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More People Need to Watch the Absolute Best TV Show on HBO Max
More People Need to Watch the Absolute Best TV Show on HBO Max
In the beginning, Station Eleven annoyed the hell out of me. After three episodes, I'd fallen asleep not once, but twice. I wasn't just frustrated with Station Eleven's self indulgence – I was completely bored.
A post-apocalyptic HBO Max miniseries set in the immediate aftermath of a deadly and highly contagious flu, Station Eleven is a show about a fictional pandemic – shot, produced and released during an actual pandemic. But in many ways that pandemic is subservient and unimportant. Station Eleven is a show about things. About big ideas and themes. It's a show about survival. About trauma. About taking refuge in the transitive power of art and the connective tissue of our shared humanity.
Read more: Review: Station Eleven's HBO Adaptation Came at a Weird, but Good, Time
In other words: urgh.
From the outset, this is a show that spells out grand ambitions in clear terms. This is a show that opens with King Lear. A show that makes flagrant use of Shakespeare as a narrative and framing device, but also has the gall to place itself at the center of a grand literary canon.
Once again: urgh. The biggest urgh I can muster.
Three episodes deep I jumped into one of CNET's many Slack channels to unload on the show with my co-workers. It was self-indulgent. It was boring. It took itself way too seriously. It was high on its own supply. It was fundamentally flawed in comparison with a show like, say, Yellowjackets – which masked its own themes of trauma under the guise of a cunning and compelling mystery box show.
"Station Eleven sucks." I think that's what I typed. I was wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Just seven episodes later, at the show's conclusion, I went crawling back to that same office Slack, on my hands and knees, to tell everyone that – actually – Station Eleven is one of the best TV shows I think I've ever seen in my life and that every human being alive should make efforts to watch it.
So pretentious
Jeevan and Kirsten.
Parrish Lewis/HBO Max
My favorite moment in Station Eleven occurs halfway through episode 9.
Jeevan, one of the show's main characters, has been looking after Kirsten, a child actress obsessed with a comic book – the titular Station Eleven. A comic book she carries with her everywhere as she travels in the post-pandemic world. A comic book that gives her hope in desperate circumstances.
After trekking back to their home base, Kirsten realizes she's dropped the comic book in the snow. Frustrated, not quite understanding why it matters, Jeevan angrily stomps back into the wilderness to retrieve it. During the search, a wolf attacks him, mauling him half to death. As he crawls on his hands and knees, fighting for survival in extreme subzero temperatures, he stumbles across the comic book, buried in the snow. In complete agony he begins reading it, before tossing it aside, screaming: "IT'S SO PRETENTIOUS!"
It's an incredibly cathartic moment. To begin with, it's funny! A perfectly timed moment of comedy in the midst of a dark, visceral moment. I laughed out loud. But it's also an acknowledgement, a crystalized moment of self awareness. The show is talking about itself, directly to its audience. Yes, Station Eleven is pretentious. It is a show actively wrestling with big ideas – swinging for the fences, navigating the value of art in a world filled with suffering.
But Station Eleven is also self-aware enough to knowit's asking a lot. Of its audience, of itself as an entertainment product. That's important.
A big ask
Why should we care about a television show? Why should any kind of art matter? In a world where I find myself drifting away from so-called "prestige TV," Station Eleven forced me to ask myself that question.
Recently I've been more likely to consume endless, disposable anime, or binge watch feel-good reality shows like Old Enough and The Great British Bake Off. Given what we've all gone through over the last two or three years, it's been difficult to summon the "big brain energy" required to enjoy a show like Station Eleven. A show that forces us to reckon with big questions and big ideas.
Station Eleven goes in directions you might not expect.
Photograph by Ian Watson/HBO Max
That's precisely why I found Station Eleven so repulsive in the beginning. In the midst of COVID-19, a period of ground-shaking political strife, you're really gonna ask me to engage with a TV show about a traveling troupe of Shakespearean actors performing Hamlet in a post-pandemic wasteland? That's a big ask.
But Station Eleven works because it rules on every possible level. It's as simple as that. It's a well-written show, with great performances and soundtrack that will haunt you long after you've finished watching.
Station Eleven swings for the fences but hits the ball clean. It takes time to deliver on its bold vision, but if you stick through that initial slow burn – fight through that initial repulsion – you'll be rewarded with a show that has nuanced things to say on every "Serious Topic" it dares to broach. This is a show about families – real and inherited. It's a show about the legacy of shared trauma. A show about art as a refuge. If that gives you the ick, I get it. But in a very real universe where we're deep in the wilderness of our own pain and suffering, Station Eleven is as essential as television gets.
