How to play true 8K
This is the age of streaming. However some of you out there are actual videophiles and we know you would rather have your movies on physical media, so it makes sense to imagine that 8K Blu-ray discs are in the works.
Right now, Kaleidescape and Ultra HD Blu-ray are the two best way to get 4K movies for 4K TVs, but movie/video experts know that there isn’t much of a selection. 4K releases from the major studios aren’t always true 4K. For example, Marvel Studio’s Avengers Infinity War was shot in 2K and then scaled up to 4K. There are very few true 8K movie grade cameras right now. If you’re a filmmaker check out the lineup from RED.
The problem with physical media is delivery, or, how to get the movie to you. One, triple-layer Blu-ray 3.0 disc has a capacity of about 100GB. This is simply not enough for an 8K movie unless it’s been highly compressed. You see, raw 8K footage clocks in at 121.5 GB per minute. That makes 1 hour’s worth of movie 7.29 TB file. Adding metadata like high-dynamic range and deeper color depth will only make for even larger digital files. Don’t even get me started on immersive audio.
The studios need to figure out & agree upon the compression algorithms and the media. Once they do that there will be 8K movies delivered to discerning clientele. Did you know Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was the first major Hollywood film shot at the higher resolution? Don’t get too excited. Studios do that so they can crop, pan and zoom in post with greater ease, throwing away pixels in the process. The final deliverables from most studios are still only 4K or less.
So, right now, it doesn’t look like there is anyway to get true 8K on your 8K TV. If you just purchased an 8K television, don’t despair. It probably still looks better than any other TV out there because of intelligent, on-board, upscaling. There are other benefits too, like better HDR. Check out this flagship 8K from Sony.
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