8K Association, Unlike UHDA, ‘Just Narrowly Focused on 8K,’ Says Samsung Point Man

By comparison, the UHD Alliance, for which Schinasi is spokesperson, “is very diverse,” he said. “Its membership is very diverse,” it packs consumer “educational aspects” into its mission, and its certification logo program is “very broad, it’s not just on displays,” he said.

UHDA members believe “we still have a lot of work to do in 4K,” said President Mike Fidler. Though the 4K TV market was up strongly in 2018, interoperability among devices remains an issue, and “we have to continue to develop the infrastructure,” he said. Though 8K Association founding companies Hisense, Panasonic, Samsung and TCL are also UHDA members, Fidler sees little likelihood of the groups working together anytime soon, he said. “We still have so much left on our plate on 4K,” he said. “The overall markets are still developing.”

Members of UHDA view image resolution as “a very small part of the overall equation,” said Fidler. “It’s a very visible part, but our effort’s really on HDR, wide color gamut, 10-bit, immersive audio.” UHDA’s messaging to consumers is, “get the full experience,” he said. “And so we’re not focused on resolution being the only driving element in what a display could deliver.”

The broadcaster outreach continues that UHDA launched at the NAB Show to promote HDR and other Ultra HD deployments, including through ATSC 3.0 adoption (see 1804080002), said Fidler. “We’re still having the conversations with broadcasters. They’re still trying to figure out, quite honestly, where the economic viability is in the technology transition, and where they can justify the expense.” Broadcasters, “particularly on the live production side, are still trying to figure out how to best deliver this upgraded experience at a minimal cost” and with the most efficient use of bandwidth, he said. “So I think that’s still a challenge.”

UHDA worked with U.K. online entertainment retailer Base.com to develop a one-minute “dynamic typograph” video in 4K HDR to promote Ultra HD’s benefits to the masses, said Fidler. “The goal was really to drive a highly visible, emotional, impactful” message through social media, he said. It uses large type to tell Ultra HD’s “story,” he said. It’s available for UHDA member companies and retailers to use, he said. UHDA doesn’t have the budget to book 30- and 60-second commercial TV spots, “so this is a great way to really get some visual impact without spending a lot of money,” he said.

UHDA members stepped up their “engagement” with the creative community aimed at finding the “parameters” that could define “director’s intent” in consumer products, said Fidler. “We had this incredible survey” that drew nearly 400 responses from cinematographers and directors, the findings of which expressed “here’s what we’d like to see” in consumer devices, he said.

The engagement has evolved into “discussions” with Hollywood “to try to figure out what is the right combination of settings or non-settings to enable that creative intent,” said Fidler. The next step is how to “implement it consistently across the UHDA membership,” which is “not an easy thing to do,” he said. Another challenge is finding ways for consumers to “easily access” those settings, because “most people don’t go into the menus,” he said. “They don’t want to go there. It’s scary.”

A “concerted effort” is underway to define creative intent in a consumer product, said Fidler. “We know there’s the Netflix approach, there’s the Imax approach,” he said. UHDA seeks a solution that’s “applicable” across studios and CE companies and also “make sure we drive that message to consumers,” he said. “There’s still work to be done. It’s not a simple thing to do.” Fidler hopes that within the next six months “max,” UHDA “will have a full announcement,” he said. The ultimate deliverable will be “a way for consumers to activate a setting,” through a “button” or some other “trigger,” that’s labeled for director’s intent, he said.