The annual Value Electronics TV shootout has been held every year but one since 2004 and we've been covering the event since 2011. The premise is simple: assemble the top performing TVs in one room, have them professionally calibrated for peak performance and feed them with the most challenging test patterns, stills and video clips to see which one has the best picture quality. The winner earns the title of the "King of TV" for that year.
This year, the event has been broken into two parts: the 4K TV Shootout happened yesterday (September 30, 2023) and the 8K TV Shootout is happening today. You can check out the results of the 4K Shootout here:
> Best 4K TV Revealed in 2023 TV Shootout
Samsung, Sony and LG 8K TVs on display at the 2023 TV Shootout in Manhattan on October 1, 2023.
Every time there is an advancement in picture quality standards, there are the same objections: "What we have is good enough!" and "There's no content!" and "It's just a gimmick to sell more TVs!" And while all of these things may be true to an extent, there are those who want the best and the best right now -- as far as picture detail goes -- is 8K resolution (7680 x 4320 pixels).
Just as 4K has four times the picture detail of 1080p High Def, so 8K has four times the resolution of 4K. And while there is practically no content available now in 8K resolution, 8K TVs can upconvert existing standard definition, high definition and Ultra High Definition 4K content to the TV's native 8K resolution, producing a more realistic and detailed image. This is particularly important on today's oversized TV screens.
So while 8K resolution may be overkill for most TV buyers today, it's worth taking a look at the state of that art in TV technology for those who want to own "the best."
While the 4K TV Shootout assembled six high performance TVs from five brands representing three distinct technologies, the 8K field is a bit narrower with just three models competiting for the crown: one OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) TV and two MiniLED TVs.
As the testing progressed, it was like "deja vu all over again." Similar to the 4K shootout yesterday, the 8K OLED TV impressed attendees and judges with its inky deep black levels. It's impossible to overstate the importance of a dark black canvas on which to build an image of bright saturated colors. This contrast between light and dark colors gives the OLED image a punchy almost three dimensional realism that is difficult for other technologies to match. While the MiniLED TVs did produce pleasing - and very bright - images, they weren't quite able to capture the deep dark blacks of the OLED. This led to the OLED TV scoring higher than the MiniLED TVs in several key performance areas, including shadow detail, uniformity and color accuracy.
The LG placed first overall in both the SDR and HDR categories. The Sony placed second overall taking the top scores for motion resolution and peak brightness (High APL) in the HDR tests. Overall, considering that the LG OLED is nearly twice the price of the two MiniLED/LCD sets, each set performed well and offer a solid choice for those who want to be ready for the next generation of Ultra HD content.
Thanks go out to Robert Zohn from Value Electronics for including us in the festivities and to Dealerscope for hosting the event.