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'The Sandman' Hits Netflix Today: 9 TV Tips to Get the Best Watching Experience
'The Sandman' Hits Netflix Today: 9 TV Tips to Get the Best Watching Experience
What's happening
Picture settings on your new TV might not be ideal right out of the box.
Why it matters
Getting the best image possible out of your TV will make all your shows and movies pop.
What's next
We break down all the settings you'll need to adjust to get the best picture quality.
Netflix's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comes out today. But before you get too cozy on the couch watching the king of dreams, there are a few TV picture settings you'll want to change to get the best possible viewing experience.
Believe it or not, your TV doesn't always come looking its best right out of the box. It may be surprising, but the default settings that your TV uses before you make any changes don't always deliver optimal performance. If you want the best out of your TV, especially as you prepare to watch this fantasy series based on the popular DC comic, you'll likely need to make a few adjustments to your picture settings.
That's exactly what we do here at CNET as part of our TV review process. We immediately dig into the menus to adjust the picture settings to make sure the televisions we're testing have optimal picture quality.
Fortunately, you don't have to be an expert to get your TV looking great. Every TV has numerous adjustment options, including different picture modes and controls for brightness, backlight, sharpness, smoothing and more, that you can change to improve the TV shows, movies and video games you watch every day.
We've broken down all the settings you might need to tweak to get the best picture out of your TV. Just keep in mind that picture setting names can vary from one manufacturer to another. A setting that one TV company calls "brightness," for example, could control something totally different on another television. We tackle a lot of the variations below, but we can't account for every TV maker, especially when it comes to older models.
Start with the right picture mode
Your TV's picture mode has the largest effect on overall picture quality. This one setting controls multiple other settings to change the overall "look" of your TV. If you've never changed this setting it's probably still the default mode, typically labeled Standard, Vivid, Dynamic, Bright or something similar. The TV is usually at its least accurate in this mode, with typically blown-out colors and image "enhancing" features that might catch the eye on a shelf in a store, but at home might make the TV look worse than it could.
The easiest way to get accurate color? Put your TV in Movie or Cinema mode.
Sarah Tew/CNET
A place to start is switching to the mode called Cinema, Movie, Calibrated or Filmmaker. These will dial back some of the picture's more garish aspects. At first, the TV might even look soft or too warm ("reddish"). We'll discuss below why that is, but for now trust that you're actually seeing more fine detail, and the image is more lifelike.
Read more: What's the Best Picture Mode?
Let's move on to some specific controls.
Backlight or OLED light
Controls the light intensity of the entire display
Too high and it can cause headaches or eye strain, waste energy and, in some cases, cause premature wear on the TV
Too low and the image is too dim and difficult to see
Nearly all TVs will have some control that adjusts the overall light output of the TV. It's usually labeled as the backlight control, or OLED light, or something similar. On newer Sony TVs this setting is labeled Brightness, and on Roku TVs there are five settings (Brightest to Darkest) in addition to a backlight control. Whatever the label, this setting is the actual brightness, which is generally separate from the control labeled "Brightness" (see below).
You should adjust this setting based on room lighting and personal preference. Brighter rooms and daylight viewing will call for a higher setting, while home theater or nighttime viewing often looks better at a lower setting. On an LCD TV, a bright backlight can wash out the image somewhat and reduce contrast and pop, especially on models that lack full array local dimming.
The brighter the TV is, the more energy it will consume, if you're concerned about how much electricity you use. Higher brightness also makes OLED TVs somewhat more susceptible to image retention and burn-in -- although that's unlikely with typical viewing habits, even at maximum brightness.
Read more: OLED Screen Burn-In: What You Need to Know in 2022
Contrast
On the left, what the image of some friendly beachside 'roos should look like. On the right, when the contrast control is set too high. Notice the lack of detail in the sand and how the clouds are blown out.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Controls the white or bright parts of an image
Too high will erase detail from clouds, snow and other bright objects
Too low will look dim and flat
The contrast control adjusts how bright the bright parts of the image are. There is an upper limit, however. If you set the control too high, it "clips" the whites, making near-white details totally white. This effectively erases any detail in bright objects like clouds without making the image actually brighter.
To set contrast by eye, you'll need something with a lot of bright areas of the image. Baseball works pretty well for this -- a fly ball, pop fly, home runs, something with shots of the sky -- or skiing (depending on season, clearly) or something with clouds. What you're looking for is a bright image, but still with highlight detail. In other words, the bright areas of the image still have detail, and aren't just awash in white.
Once you've found something you think will work, turn the contrast control up until you start losing detail. Clouds will cease being clouds, snow will just be glare. Now turn the control back down till you see detail again. Somewhere in this range will be ideal. Since all content is a little different you might need to tweak it a bit as you watch other shows/movies.
Don't want to mess with all that? Just leave it at the default for the Movie or Cinema setting.
