The 5 best 8K TVs of 2022: Future-proof your home theater

With 4K TVs on the market and mainstream for the better part of a decade, a full array of brands like LG, Sony, Samsung, and even TCL are starting to take the next step in home entertainment by releasing 8K TVs. An 8K TV gives you four times the resolution of a 4K model and 16 times that of a 1080p HD TV, ensuring that you get truly stunning details, contrast, and colors to enhance and future-proof your home theater. 

Since native 8K content isn’t available for streaming or broadcast yet and probably won’t be for the next few years, you’ll still get a lot of value with your new TV’s upscaling capabilities, which make everything from the hottest Marvel blockbusters to old Hollywood classics look amazing. And if you’re a console gamer who has managed to buy an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, both Microsoft and Sony have stated that their consoles will be able to support native 8K gaming in the future. So, if you’re willing to dig deep to get the TV of your dreams, an 8K TV is a great way to ensure that your gaming space can keep up with whatever current and future console generations have in store.

To help you find the best fit for your budget, space, and entertainment needs, I’ve gathered five of the best 8K TVs available to buy right now. I’ve broken down their features so you can find a TV that’s almost tailor-made for you.

Also: Best TV 2022: Budget-friendly to big-screen opulence

Screen size: 75 or 85 inches | HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10 | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Panel type: LED | Audio: Dolby Atmos, DTS Digital Surround 

If audio quality is your top priority when shopping for an 8K TV, look no further than the Sony Z9J. This model uses Sony’s Acoustic multi-audio technology, which places specially designed tweeters and subwoofers, along with regular speakers, around the edge of the television. This not only creates near-perfect audio and video synching, it also allows the sound to follow the on-screen action for a more immersive experience. And with support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS Digital Surround, you’ll get room-filling virtual surround sound without the need to set up extra soundbars or speakers. The Z9J supports both AirPlay2 and Chromecast, so you can share music (as well as videos and photos) right from your iOS and Android mobile devices for more ways to entertain family and friends. And with the voice-enabled remote, you can use Google Assistant, Alexa, or even Siri for hands-free controls.

Pros:

• Screen mirroring
• Object tracking sound
• Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support

Cons:

• Alexa requires smart speaker to use with TV
• Expensive

Screen size: 65 inches | HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10 | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Panel type: LED | Audio: Dolby Atmos 

Since 8K TVs are still fairly new technology, they tend to be on the high end of expensive. But the 65-inch LG NanoCell 99 Series has established itself as the most affordable on the market, it retails comfortably under $2,000. It’s built with a 4th generation a9 processor that’s enabled with AI-assisted sound and picture processing. This means that the LED TV automatically analyzes music, movies, and shows to adjust picture and audio settings for the best, most immersive experience possible. The integrated speakers work with Dolby Atmos for virtual, 3D surround sound while the 8k screen itself has support for Dolby Vision for enhanced color, contrast, and details. There is a dedicated game mode that automatically lowers input lag and improves response times for smoother gameplay and faster reactions to inputs, while AirPlay 2 support lets you share media from your iOS mobile devices. The voice-enabled remote works with both Google Assistant and Alexa for hands-free controls, and the suite of preloaded apps includes Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu, so you can get started streaming your favorite shows and movies right out of the box.

Pros:

• Under $2,000
• Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support
• AI-assisted sound and image processing

Cons:

• No VRR support
• No Apple Homekit support

Screen size: 75 inch | HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10 | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Panel type: ULED | Audio: Dolby Atmos 

If you’re in the market for a bigger screen, the 75-inch Hisense 8K TV is a great option. It has plenty of screen real estate for you to appreciate the ultra-detailed images that 8K resolution can create; and with support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10, you’ll get enhanced color and contrast as well. This TV is capable of producing up to 1,000 nits of brightness, meaning you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite shows and movies in almost any lighting environment. And with 180 local dimming zones, you’ll get near-perfect blacks that rival what you’d find in OLED models from LG, Sony, and Samsung. The TV runs on the Roku platform, giving you access to thousands of streaming service apps right out of the box. And since Roku keeps your most-used apps and connected devices in a single, simplified home menu, you won’t have to worry about navigating confusing menus or memorizing HDMI input names to play video games, catch up on news and sports, or finally watch that movie everyone is talking about. The Roku TV remote is voice-enabled and works with both Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free controls, and it also has a “find my remote” feature that makes the remote play a noise so that you can quickly retrieve it from between the couch cushions or from under that mountain of laundry.

