New EU efficiency regulations effectively banning sales of 8K TVs could have a massive ripple effect.
The European Union is about to ban most of the best TVs you can buy. And if you think that couldn’t affect you, think again.
When I first caught wind of these headlines, I was dismissive. But as I dug deeper, I realized this issue is not something at which we should simply shrug our shoulders. While it may seem like this issue will only affect consumers in the EU, it will likely have a ripple effect throughout multiple industries in many nations.
According to a detailed report by FlatpanelsHD, it appears no 8K as presently manufactured has an EEI low enough to pass the currently proposed standard. Some 65-inch 8K TVs are just over the line, while others would have to see their EEI cut in half in order to pass. It also appears, based on current EEI, numbers, that neither Samsung’s S95B QD-OLED or Sony’s A95K QD-OLED would pass, nor would Samsung’s QN95B 4K QLED TV.
Because 8K TVs necessarily need far more power just to be as bright as 4K TVs — let alone a bit brighter, as is expected of the premium TV category — significantly reducing 8K TV power consumption would require reinventing the LCD panel as we’ve known it for decades. That can’t happen overnight — if it can happen at all.
To stave off rampant returns, salespersons could warn their customers that when they get their TV home, they would need to go through a long list of instructions in order to make their TV look good. Still, it’s been my experience that getting new TV owners to adjust their picture settings at all has only ever been an uphill battle. From where I sit, an EU picture mode doesn’t sound like a real solution at all.