Brightness or black level
On the left, what the teahouse should look like. On the right, when the brightness control is set too low. Notice how the shadows disappear completely.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Controls the black or dark parts of an image
Too high will look flat and washed out
Too low will erase detail in shadows and dark areas of the image
On most TVs, the brightness control doesn't actually control the TV's "brightness." Instead, it adjusts how dark the darkest parts of the image are. Like with contrast, there's a fine line between too high and too low. In this case, too high and the image will appear washed out. Too low and all shadows will disappear into black. (On newer Sony TVs, this control is labeled Black Level.)
A closeup from the image above. Notice how you can't see anything in the shadows in the image on the right.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
To set brightness, you're looking for the opposite type of content from contrast. Dark movies, like Aliens or The Dark Knight, are perfect for this. Some famously dark TV episodes might be too dark to use for this.
Turn the Brightness control down until everything disappears into blackness (or something close). From there, turn it back up so you can see detail in everything, but the image doesn't look washed out. Another test for this is a darker scene with someone with long hair. The underside of their hair (I don't know what people with hair call it) away from the light can be a good place to spot shadow detail -- also dark coats at night. Again, you might need to try a few different shows or movies to get it right.
Sharpness
On the left, the original image of the walls of Tallinn. On the right, what it could look like if you set the sharpness control too high.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Controls artificial edge enhancement, not image sharpness
Too high erases image detail, adds a halo to fine lines
Depending on the TV, set to 0 there's no effect, or a slight softening
Believe it or not, the sharpness control doesn't really improve sharpness. In a way it improves apparent sharpness, but at the expense of actual fine detail and usually with additional noise. On nearly all TVs the sharpness control adds "edge enhancement," artificially accentuating any edges the TV finds in the image. The problem is, doing this hides the actual detail in the image, so the result looks more artificial with less actual detail.
A close-up of the example above. Note the extra noise and artificial "halo" around the spires on the right.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
So it may seem counterintuitive, but you should turn the sharpness control down, way down. Some TVs look best with the control at 0. Others look best within the first 10% or so of this control's range. If you're used to how your TV looks with the sharpness control way up, as it typically is in the Dynamic or Vivid modes, it might appear soft at first when you turn it down. Find some high-quality 4K content and you might be surprised how detailed it now looks. You should be able to find the sweet spot on your TV looking closely for textures in clothing, wrinkles in faces, hair and beards, that kind of thing.
Read more: Why You Need to Turn Down Your TV's Sharpness Control
Color and tint
Controls color saturation and red-green shift
A holdover from the analog TV days
Generally will be correct, or close enough, out of the box
Generally, the color and tint controls will be reasonably close to correct out of the box, especially in Cinema or Movie mode. You can experiment with their effects, but it's rare they're off by more than one or two steps in either direction.
At the top, the color temperature is set too low, or warm. At the bottom, it's set too high, or cool.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Color temperature or white balance
Controls how warm or cool the image looks
Too high and the image will be too blue
Too low and the image will be too red
Color temperature is a difficult one. Your brain gets used to the color temp of your TV, so if you change it, it's going to seem "wrong." In fact, this is probably the first thing you'll notice if you switch to the Cinema or Movie mode. It's going to look too warm or "reddish." On most TVs, this is actually the most accurate and lifelike. Your TV has been lying to you for years!
Switch to your TV's warm color temperature mode and watch it for a few days. If it still seems off to you, try the standard mode. I promise the cool mode will look far too blue once you get used to warm.
Check out my article on color temp and why it matters for more info.
Motion interpolation or smoothing (the soap opera effect)
David Katzmaier/CNET
Controls how "smooth" motion is by artificially creating new frames of video
Too high, or even enabled at all, it can be annoying to some
Too low and the TV might appear soft with motion, such as sports
As TV settings go, motion interpolation is a rather controversial topic. Many people, including film purists and pretty much everyone who works in Hollywood, hate it. It makes movies look like a cheap soap opera or a video you'd shoot on your phone. If you've ever looked at a new TV and just felt something was off, or the image just didn't look real, it's probably this. Some people like it, but a lot of people don't. Your new TV almost certainly has this feature turned on in non-Cinema or Movie modes. Turning it off might change how you feel about your purchase.
Read more: Tom Cruise Wants You to Turn Off Soap Opera Effect. Here's How
Game mode
Reduces input lag, or how long it takes for your input to register onscreen
Usually disables features that might make the image better
Useful for any game that requires timing or aiming, especially online multiplayer
Input lag is how long it takes for you to press a button on a game controller and then to have an onscreen effect in the game. For many people this delay, measured in milliseconds, isn't noticeable. For others, especially with certain types of games, it can make a massive difference. From jumping puzzles to pixel-perfect aim in a first-person shooter, getting the timing right in many games is crucial.
