TPV Technology is demonstrating a preliminary version of its upcoming 8K ultra-high-definition display at IFA trade show in Germany. The Philips 328P8K monitor will be a part of the company’s professional lineup and will hit the market sometimes next year.

Philips is the second mass-market brand to announce an 8K monitor after Dell, which has been selling its UltraSharp UP3218K for about half of a year now. The primary target audiences for the 328P8K and the UP3218K are designers, engineers, photographers and other professionals looking for maximum resolution and accurate colors. Essentially, Dell's 8K LCD is going to get a rival supporting the same resolution.

At present, TPV reveals only basic specifications of its Philips 328P8K display — 31.5” IPS panel with a 7680x4320 resolution, a 400 nits brightness (which it calls HDR 400) and presumably a 60 Hz refresh rate. When it comes to color spaces, TPV confirms that the 328P8K supports 100% of the AdobeRGB, which emphasizes that the company positions the product primarily for graphics professionals. When it comes to connectivity, everything seems to be similar to Dell’s 8K monitor: the Philips 8K display will use two DP 1.3 cables in order to avoid using DP 1.4 with Display Stream Compression 1.2 and ensure a flawless and accurate image quality.

It is noteworthy that the final version of the 328P8K will be equipped with a webcam (something the current model lacks), two 3W speakers as well as USB-A and at least one USB-C port “allowing USB-C docking and simultaneous notebook charging”. In order to support USB-C docking with this 8K monitor, the laptop has to support DP 1.4 alternate mode over USB-C and at present, this tech is not supported by shipping PCs. In the meantime, since in the future USB-C may be used a display output more widely, the USB-C input in the Philips 328P8K seems like a valuable future-proof feature (assuming, of course, it fully supports DP 1.4 alt mode over USB-C).

Preliminary Specifications
Philips 328P8K 32 Ultra HD 8K
Panel 31.5" IPS
Resolution 7680 × 4320
Brightness 400 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio 1300:1 (?)
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
Color Saturation 100% Adobe RGB
100% sRGB
Display Colors 1.07 billion (?)
Inputs 2 × DisplayPort 1.3
Audio 2 × 3W speakers
USB Hub USB-A and USB-C ports

Philips does not disclose whose panel it uses for the monitor, but given that the specs of the Philips 328P8K are similar to those of the UP3218K, it is highly likely that both models use the same panel from LG Display (with whom TPV has a joint venture in China). Meanwhile, Dell’s UP3218K ended up supporting 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut (in addition to 100% of the AdobeRGB and 100% of the sRGB color spaces), hence, if the panels are the same, the Philips 328P8K may well support DCI-P3 as well. In fact, the company has published a marketing rendering of the 328P8K that displays the Adobe Photoshop CC working under macOS. Apple has been gradually transiting its own devices to P3-supporting displays for some time now and therefore offering Apple customers a non-P3 monitor in 2018 does not seem like a bright idea. So I'd be surprised if we don't see DCI support in the final version.

TPV intends to ship its Philips 328P8K sometimes in Q1 or Q2 next year, but the company has not made any decisions regarding the final timeframe. High-end products require a lot of tweaking, so do not expect TPV to rush the 8K monitor to the market. As for pricing of the Philips 328P8K, it is hard to make guesses without knowing market situation, availability of the panels and competition. For example, Dell has cut the price of its UltraSharp UP3218K by 22% since the launch in late March to $3,899 despite the lack of any rivals. In any case, since the Philips 328P8K is aimed primarily at professionals, do not expect it to be affordable from a consumer point of view.

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Source: Philips/TPV

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  • haukionkannel - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    Nice! 4K is so last season! :)
    We need new and better DP stardard and soon!
    One that can support 8K, 120Hz and HDR...
  • Frenetic Pony - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    But.... why though?

    There's no 8k content. Hollywood is still playing catchup to 4k, as are most youtubers and etc. Most cameras can't even take a picture at the resolution. Most PC setups hit 4k 60fps.... maybe. And even if they could scale beyond that the actual game assets don't scale to 8k.

    Meanwhile displays can't hit REC 2020, struggle to hit a thousand nits even though the new "HDR" transfer curve goes to 10k nits. And the first lightfield displays, much cooler than yet another bump in resolution, will be out next year with Red's Hydrogen 1 phone. The only market for this is rich idiots, but hell I don't know, maybe there are enough of those to warrant this thing.
  • lilmoe - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    Ever heard of graphics design? Professional photography?

    That content is well above 8K. This isn't targeted at videographers (though it should work for that just fine). 100% AdobeRGB should be an evident clue.

    The target audience make enough per project to cover the cost, which is also tax deductible btw.
  • smilingcrow - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    Exactly.
  • Lolimaster - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    For that kind of work 32 at 8K is too small, 40-48" would be better.
  • hahmed330 - Saturday, September 2, 2017 - link

    Not really most professionals use monitors sized between 24" and 32" diagonally especially since larger displays have a higher chance of ending up with colour uniformity, brightness uniformity, gamma uniformity issues (Those that don't form Dolby, Sony and other companies cost tens of thousands of dollars). Also even with 8K at 32 inch you can easily discern pixels as the typical viewing of a monitor is quite small.
  • Gothmoth - Saturday, September 2, 2017 - link

    yeah and have you actually tried using graphic apps on a 4K monitor?... i have and i tell you it´s a pain in the butt.

    most apps are still not ready for 4k on a 30 inch display. everyhing UI is tiny.
    and don´t get me started with windows scaling.....
  • Valantar - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    Pro-level DSLRs shoot 8k-level pixel counts (and above) pretty easily. I bet quite a few pro photographers would appreciate the ability to check sharpness and the like at 100% without cropping, zooming or having a massive 4x4k monitor setup.
  • Diji1 - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    So because you're naive about stuff people who buy this are idiots.

    OK.
  • 69369369 - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    "But.... why though?"

    4x 4k porn windows

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