Hisense has rejoined the 8K Association that it previously co-founded in order to promote the wider adoption of 8K resolution content.
The Chinese TV brand helped to create the 8K Association in 2019, in order to team up with other companies to try and present a united front and convince the content-making industry to adopt 8K resolution as a basic standard. However, the company quietly dropped out of the association when it became clear that 8K wasn’t really appealing to most consumers.
Now though, Hisense reportedly wants to rejoin the likes of Samsung Electronics, Panasonic, Philips and TCL and help kickstart a renewed push to building out the 8K ecosystem.
"We are eager to contribute to the 8K ecosystem and collaborate with other industry leaders to accelerate the integration of 8K technology into the home entertainment experience," said David Gold, President of Hisense Americas and Hisense USA.
After launching their first 8K TVs with much fanfare last decode, most TV brands have scaled back their 8K ambitions as a result of consumers’ lukewarm reception to the idea. Some have stopped making 8K TV models, while others are only releasing one or two per year. For instance, neither Sony nor TCL launched an 8K set in 2023 and 2024, having previously always released at least one such model each year. Meanwhile, Panasonic and Philips have not even launched one 8K TV so far, arguing that the market is not ready for these models.
They do have a good point. 8K resolution content remains extremely hard to come by, with very few filmmakers bothering to shoot their movies in the higher resolution. Moreover, none of the major video streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney, produce any 8K content.
LG Electronics has never been a member of the 8K Association, though it has released a few 8K OLED models in the past.
Samsung Electronics remains the most committed brand towards 8K, and has generally launched several 8K models each year, although in 2024 it has reduced its lineup by excluding the Samsung QN700 series.
The 8K Association’s aim is to convince movie and TV show makers to change their stance through a series of standardization efforts, certification programs, promotional campaigns, consumer education programs and more. Besides the TV makers, other companies, including MediaTek, NovaTek, IMAX, Google, Amazon and Intel are also members of the Association.