Minimizing input lag, usually via a feature called game mode, can make a significant difference. If you've bought a new TV and suddenly your scores and rankings have dropped, this might be why. It's not something you want to leave enabled all the time, since it usually disables processing features that can improve the TV's picture quality.
Some TVs and consoles now support switching to this mode automatically.
Further steps
As mentioned above, the next step to fine-tuning your TV to perfection is getting a setup disc. The Spears & Munsil disc is a great option because it gets you right to the patterns without any extraneous fluff. If you just want someone else to do it, ideally with specialized test equipment, see if there are any TV calibrators in your area.
Lastly, make sure any sources you have, like a streaming stick or a cable or satellite box, are set to your TV's resolution (4K for 4K TVs, etc). Generally speaking they should do this automatically, but it's worth digging into the settings to be sure. Your 4K TV won't look its best without 4K content. You might need to pay for a higher tier to get that, depending on the service.
Lastly, HDMI. Chances are whatever HDMI cables you have are fine. If you try to send 4K from a media streamer and it doesn't work, it's possible your HDMI cables can't handle the additional resolution. But new HDMI cables are cheap. If your TV is getting the resolution you want from your sources, new HDMI cables won't make the image look or sound better, so you can save your money.
For more, check out CNET's lists of the best 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch TVs you can buy. You can also take a look at the best 4K TVs available.
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, airplane graveyards and more.
You can follow his exploits on Instagram and YouTube, and on his travel blog, BaldNomad. He also wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel.
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'The Sandman' Hits Netflix Today: 9 TV Tips to Get the Best Watching Experience
'The Sandman' Hits Netflix Today: 9 TV Tips to Get the Best Watching Experience
What's happening
Picture settings on your new TV might not be ideal right out of the box.
Why it matters
Getting the best image possible out of your TV will make all your shows and movies pop.
What's next
We break down all the settings you'll need to adjust to get the best picture quality.
Netflix's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comes out today. But before you get too cozy on the couch watching the king of dreams, there are a few TV picture settings you'll want to change to get the best possible viewing experience.
Believe it or not, your TV doesn't always come looking its best right out of the box. It may be surprising, but the default settings that your TV uses before you make any changes don't always deliver optimal performance. If you want the best out of your TV, especially as you prepare to watch this fantasy series based on the popular DC comic, you'll likely need to make a few adjustments to your picture settings.
That's exactly what we do here at CNET as part of our TV review process. We immediately dig into the menus to adjust the picture settings to make sure the televisions we're testing have optimal picture quality.
Fortunately, you don't have to be an expert to get your TV looking great. Every TV has numerous adjustment options, including different picture modes and controls for brightness, backlight, sharpness, smoothing and more, that you can change to improve the TV shows, movies and video games you watch every day.
We've broken down all the settings you might need to tweak to get the best picture out of your TV. Just keep in mind that picture setting names can vary from one manufacturer to another. A setting that one TV company calls "brightness," for example, could control something totally different on another television. We tackle a lot of the variations below, but we can't account for every TV maker, especially when it comes to older models.
Start with the right picture mode
Your TV's picture mode has the largest effect on overall picture quality. This one setting controls multiple other settings to change the overall "look" of your TV. If you've never changed this setting it's probably still the default mode, typically labeled Standard, Vivid, Dynamic, Bright or something similar. The TV is usually at its least accurate in this mode, with typically blown-out colors and image "enhancing" features that might catch the eye on a shelf in a store, but at home might make the TV look worse than it could.
The easiest way to get accurate color? Put your TV in Movie or Cinema mode.
Sarah Tew/CNET
A place to start is switching to the mode called Cinema, Movie, Calibrated or Filmmaker. These will dial back some of the picture's more garish aspects. At first, the TV might even look soft or too warm ("reddish"). We'll discuss below why that is, but for now trust that you're actually seeing more fine detail, and the image is more lifelike.
Read more: What's the Best Picture Mode?
Let's move on to some specific controls.
Backlight or OLED light
Controls the light intensity of the entire display
Too high and it can cause headaches or eye strain, waste energy and, in some cases, cause premature wear on the TV
Too low and the image is too dim and difficult to see
Nearly all TVs will have some control that adjusts the overall light output of the TV. It's usually labeled as the backlight control, or OLED light, or something similar. On newer Sony TVs this setting is labeled Brightness, and on Roku TVs there are five settings (Brightest to Darkest) in addition to a backlight control. Whatever the label, this setting is the actual brightness, which is generally separate from the control labeled "Brightness" (see below).
You should adjust this setting based on room lighting and personal preference. Brighter rooms and daylight viewing will call for a higher setting, while home theater or nighttime viewing often looks better at a lower setting. On an LCD TV, a bright backlight can wash out the image somewhat and reduce contrast and pop, especially on models that lack full array local dimming.
