IHS Charts Demand for 8K Sets

ENGLEWOOD: The number of 8K TV sets shipped worldwide will approach 1 million by 2019, IHS predicts, up from about 2,700 this year.

The planned use of 8K technology in Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo should spur this increased demand, IHS observes. In 2019, almost 80 percent of the 911,000 8K set shipments worldwide will have a 65-inch screen.

“The biggest inhibitor to the growth of 8K TV will be consumer screen size preferences,” said Paul Gray, principal analyst for IHS. “8K requires a very large screen or the higher resolution becomes invisible at normal viewing distances. The average screen size in the TV market has grown by an inch each year over the past decade, but it is still a long haul before sizes over 70 inches become commonplace.”

Gray added, “We can be confident that a combination of enhanced local panel production and consumers eager for the latest technology will make China the driving factor in 8K television growth."