8K on its way as Warner says "yay!"

Warner Bros has made an announcement that should make 8K TV owners and 8K TV manufacturers very happy – it's already scanned more than 20 movies in 8K.

The news should come as a welcome boost to the 8K TV market, which currently has two big obstacles – the cost of the TVs, and the lack of genuine 8K content to watch on them. More entertainment in 8K will help sell more TVs, and that should in turn help achieve the efficiencies that drive down the cost of panels and the price you pay for your 8K TV.

It's also a sign that Hollywood is ready to invest in 8K. Until now the focus has been on 4K, so this is an important shift even if the total number of films is still fairly small.

What movies has Warner Bros scanned for 8K?

According to FlatpanelsHD, Warner Bros didn’t announce any specific titles at the National Association of Broadcasters event where its 8K scanning was discussed. But it's previously partnered with Samsung to show off 8K trailers for a variety of movies including Creed III, Barbie, Blue Beetle, Dune: Part Two, Wonka and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. And Apple has started making 8K content too, albeit more for the Vision Pro.

That's good news, because the 8K TV market has been very quiet lately. Sony has quietly moved away from it, and LG didn't announce any new 8K TVs for its 2025 line-up.

The arrival of 8K entertainment does raise another question – how to get it. There are no plans to replace 4K Blu-Ray with an 8K optical medium, and the formats used by streaming services deliver compressed video – something you don't want if you've spent a premium on an 8K TV for the best possible picture. Streaming lossless 8K also requires very high bandwidth. The most likely solution is something like Qobuz for video, offering lossless downloads on demand.