The brighter the TV is, the more energy it will consume, if you're concerned about how much electricity you use. Higher brightness also makes OLED TVs somewhat more susceptible to image retention and burn-in -- although that's unlikely with typical viewing habits, even at maximum brightness.
Read more: OLED Screen Burn-In: What You Need to Know in 2022
Contrast
On the left, what the image of some friendly beachside 'roos should look like. On the right, when the contrast control is set too high. Notice the lack of detail in the sand and how the clouds are blown out.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Controls the white or bright parts of an image
Too high will erase detail from clouds, snow and other bright objects
Too low will look dim and flat
The contrast control adjusts how bright the bright parts of the image are. There is an upper limit, however. If you set the control too high, it "clips" the whites, making near-white details totally white. This effectively erases any detail in bright objects like clouds without making the image actually brighter.
To set contrast by eye, you'll need something with a lot of bright areas of the image. Baseball works pretty well for this -- a fly ball, pop fly, home runs, something with shots of the sky -- or skiing (depending on season, clearly) or something with clouds. What you're looking for is a bright image, but still with highlight detail. In other words, the bright areas of the image still have detail, and aren't just awash in white.
Once you've found something you think will work, turn the contrast control up until you start losing detail. Clouds will cease being clouds, snow will just be glare. Now turn the control back down till you see detail again. Somewhere in this range will be ideal. Since all content is a little different you might need to tweak it a bit as you watch other shows/movies.
Don't want to mess with all that? Just leave it at the default for the Movie or Cinema setting.
Brightness or black level
On the left, what the teahouse should look like. On the right, when the brightness control is set too low. Notice how the shadows disappear completely.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Controls the black or dark parts of an image
Too high will look flat and washed out
Too low will erase detail in shadows and dark areas of the image
On most TVs, the brightness control doesn't actually control the TV's "brightness." Instead, it adjusts how dark the darkest parts of the image are. Like with contrast, there's a fine line between too high and too low. In this case, too high and the image will appear washed out. Too low and all shadows will disappear into black. (On newer Sony TVs, this control is labeled Black Level.)
A closeup from the image above. Notice how you can't see anything in the shadows in the image on the right.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
To set brightness, you're looking for the opposite type of content from contrast. Dark movies, like Aliens or The Dark Knight, are perfect for this. Some famously dark TV episodes might be too dark to use for this.
Turn the Brightness control down until everything disappears into blackness (or something close). From there, turn it back up so you can see detail in everything, but the image doesn't look washed out. Another test for this is a darker scene with someone with long hair. The underside of their hair (I don't know what people with hair call it) away from the light can be a good place to spot shadow detail -- also dark coats at night. Again, you might need to try a few different shows or movies to get it right.
Sharpness
On the left, the original image of the walls of Tallinn. On the right, what it could look like if you set the sharpness control too high.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Controls artificial edge enhancement, not image sharpness
Too high erases image detail, adds a halo to fine lines
Depending on the TV, set to 0 there's no effect, or a slight softening
Believe it or not, the sharpness control doesn't really improve sharpness. In a way it improves apparent sharpness, but at the expense of actual fine detail and usually with additional noise. On nearly all TVs the sharpness control adds "edge enhancement," artificially accentuating any edges the TV finds in the image. The problem is, doing this hides the actual detail in the image, so the result looks more artificial with less actual detail.
A close-up of the example above. Note the extra noise and artificial "halo" around the spires on the right.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
So it may seem counterintuitive, but you should turn the sharpness control down, way down. Some TVs look best with the control at 0. Others look best within the first 10% or so of this control's range. If you're used to how your TV looks with the sharpness control way up, as it typically is in the Dynamic or Vivid modes, it might appear soft at first when you turn it down. Find some high-quality 4K content and you might be surprised how detailed it now looks. You should be able to find the sweet spot on your TV looking closely for textures in clothing, wrinkles in faces, hair and beards, that kind of thing.
Read more: Why You Need to Turn Down Your TV's Sharpness Control
Color and tint
Controls color saturation and red-green shift
A holdover from the analog TV days
Generally will be correct, or close enough, out of the box
Generally, the color and tint controls will be reasonably close to correct out of the box, especially in Cinema or Movie mode. You can experiment with their effects, but it's rare they're off by more than one or two steps in either direction.
At the top, the color temperature is set too low, or warm. At the bottom, it's set too high, or cool.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Color temperature or white balance
Controls how warm or cool the image looks
Too high and the image will be too blue
Too low and the image will be too red
Color temperature is a difficult one. Your brain gets used to the color temp of your TV, so if you change it, it's going to seem "wrong." In fact, this is probably the first thing you'll notice if you switch to the Cinema or Movie mode. It's going to look too warm or "reddish." On most TVs, this is actually the most accurate and lifelike. Your TV has been lying to you for years!
