of this seems like a clear win for LG. But unfortunately, it turned out that everything from now on was officially complicated. Because it is important that the CTA is not the only association to measure 8K standards. There is another organization called 8K Association (8K Association or 8KA), which also sets a minimum threshold for panel specifications and does not include CM values.

Interestingly, 8KA was founded in part by Samsung, LG's main rival, along with most of the other major panel manufacturers. Except for LG, which is not included in this organization.

And therefore, although Samsung products do not meet the CM standards provided by CTA, they certainly meet and exceed the standards set by 8KA. So, this is the time when the two giants in this segment of television began to argue with each other about the "8K" standards.

But regardless of the issue of standards, logos or methods of measurement, it's clear that the healthy competition between Samsung and LG will create some of the more impressive new TV technologies. But for consumers, we should listen to advertising and media messages from both companies carefully.

Refer to techradar