The 8K Association has published an updated performance specification with new decoding requirements to promote broader 8K streaming availability, new image quality metrics and a game mode for the 8K Association Certified mark program.
TV shoppers looking for 8K televisions will benefit from the new certification requirements, which will be applied to 8K TVs that launch this year. Eighty models to date are certified, the association said.
The association also is pioneering use of Ambient Contrast Ratio (ACR) to help ensure a good picture in various ambient lighting conditions. The 8K Associations ACR Test measures the reflectivity of a TV with a test pattern in both bright and dim illumination conditions and sets levels for performance in each case that the TV must pass, it said.
At the moment, passing the ACR spec is optional for certification. However, association members are required to provide data so the association can optimize pass-fail criteria for the future, said K.G. Lee, chair of the association’s technology work group.
“Using ACR as a metric allows us to better manage the experience of viewers in different ambient light conditions that we all have in the home, noted Pete Sellar, chair of the association’s certification work group. “These and other efforts we are putting into developing of Certified Specification should give consumers confidence that 8K Certified TVs support the latest developments in TV viewing.”
The new specification’s gaming mode requirement includes support for Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) via the HDMI 2.1 interface.
The association also announced new members, including: Prime Video; 4By4 Inc., a Korea-based visual technology company that produces 8K demo and promotional video and manages the KEYCUTstock platform to license video clips up to 8K resolution; UL (underwriter Laboratory), which currently is being audited to become an 8K Association-certified test lab to measure 8K TVs for its logo program; and TV manufacturer Changhong, which has rejoined the organization.
More information is available on the association’s website.
