September 09, 2019
SK Telecom and Samsung reckon we need 8K TV over 5G
Korean tech giant Samsung has teamed up with compatriot operator SK Telecoms to develop what they claim will be the world’s first 5G 8K TV.
On one level this should just be as simple as whacking a 5G modem into an 8K telly, but there seems to be more to it than that, hence the announcement. SK Telecom says that only when it applies mobile edge computing and network-based media processing to its 5G network will it be able to achieve seamless transmission of 8K video. The fact that those sorts of technologies are in the 5G roadmap anyway is beside the point.
Which brings us to the likely real reason for this announcement: to generate positive publicity for both companies. 5G has long been in danger of being a technological solution in search of a problem and the same could certainly be said of 8K video, in a world that is still trying to work out whether it sees much value in 4K.
“The 5G-8K TV is the culmination of ultra-low latency 5G networks combined with ultra-high definition TV technology,” said Park Jin-hyo, CTO and Head of ICT R&D Center at SK Telecom. “5G technology will help make the world of hyper media a reality.” Hyper media seems to refer to telly augmented by all kinds of other internet gimmickry.
5G and 8k Definition Content – Recipe For Disaster For Employers
We’ve already commented on the impact of 8K resolution in terms of cellular bandwidth (4K is 7gb / hour and we estimate that 8k will be at LEAST twice as bad).
Imagine your employee hot-spotting to their TV or just simul-casting using their built in device capabilities to the Flat Screen:
- YouTube content
- Netflix
- Favouriite sports team in their sporting app
We have been seeing for years extreme hotspot usage. Now combine this with cord cutting (which has been a trend for the last 24 months – it’s going to get quite extreme quite quickly for employers!
SK Telecom and Samsung reckon we need 8K TV over 5G
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