The 2022 TV Shootout is in full swing. Yesterday we saw the top performing 4K TVs compete for the title of King of 4K TV for 2022. Today the judges are looking at three of the top performing 8K TVs to crown an 8K King. As is customary at the shootout, all models have been professionally calibrated for their top performance, and all models are being fed a variety of content at the same time so the judges (and journalists) can see how each model performs compared to the others. For color reference, Sony's BVMHX310 Professional Broadcast Monitor ($35,000) is also on display. The BVMHX310 is a dual cell LCD monitor which is considered the industry reference for color accuracy.
The TVs under consideration for this year's 8K TV Shootout were:
Over the course of several hours, the three 8K sets were hit with a number of test patterns, stills and video clips. The judging was broken up into three categories: SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) Day Mode, SDR Reference Mode and HDR Reference Mode, each focusing on different areas of picture performance. Unlike yesterday, when the 4K TVs were judged, today the event organizers led with the highest quality content - native 8K HDR video clips - so we could see what these beasts were really capable of, right out of the gate.
On 8K content, all of the sets created gorgeous (and enormous) images, though there was certainly some variation among the contenders. On bright images with high peak luminance, the LCD sets (Sony and Samsung) were a bit brighter, but the unifomity of the brightness, was better on the LG OLED set. This was particularly visible at the edges of the screen where the LCD sets had some darker areas where they shouldn't have been. Perceived detail was also clearly superior on the LG TV, though the LCD sets were no slouch there as well.
SDR Day Mode tested the TVs using standard definition and high definition content with some lights on in the room. These tests were designed to show how well these TVs handle less-than-perfect content as we'd currently see on OTA TV channels, cable and satellite broadcasts. The lights were left on to represent how most people actually watch TV at home. Tests included upscaling performance, peak Lumens and Motion/DSE. The overall winner of SDR Day Mode was Sony with an 8.0. The LG placed second with a 7.6 and the Samsung placed 3rd with a 7.3.
Moving on to SDR Reference Mode, tests here included higher quality content in a darkened room. This is more indicative of the content you'd get from high quality streaming services and Blu-ray Discs. The room lights are kept dark here to see how the TVs perform in a more ideal viewing environment. Here the judges were looking at black level/shadow detail, color accuracy (including skin tones) and motion resolution. The winner in this category was was LG with an overall score of 8.6. The Sony followed with a score of 7.7 and the Samsung was third with a score of 7.5.
The final section of testing (HDR Reference Mode) looked at Ultra HD content with High Dynamic Range. HDR content really puts a set through its paces as it includes scenes mastered with extreme differences of color and white luminance (brightness) on screen, sometimes at the same time. As part of the HDR Reference Mode tests, the TVs were fed HDR signals that exceeded their native HDR capability. Most TVs reach peak brightness levels of somewhere around or near 1000 nits. So if these TVs receive HDR content that is supposed to peak at 4,000 nits, they need to include some sort of processing to handle that. The process of mapping this HDR content into the brightness available to each specific TV is called "tone mapping" and some TVs handle that better than others.
Tests in this category included Black level/shadow detail, Peak Lumens, Color accuracy/skin tones, Color saturation/color volume, motion resolution, UHD Detail/Sharpness, High APL (Average Picture Level) as well as 4,000-nit tone mapping. In the HDR Reference Mode tests, The LG OLED took top honors with a composite score of 8.5 out of 10. Samsung and Sony tied for second place with composite scores of 7.7.
So the final results of the 2022 8K TV Shootout placed the LG Z2 OLED in first place with a composite score of 8.3 out of 10. The Sony TV came in second with 7.8. and the Samsung TV placed third with an overall score of 7.6. These are pretty close results, particularly considering the large price difference between the third place Samsung TV ($7,999.99) and the winning TV the LG Z2 OLED ($24,999.99).
The real question is whether an investment in 8K TVs makes sense, particularly considering the lack of 8K content. You can find a fair amount of 8K content on YouTube. You can also generate your own 8K content on certain digital cameras and even high-end phones. But there really isn't a lot of professional 8K content out there now, nor will there be for some time. Of course, existing Blu-rays, UltraHD Blu-rays, streaming sources and broadcast TV sources should look better on an 8K display. As flagship TVs, these sets include each company's best video processing and hardware. So if you pony up the big bucks, you can expect to be getting the best each company can offer. Also, there are those who want "the best there is" and the bragging rights that this investment carries. So for those with the wherewithal to purchase a $25,000 TV, the 88-inch LG Z2 8K OLED TV currently represents the best of the best.
Overall, the 2022 TV shootout was another great event, thanks to hosts Value Electronics and Dealerscope and MC Caleb Denison of Digital Trends. We're already looking forward to next year's Shootout.
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