8K Association will holds talks on content and hardware at the CEDIA Expo.

8K is a universal standard established under the International Telecommunications Union’s UHD-2 recommendation (ITU R-BT.2020-1) and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ (SMPTE) ST 2036-1 standard.

The 8K standard is also supported by HDMI Licensing, LLC, the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA), the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) and NHK.

Publishers and distributors are expanding their ranges of content released while commercial clients, including theatres, sport facilities, retail and corporate entities, are deploying 8K to meet expectations.

“Our goal at CEDIA Expo is to showcase how 8K technology provides a more immersive and super-realistic viewing experience and delivers a powerful ‘wow’ factor that goes far beyond the reach of conventional 4K,” 8K Association executive director Juan Reyes says.

“Additionally, 8K is the first home entertainment platform that combines the best of the latest AI innovations, making it ideal for the CI channel.”

The shift to immersive and realistic 8K technology offers potential for AV specialists and custom integrators.

“There are certain things that humans cannot unsee because when we experience the next new thing, our expectations change forever,” CEDIA Expo/CIX group vice president and show director Jason McGraw says.

“This occurred when 1080p HD essentially replaced 720p, when 4K replaced 1080p, and it’s now happening as 8K emerges as the new threshold for excellence. It’s beginning to have a compelling impact on gaming, sports, entertainment and commercial applications.”