Time is Running Out on 8K in the EU
In September we noted that new regulations in the EU, would forbid the sale of 8K and micro-KED TVs. The rules are not specifically targeting 8K or micro-LED TVs but set power consumption requirements that are based on the energy efficiency (EEI) of the device in order to improve the ecological and environmental impact of television usage in the EU. Based on a 2016 study, the Eu concluded that the energy consumption from such devices was 3% of the region’s total energy consumption, and that would grow (including monitors and digital signage) to nearly 100 TWh per year by 2030, or roughly 5 times the output of the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington, that services over 8m people in Arizona, Southern California, and Southern Nevada.
The regulation excludes projectors, medical displays, white boards, digital signage, and VR, and set the EEI based on a compilation of the power requirements of HD and UHD (4K) sets available between 2012 and 2017. They applied those findings to the higher resolution of 8K, however there is a problem with that logic. The pixel density of an 8K set is 2X that of a 4X set, meaning twice as many pixels must take up the same space, forcing each pixel to be smaller. Each sub-pixel is surrounded by a black mask that keeps light from reaching the driving electronic (which would cause transistors to stop functioning), however, the electronics that drive each sub-pixel (red, green, and blue) are basically the same size as those in 4K sets, as the same display backplane production infrastructure is used for both 4K and 8K sets. This means that the black mask for 8K pixels takes up more of the pixel and reduces each pixels’s brightness. In order to compensate, and make the 8K TV and bright as a 4K TV, the backlight must be brighter, which means it consumes more power.
No current 8K or micro-LED TV sets meet these requirements, and 8K proponents were hoping that the EU would meet again before the end of this year and revise the regulations. Unfortunately such a meeting has not been scheduled, which leaves only a few months next year for such a meeting, which, if held, might come to the same decision. As western Europe is only 16% smaller in terms of the sale of advanced (4K and 8K) TVs, even though the 8K market is still a small part of the overall advanced TV segment, it will have an impact on the plans of TV set brands until the issue is resolved. Creating the infrastructure to reduce the size of the electronics for 8K sets is likely a non-starter for most brands, so there seems to be no near-term alternative unless 8K advocates are able to convince the EU commission to postpone or change the new rules, if they can even get a meeting, so if you live in the EU and you are desperate for an 8K set, you have util March 31 to grab one…
The regulation excludes projectors, medical displays, white boards, digital signage, and VR, and set the EEI based on a compilation of the power requirements of HD and UHD (4K) sets available between 2012 and 2017. They applied those findings to the higher resolution of 8K, however there is a problem with that logic. The pixel density of an 8K set is 2X that of a 4X set, meaning twice as many pixels must take up the same space, forcing each pixel to be smaller. Each sub-pixel is surrounded by a black mask that keeps light from reaching the driving electronic (which would cause transistors to stop functioning), however, the electronics that drive each sub-pixel (red, green, and blue) are basically the same size as those in 4K sets, as the same display backplane production infrastructure is used for both 4K and 8K sets. This means that the black mask for 8K pixels takes up more of the pixel and reduces each pixels’s brightness. In order to compensate, and make the 8K TV and bright as a 4K TV, the backlight must be brighter, which means it consumes more power.
No current 8K or micro-LED TV sets meet these requirements, and 8K proponents were hoping that the EU would meet again before the end of this year and revise the regulations. Unfortunately such a meeting has not been scheduled, which leaves only a few months next year for such a meeting, which, if held, might come to the same decision. As western Europe is only 16% smaller in terms of the sale of advanced (4K and 8K) TVs, even though the 8K market is still a small part of the overall advanced TV segment, it will have an impact on the plans of TV set brands until the issue is resolved. Creating the infrastructure to reduce the size of the electronics for 8K sets is likely a non-starter for most brands, so there seems to be no near-term alternative unless 8K advocates are able to convince the EU commission to postpone or change the new rules, if they can even get a meeting, so if you live in the EU and you are desperate for an 8K set, you have util March 31 to grab one…
Countries in the EU - Source: Investopedia
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