Changhong Reports 8K TV Developments in China
Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd. is better known as Changhong and has been a TV maker for many years. The company was ranked in the top ten TV makers in the world by market research company DiScien in Q2 2021. Most of its sales are in China, so to get an idea of what is happening in that market with 8K, we contacted the firm’s Lei Du, who brought us up to date. The firm joined the 8K Association last year.
Q. How are 8K sales going for Changhong?
A. Our sales of the existing D8K series launched last year have been going very well. We are now developing new sets that will be ready at the end of 2022, and we are very optimistic that those sets will continue with that success.
Q. How is 8K content developing in China and elsewhere?
A. Changhong can confirm the development trend to 8K in China and other parts of the world. We believe that eventually, 8K will replace both 4K and 2K as the primary viewing format in content and hardware. We have made a lot of effort to promote 8K in China, and we see critical developments on the content side. Chinese content providers, such as CCTV, Tencent and IQiyi, are all launching 8K live channels, and the increased access to 8K content will promote the popularity of 8K display hardware.
Recent local government actions are helping these developments in better hardware in China to promote the sale of more home appliances by subsidising their purchase. We would welcome more actions by the 8K Association in communicating about 8K in China.
Q. Where do you see the main opportunity for 8K sets?
A. There is no doubt that it is in the large-size TV set market that the benefits of the improved 8K resolution are most clearly seen. The markets adopting it most quickly are in 75” and 75”+ sizes. The larger sizes also help the sets to be more efficient by having bigger pixels, reducing the amount of waste heat produced by the set. Currently, our largest set is 86”, but we are planning to go to even bigger sizes, with 110” sets on our roadmap for the second half of 2022. That will mean that our entire range will include 55”, 65“, 75”, 86”, 100” and 110” 8K sets.
Q. Do you see a variation in frame rates being needed for 8K?
A. At the moment, we believe that 60Hz is the optimum refresh at 8K. For now, there is a significant cost increase to go to 120Hz, and there is not so much content available. That means that 120Hz 8K may not be the best deal for consumers at the moment. However, we believe that the cost of 120Hz technology will come down, which will also encourage more content – so we hope to get into a virtuous circle of more content and cheaper hardware.
Thanks, Lei Du of Changhong
