No, The EU Isn’t Killing 8k TVs

For the love of everything, can we stop with the sensationalist headlines? The EU isn’t killing 8k TVs. But that is what you are seeing all over the ‘net. The EU is set to require new power limitations for flat-panel TVs. Just about every current TV on the market not only would fail these new requirements (get an ‘F’), but many would do worse (apparently ‘G’ is now a grade?). So…no more TVs for those in the EU? No, of course not. Let us explain.

You Don’t Even Need to Read Between the Lines

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the new EU requirements won’t affect 8k, 4k, or HD TVs much less kill them. Yes, there are going to be new power requirements. They demand much lower power draws from all TVs (read the above, linked article for specifics). But the regulations are very specific that these requirements are for the DEFAULT picture setting.

When you take a TV out of the box and plug it in, it is preset to a specific picture mode. For many TVs, this default is some sort of ‘Bright’ mode so that the TVs will look good on the showroom floor of a retailer. Those modes, by definition, use more power than other, more accurate, modes. Modes that you might actually use in your home if you want accurate color and black levels.

The Regulations are So Easily Circumvented

You’ve probably already realized the workaround. Instead of TVs being shipped with a very bright (and high energy) picture mode as the default, they will come in a power-saving mode. Like today when you have to switch your TV out of a bright mode to a more accurate one, you’ll have to do it from a darker mode in the future. TVs will continue to get brighter (to more accurately display HDR). They’ll just be dimmer out of the box.

Now, can we all stop writing headlines just for clicks when we know what we are saying is not true? Sheesh.