Pros:

• Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support
• Voice controls
• “Find my remote” feature
• Great screen brightness and picture quality

Cons:

• No AirPlay or Chromecast support

It’s hard to beat what the Samsung QN900B offers. Built with Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K TV panel, it delivers stunning picture quality. And with its bezel-free design, you receive true edge-to-edge picture, creating a viewing experience that’s hard to match, yet each of the 8K TVs making our list also offer some exceptional qualities, as demonstrated in this table:

Once you’ve recovered from the sticker shock and settled on a budget, the most important factor to consider when shopping for a new 8K TV is what core features they offer to meet your entertainment needs. If you’re a console gamer, a dedicated gaming mode that supports variable refresh rates, automatically lowers input lag and response times, and allows you to monitor framerate on the fly is what you need the most. If you’ve cut the cord and moved exclusively to streaming your content, a preloaded suite of popular apps like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu is almost required, along with WiFi or Ethernet connectivity to download others like Spotify and YouTube.

Aside from image resolution, I chose a variety of 8K TVs with different screen sizes, feature packages, and price points. Since 8K televisions are still quite expensive, I did my best to choose models that offered the best value for the money by providing features that you’ve come to expect for home entertainment: preloaded apps, voice controls, HDR support, and dedicated gaming modes.

This question is a bit complicated to answer. Since native 8K content isn’t available yet for streaming or broadcast (and probably won’t be for a few years yet), you won’t be able to get the most out of your new, very expensive TV just yet. However, if you’re a console gamer who has managed to get your hands on an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5, both Microsoft and Sony have stated that their consoles are capable of supporting native and upscaled 8K graphics; though the feature isn’t “unlocked” at this time, it seems to be in the works for the near future. Televisions capable of native 8K resolution are still relatively new technology, and therefore still very expensive; often retailing well over $3,000 for a 65-inch screen. But if you want peace of mind that you won’t have to upgrade your TV for at least seven to 10 years, it’s a worthy investment.

While I can’t speak to specifics, since I can’t know what engineers at LG, Sony, and Samsung are up to, I can take a few educated guesses. First off: developing an OLED panel that is capable of native and upscaled 8K resolution is going to take a lot of time and money. And since 8K TVs haven’t quite taken off yet with the average shopper, it probably isn’t an attractive investment of money, manpower, and resources just yet. Second: an OLED 8K TV would be astronomically expensive. 

The average price for a 65-inch 4K OLED TV is about $2,165, while the average price of current LED 8K televisions is $3,083. And this is after several years of being on the market and giving shoppers time to get familiar with the technology. So if a 65-inch 8K OLED TV were to hit the market, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect to pay $10,000 or better to get one. And while there are certainly people out there with deep enough pockets, there wouldn’t be enough buyers willing to pay that to offset production costs.

Yes and no. On the average 55- or 65-inch screen, you wouldn’t really be able to see any noticeable improvement in detailing, contrast or color. But with 85-inch and above, you’ll start to see the finer details, more vibrant colors, and enhanced contrast. This is because 8K has four times the pixels of 4K and 16 times that of 1080p, so the pixel density is greater in any given screen size. So 55- and 65-inch 8K models would run the risk of looking fuzzy and muddled by trying to cram tens of millions of pixels into a smaller space. The biggest noticeable difference between 4K and 8K televisions is their native refresh rates; 4K models tend to tap out at 120Hz while 8K TVs can push upwards of 144Hz or even 240Hz with specialized processing software.

Unfortunately, there aren’t very many 8K TVs on the market right now, but here are a few extras I thought were great choices:

Article source: https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/home-entertainment/best-8k-tv/#ftag=RSSbaffb68