Switch to your TV's warm color temperature mode and watch it for a few days. If it still seems off to you, try the standard mode. I promise the cool mode will look far too blue once you get used to warm.
Check out my article on color temp and why it matters for more info.
Motion interpolation or smoothing (the soap opera effect)
David Katzmaier/CNET
Controls how "smooth" motion is by artificially creating new frames of video
Too high, or even enabled at all, it can be annoying to some
Too low and the TV might appear soft with motion, such as sports
As TV settings go, motion interpolation is a rather controversial topic. Many people, including film purists and pretty much everyone who works in Hollywood, hate it. It makes movies look like a cheap soap opera or a video you'd shoot on your phone. If you've ever looked at a new TV and just felt something was off, or the image just didn't look real, it's probably this. Some people like it, but a lot of people don't. Your new TV almost certainly has this feature turned on in non-Cinema or Movie modes. Turning it off might change how you feel about your purchase.
Read more: Tom Cruise Wants You to Turn Off Soap Opera Effect. Here's How
Game mode
Reduces input lag, or how long it takes for your input to register onscreen
Usually disables features that might make the image better
Useful for any game that requires timing or aiming, especially online multiplayer
Input lag is how long it takes for you to press a button on a game controller and then to have an onscreen effect in the game. For many people this delay, measured in milliseconds, isn't noticeable. For others, especially with certain types of games, it can make a massive difference. From jumping puzzles to pixel-perfect aim in a first-person shooter, getting the timing right in many games is crucial.
Minimizing input lag, usually via a feature called game mode, can make a significant difference. If you've bought a new TV and suddenly your scores and rankings have dropped, this might be why. It's not something you want to leave enabled all the time, since it usually disables processing features that can improve the TV's picture quality.
Some TVs and consoles now support switching to this mode automatically.
Further steps
As mentioned above, the next step to fine-tuning your TV to perfection is getting a setup disc. The Spears & Munsil disc is a great option because it gets you right to the patterns without any extraneous fluff. If you just want someone else to do it, ideally with specialized test equipment, see if there are any TV calibrators in your area.
Lastly, make sure any sources you have, like a streaming stick or a cable or satellite box, are set to your TV's resolution (4K for 4K TVs, etc). Generally speaking they should do this automatically, but it's worth digging into the settings to be sure. Your 4K TV won't look its best without 4K content. You might need to pay for a higher tier to get that, depending on the service.
Lastly, HDMI. Chances are whatever HDMI cables you have are fine. If you try to send 4K from a media streamer and it doesn't work, it's possible your HDMI cables can't handle the additional resolution. But new HDMI cables are cheap. If your TV is getting the resolution you want from your sources, new HDMI cables won't make the image look or sound better, so you can save your money.
For more, check out CNET's lists of the best 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch TVs you can buy. You can also take a look at the best 4K TVs available.
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, airplane graveyards and more.
You can follow his exploits on Instagram and YouTube, and on his travel blog, BaldNomad. He also wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel.
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The best Halloween movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and more
The best Halloween movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and more
Halloween movies are a thrilling watch year-round, but there's no better time to enjoy them than when chillier temperatures settle in. Especially this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way we partake in classic Halloween activities like trick-or-treating, you might need something to transport you to fictional places where the horrifying stuff isn't actually real. (We all cope differently, right?)
Here are our top picks for the scariest, creepiest and sometimes silliest films to stream or watch on demand on platforms including Hulu, Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, HBO Max and others. We've noted which of these films require higher-tier streaming subscriptions like Hulu Plus Live TV, or a Showtime or Cinemax add-on.
Read more: 15 of the best movies to see on Amazon Prime Video
Disney
Hulu started life as a joint venture between ABC, NBC and Fox. Since Disney (ABC's parent) absorbed most of the Fox Entertainment properties, however, it's been buying out its remaining partners and converting Hulu to more of a Disney Plus for adults. As such, you can watch the movies below with their full, R-rated gore intact. The baseline subscription includes commercials, and you can also bundle this with Disney's other online properties, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus.
(Available on Hulu Plus Live TV. Also available on Peacock.) We always appreciate a well-done horror comedy! You can catch the sequel, Zombieland Double Tap, on Starz.
(Also available on Tubi.) Something about murderous children in a cornfield just feels autumnal.
It's a Swedish film about a little girl vampire. Are we selling it? It's fantastic, trust us.
(Also available on Tubi.) We don't particularly get this franchise, but Hellraiser viewing parties are a pretty common Halloween activity. You do you.
Quite frankly, this adaptation isn't the greatest, but then again neither was the first one. Still it definitely has some chilling moments.
