LG launches 8K OLED and questions Samsung’s 8K resolution in “Real 8K” campaign

LG are finally ready to bring 8K to the consumer with the “World’s First” 8K OLED TV launching in Australia in late September.

In addition to the flagship OLED there will be a NanoCell 8K too which is in stores now for $11,849.

The news of LG’s local 8K availability comes a year after Samsung first announced 8K in Berlin, however LG has immediately raised questions over Samsung’s true 8K resolution claims – using the term “Real 8K” in billboard marketing in Berlin.

It’s complex – and relies on a “respected International Committee for Display Metrology” the ICDM’s stringent standards for a “real 8K” experience.

Essentially, each pixel on an 8K TV should be distinguishable from the next – and each pixel should play a role in the picture being shown.

In a controlled test – setup by LG – I was able to use a magnifying glass to look at the actual pixels on an LG 8K TV, and a Samsung.

When showing a block green colour on screen – in varying levels of brightness, the LG display showed the same number of pixels, just dimmed based on the colour being shown.

On the Samsung, the pixel usage was very very different. Every second column of pixels was dimmed out.

To be fair to Samsung, this was not distinguishable at all to the naked eye in normal viewing.

However, up close, on a detailed photo or video, there was clear horizontal banding in the edges between dark and light.

Within LG’s global announcement of their 8K TVs, they do not ever mention Samsung, only pointing out that “As an emerging leader in 8K technology, LG’s 8K TVs also have the distinction of surpassing the resolution measurement criteria as set forth in the Information Display Measurements Standard (IDMS) established by the respected International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM).

This standard points out that the stated resolution of a display does not depend on only meeting or exceeding a specific number of pixels, but also depends on whether those pixels can be adequately distinguished from one another in order to deliver the stated resolution.

The ICDM has defined the Contrast Modulation (CM) measurement which describes accurately and quantitatively how distinguishable the neighbouring pixels are from each another. For any TV display to deliver the resolution indicated by its pixel count, the ICDM requires the minimum CM value to exceed a threshold of 25 percent for images and 50 percent for text. An 8K TV with a CM value that is lower than these required thresholds does not deliver real 8K, even though the TV may in fact have the sufficient number (7,680 x 4,320) of pixels. Tests performed in accordance with these universally-referenced industry standards resulted in both LG SIGNATURE OLED 8K and LG  NanoCell 8K achieving CM values in the 90 percent range, guaranteeing that viewers will be able to actually experience all of the additional detail in the 8K content when viewed on their LG 8K television“

Angus Jones from LG Australia drew on the claims when talking about their upcoming 8K release “For Aussies looking to invest in an 8K TV model, the wait was worth it,”

“At LG, we’re proud to offer Australians two 8K TV models that meet the IDMS Standard for 8K resolution displays. These TVs deliver what consumers would expect out of an 8K TV.”

No doubt this is not going to go down well across the road in Korea at Samsung’s HQ – and we expect comment in response very soon.

In the meantime, you’ll have to judge for yourself when you get to see them in-stores.