8K TV ban in the EU may halt the market in Brazil – 05/23/2023 – Tech

8K TV ban in the EU may halt the market in Brazil – 05/23/2023 – Tech


The sale of 8K TVs has been banned in the European Union since March 1, 2023. The measure should redesign the market for electronics giants. And this may partially affect the availability of the product in Brazil, according to specialists consulted by UOL Tilt.

Despite the determination being imposed only on the countries that are part of the bloc, other places may suffer from the slowdown in the production of 8K televisions due to the fact that manufacturing is standardized on a global scale to reduce production costs for companies.

The regulation banning the sale of 8K TVs in the European Union was announced in October last year as part of a sustainable consumption policy in the region, in addition to being a strategy to deal with the energy crisis.

8K TVs consume more energy than older technology models. The maximum power consumption level for all TVs should now be up to 90W (for 4K TVs). 8K models consume 190W.

Now, electronics must contain a QR Code that will direct the consumer to information on how much energy that device consumes, based on the new established limits. As a comparison, in Brazil the reference for the consumer is the Procel seal, which ranges from range A (more economical) to G (less economical).

“The positive side of this is that the world will take the planet’s sustainability problems more and more seriously. But on the negative side, I see the delay in having very high resolution and large size equipment meeting these standards”, says Hani Camille Yehia, professor at the electronic engineering department at UFMG.

What does Brazil have to do with it?

The 8K Association, an entity that represents the electronics giants that manufacture 8K devices in the world, says that the amount of watts allowed by the European Union makes the production of 8K televisions for the continent unfeasible because the characteristics of the devices make it exceed this limit.

“This will have a very chilling effect on everyone working to develop the 8K ecosystem,” the 8K Association said in a statement. No current 8K TV can meet this EU-mandated level of energy efficiency, it added. That is, the equipment would need to be suitable for commercialization.

For professor Hani Camille Yehia, companies even have the ability to adapt within this scenario over time. However, the sector of very high resolution TVs must suffer delays in its advances. “Electronic appliances cost less if manufactured on a large scale. At first, it may even increase the value [diante dessa nova regra da UE].”

José Gabriel Gomes, a professor at the electronic engineering department at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), agrees. He claims that the Brazilian market should be partially affected by the reduction in the supply of 8K TV models.

“TCL and LG have one or two models on sale in Brazil. Samsung, in turn, should maintain the planned launches in 8K in Brazil, as it has the capacity to adapt to new circumstances”, he says.

What the manufacturers say

Sought after, Samsung, TV sales leader in Brazil, said that the launches of the brand’s 8K models in 2023 are confirmed. Nothing will change at the moment, even with the decision of the European Union.

“Samsung has a consolidated structure in Brazil and local production, which makes it possible to adapt to market needs”, said Alexandre Gleb, TV manager at Samsung Brazil.

For Europe, Gleb added that, in order to adapt to the new rules, televisions on the continent are sold in Eco mode, “where the brightness of the panel is controlled in compliance with the rule for limiting energy consumption”.

“This made the company already consider so that globally the entire production of the next models, also follow the same format”, he added.

Semp TCL reported that “the new rules impact the production of 8K televisions worldwide, since the panel industry follows a global production model and not specific by region or country”.

“We will not have launches of TVs with 8K resolution in Brazil in 2023. Our big bet for this year is on a portfolio with options in models that contain QLED Mini LED panel technology and 4K resolution, which offer superior image quality, with more zones lighting, brightness level, contrast and color depth”, commented Nikolas Corbacho, product manager at Semp TCL Brasil.

Tilt also consulted LG, which also manufactures televisions in Brazil, but the companies did not respond to questions. Panasonic said it stopped producing televisions in 2021.

Why 8K consumes more power

The explanation lies in the total amount of dots on the screen to form an image, called pixels.

For better resolution, 8K is 7,680 pixels wide and 4,320 pixels high, a total of 33,177,600 pixels. 4K TVs are 3,840 pixels wide and 2,160 pixels tall, a total of 8,294,400 pixels.

With more pixels needed for the screen, 8K TVs are marketed from 55 inches, while 4K has initial models of 32 inches. The result of this is more energy consumption.

“The larger the screen size, the greater the energy consumption. This is intuitive. Generally, 8K televisions, in addition to the number of pixels, have screens with more lights, consuming more”, explains Hani Camille.

So why not do 8K with smaller screens? Respondents say that the resolution requires larger inches for the consumer to notice the difference compared to the others.

“You can only realize that a resolution is 8K when the screen is large. An 8K TV below 55 inches does not make sense”, emphasizes Hani Camille.

Should I buy an 8K TV? better wait

Fábio Gonçalves Jota, retired professor of electronic engineering at UFMG, warns that consumers may wait a little longer to buy an 8K TV for two reasons.

The first is to find out whether televisions will be affected by the European measure.

With certain tricks, it is possible for companies to adjust the 8K TV in such a way that its economic mode does not spend more than allowed, but this would give such a huge restriction on its quality that it would not be worth having it. Fabio Jota, UFMG

The other reason is the offer of content in 8K.

In Brazil, for example, there are no audiovisual productions in this resolution. In football broadcasts, a “guinea pig” for audiovisual innovations in the country, the Brasileirão has only had one game per round in 4K since this year, still restricted to SporTV and Globoplay subscribers.

Even if you have an 8K TV, you won’t have anything to show because there are very few products in the resolution. A lot of people buy it because they want to always be in fashion, they are consumer items. Fábio Jota, professor at UFMG



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