(Available with Showtime add-on.) The first Paranormal Activity was pretty unnerving. It might be worth a revisit this Halloween.
(Available on Hulu Plus Live TV starting Oct. 7.) We refuse to fact-check this, but Get Out is possibly the only Oscar winner on this list. That's inaccurate. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for Rosemary's Baby. And The Silence of the Lambs won like 5 Academy Awards too. Are you happy? Get Out is fantastic though.
Get Out
Universal Pictures
Our 8-year-old selves still believe deep down this is the greatest Halloween movie ever made. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, please, please return to making films.
This Korean creature feature is easily one of the best films on this list.
As far as haunted house movies go, this one is better than The Amityville Horror, but not quite as good as The Conjuring.
(Available on Hulu Plus Live TV starting Oct. 8.) Once again we learn abstinence is the only way to prevent slow-moving nightmare monsters from trying to kill you. What a helpful PSA!
(Available on Hulu Plus Live TV.) This is the part where you stop reading the article and immediately go put on Ghostbusters. Don't worry, this article isn't going anywhere. We'll wait.
(Available on Hulu Plus Live TV.) Rebecca's mom really loves the Madea movies. And who are we to deny you options?
(Available on Hulu Plus Live TV.) On the one hand, it's a pretty good remake. On the other hand, Zack Snyder directed it. Your call.
(Available with Cinemax add-on.) Don't you want to finally understand what a "Jacob's Ladder scenario" actually is?
Ever since Dead Snow came out, we are always 100% down for any movie with Nazi zombies.
(Available on Hulu plus Live TV. Also available on Spectrum.) It's possible Rebecca has seen this film more than any other film on this list. Don't judge!
Saw (2004)
(Available on Hulu with Cinemax add-on.) If you plan on watching Saw, we also recommend checking out our interview with screenwriter Leigh Whannell. He tells us about his 5-year-old's bedtime story demands and let's just say, twisted storytelling definitely runs in the family.
Netflix hardly needs an introduction, but the biggest streaming service out there remains a mixture of TV shows and movies, including content licensed from other studios and a growing stable of originals.
We probably didn't need a family-friendly version of The Omen, but we enjoyed it nevertheless.
If you've come to this list looking for the scariest horror films, watch this one. Maybe with the lights on.
Anjelica Huston is majestic in this Roald Dahl adaptation.
Even if you're not into super dark films, the storyline in this Guillermo del Toro masterpiece will be enough to win you over.
One of our favorites and Zelda Rubinstein's performance is really just the cherry on top.
This is probably the most under-the-radar film on this list, but it's absolutely worth your time.
Certain horror fans find themselves disappointed when the "big bad" turns out to be metaphorical. Don't worry, this one has a satisfying "actual monster" payoff.
This movie is carried by Mark Duplass and his amazingly sinister face. A delightfully creepy watch.
(Also available on Spectrum.) Ghost movies are great for Halloween, right?
Universal Pictures
Already subscribe to HBO? You can probably get HBO Max at no extra charge. Think of it as (wait for it) "HBO Plus" -- everything on HBO, plus a bunch of additional back catalog and exclusives from Warner's catalog, as well as some nice licensed exclusives like Doctor Who and the Studio Ghibli library.
Shark movie!!! Sorry, didn't mean to get that excited. But we did see The Meg on opening weekend. Are you a "shark movie" person? No better time to find out!
Possibly the last time we found the ending to a horror film surprising.
I (Rebecca) thought this movie was really scary when I was 13. It might still be scary. There's really no way of knowing these things.
We all know the saying, "In space, no one can hear you scream," but your neighbors will definitely be able to hear you scream while watching this on your couch.
It's pretty rare with a horror masterpiece to stumble upon a masterpiece of a sequel, especially with a different director. Thanks, James Cameron!
John Landis doesn't get enough credit for being able to blend horror and comedy.
While The Shining is probably the favorite horror film of many and may not have needed a sequel, it's one of the better Stephen King adaptations in recent years.
A very enjoyable example of a dark comedy and horror mashup.
Disney
You know ... for kids! It's probably not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of "horror," as nothing here eclipses PG-13 scares. But it also has the full libraries for everything from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and The Simpsons, to name just a few of the big content silos you'll find here. As with Hulu, you can subscribe to this solo, or as a Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle.
A cult classic you can finally stream.
(Also available on Hulu Plus Live TV.) It's really a Christmas movie, but also you should be watching it year-round.
This vibrant, touching film brings Day of the Dead to life in the most beautiful way.
Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but this is simply a Disney classic.
Feel-good and Halloween don't always go hand in hand, but this nostalgic Halloween classic always warms our witchy little hearts.
