Reyes Highlights 8K Progress in 2024 at Seville Event
Juan Reyes, Executive Director of the 8K Association gave a presentation at the 4K HDR Summit which took place from 11th to 14th November in Seville. After introducing himself, he summarized the current state of the 8K ecosystem and the 2025 highlights as well as the road ahead.
The 8K Association builds advocacy for 8K among enthusiasts while helping consumers by certifying products and helping with issues of interoperability. The Association has members in all parts of the ecosystem from content capture to delivery. In 2024, Reyes talked about the challenges, but this year he focused on the significant developments and growth in 2025.
There has been a big boost in the number of content creators that have shown content this year in 8K for the first time. The Association released a significant White Paper (downloadable here) that sets out the science and business cases behind 8K. The group also launched its 8K Projector Specification and Certification program in 2025. The development of certification is important for consumer protection (for example, during the move to 4K TV, some unscrupulous set makers supplied sets with 4K panels but with just 2K electronics).
New 8K Certification in 2025
The Certification program covers not only resolution but also important image quality aspects such as brightness, contrast, wide color gamut and HDR as well as upscaling to support legacy content. It also includes immersive audio to ensure consumers get a truly immersive experience. The Association has a number of members that make projectors so it made sense to work together to create a program.
The 8K Association (8KA) also developed an 8K Set Top Box specification with input from members of the Association’s Technical Working Group.
Lots of ShowsÂ
The Association went to CES in 2025 and there was a display of the first 8K certified projector. At ISE in Barcelona, BZB Gear, an 8K member showed gaming in 8K as well as 8K distribution.
In Las Vegas, at NAB the 8KA had its own booth and showed what we believe to be a world first, live gaming in 8K at 120Hz. The demo really turned the heads of passers by that were familiar with PC gaming. The Association also showed the 8KA’s ‘sizzle reel’.
As part of NAB, the group held a panel session with Warner Bros and IMAX. The companies talked about the importance of scanning legacy content in the highest resolution to maximize the opportunity for new formats and to protect what is often delicate film stock. The use of scanned film is helping to develop the level of 8K content available.
Display Week was held in San Jose and at that event, which the 8KA attended and covered the paper presented that showed the need for higher resolution.
CEDIA 2025 Sees 8K Pavilion
In Denver, at the CEDIA show, the 8KA had a major highlight with the 8K Pavilion, supported by 18 companies that took part, from content creation to cameras, technology, delivery and display. There were a number of demos including 2001: A Space Odyssey (Warner Bros), West Side Story (MGM) and Chapter 51 (IMAX), all in true 8K and impressing all that saw them. There was also 8K 120fps capture using a new camera as well as more 8K gaming. The Warner Bros/IMAX panel really excited attendees as they explained why they use 8K, even though it costs more.
At IBC, Reyes spoke on a panel about the 8K viewing experience as part of a look ahead at future TV technologies. He also attended the SMPTE Media Technology Summit in Pasadena, California. The panel covered the development of new 8K 120Hz and 240Hz cameras.
Reyes summarized some of the recent news about 8K including new cameras from Panasonic, Red Digital and DJI, the new HDMI 2.2 version that supports up to 8K 240Hz and the announcement by Warner Bros that they had scanned more than 30 movies in 8K.
So, there is a lot going on, Reyes concluded, as companies work to develop products and services throughout the ecosystem. A lot of work is going on with new codecs to bring the bitrate of 8K down to where 4K was not long ago. The consumers are not just getting more pixels, they are getting better and more immersive experiences. The 8KA is continuing and will continue to promote the development of the ecosystem.
Question Time
There was a question about AI in 8K and Reyes highlighted that AI is already being used to take HD and 4K content up to match and exploit 8K displays. AI is also being used in archiving and clean up processes when film is being scanned.Â
The moderator highlighted the challenges of getting both content and technology available at the same time. This happened in 4K and is the same in 8K, as Reyes acknowledged. However, the better 8K production capabilities in cameras and scanners are helping to develop the ecosystem.
