Europe will ban the sale of 8K televisions and some 4K OLED models

The new energy saving directives that the European Union will promote as of March 1, 2023 will restrict the sale of televisions with high energy consumption such as 8K televisions or advanced 4K OLED models.

This decision, made in favor of improving energy savings, will affect the 27 countries of the European Union. There is no room for resources on the part of the industry, which counts among its catalog with numerous alternative models of lower resolutions and energy consumption much less than that required by the backlighting of 8K panels.

The 8K Association has issued a statement in this regard warning that this decision “puts the emerging 8K industry at risk”, as well as inviting reflection by pointing out that “the power consumption limits on 8K televisions (and microLED-based displays) are set so low that essentially none of these devices will pass [the filter].”

The industry is reacting to this situation in two ways. On the one hand, manufacturers such as Samsung, as confirmed to media such as Flat panel HD, are adapting their televisions to meet the EU energy requirements, a task “that is not easy.” On the other hand, it is expected that the European Union review at the end of the year Energy Efficiency Index at the end of the year, so the lobbies technological experts have one last opportunity to influence a decision that does not seem to be easily modified in a context marked by the war in Ukraine.