As if trusting her new beau wasn't hard enough already.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Peacock is NBCUniversal's recently launched streaming app that includes several free movies and TV shows. Paying customers can unlock the platform's full library of content, and can also pay a little more to go ad-free.
You should really watch/rewatch them all, but the third film does have the most Halloween-y vibe.
You can't get more classic than Frankenstein!
We love a good dystopian film.
Another for the classics fans.
Screenshot by Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET
This ad-supported network offers a range of free TV shows and movies. It's available on devices including Roku and Amazon Fire TV, as well as on Android and iOS. You won't need an account to watch content, but creating one enables you to save favorites and resume playback when switching between devices.
Is it really Halloween if you haven't watched a creepy Tim Burton film?
A cannibal villain is as horrifying as it gets.
Not exactly sure if a flick about a viral outbreak is something you want to watch right now, but if it is, you're in luck.
MGM
Existing Showtime cable subscribers can access all of its content on the Showtime Anytime app on most major app platforms. But you can also get it as a straight streaming app for a monthly fee. (Disclosure: Showtime and CNET are owned by the same parent company, ViacomCBS.)
(Also available on Netflix.) This is one of our favorite films to watch on Halloween. Hannibal Lecter is a magnificent villain.
If you don't barf while watching the shaking cameras, it's a pretty good creature feature.
This would pair well with The Omen for a Halloween double feature.
We're going to throw this out there: More films should be set in the 1600s. Provided they're as good as The Witch.
Focus Features
Like Showtime, this premium cable movie service is also available "over the top" as a direct streaming option on most app store platforms.
This is the quite possibly the most perfect Halloween movie on this list. Demon spawn! (If you're interested, you can also find the 2006 version on Hulu.)
Not big on horror? No worries, you can check out one of the greatest comedies ever made instead.
Is it just us or does anyone else find Edward Scissorhands incredibly soothing to watch?
Jeff Goldblum in a creature feature is all we're really looking for in a Halloween film.
Watch this after you finish watching The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET
Epix is another pay cable channel that's expanded its horizons to the digital realm. Get it with your cable or satellite subscription, or as a digital streaming option instead.
We're almost positive people have written dissertations on the influence of this film on the horror genre. So, we dunno, maybe check out?
Definitely worth it for Vincent Price.
(Also available on Hulu.) Creature features often don't get enough love in the horror genre. But this one was our jam!
Warner Bros. Pictures
Prime Video is thrown in "for free" for anyone subscribing to Amazon's membership program, which otherwise guarantees delivery of a wide array of products in two days or less at no additional charge. It's got a ton of movies and TV shows from third-party studios, and a growing list of Amazon exclusives, too. Note, however, that only the first few selections are available via Prime; the rest are available as 48-hour rentals at a pay-per-view cost.
This movie will freak me out always and forever!
Chris Sarandon as a vampire? Sold!
(Available to rent.) This Michael J. Fox classic about a teen werewolf will have you howling for more! I promise that's the last pun in this article.
(Available to rent.) It's a Halloween movie list, so I'm obligated to include Pumpkinhead.
(Available to rent.) One of the few films on this list that is also a cinematic masterpiece.
(Available to rent. It's also available on Hulu Plus Live TV.) I know the found footage gimmick is tired, but do you actually remember how scary this movie was? An entire generation couldn't go camping for like a decade after it came out.
(Available to rent.) This film was so scary that I still can't bring myself to watch any of the sequels or prequels! But if you are interested in watching The Conjuring 2, it's available on HBO Max.
(Available to rent.) I went as the Bride for Halloween one year. This isn't relevant to my recommendation, but I'm trying to sell you on a film from 1935.
(Available to rent.) Carrie is so good! Sissy Spacek just has a special place in my heart. It isn't at all related to Halloween, but you should also check out Coal Miner's Daughter.
(Available to rent.) This is the American remake of Let the Right One In. And it's pretty well done for US market cash grab.
It (2017)
(Available to rent. Also on Hulu plus Live TV.) This film is alway a thrill. The sequel is also available on HBO Max.
(Available to rent.) Frankly, I could use more sci-fi horror films. And more Vin Diesel.
(Available for rent.) For all the gore lovers.
(Available to rent, though the 1972 version is included with a Prime membership and is also on Hulu.) I'll say this about the remake: it's probably more suspenseful than the original. But the original left me feeling emotionally violated, and that's a special kind of horror that's hard to replicate. Still the remake is worth a watch.
(Available to rent.) Down with the yuppies! Honestly this is one of my all-time favorite films.
(Available to rent.) As a child I was only afraid of two things: Chucky and spiders. I am still terrified of both. But hey, now I'm also afraid of heights!
(Available with a Prime Video Channels subscription. Also available on Tubi.) It's Wes Craven so I'm not even going to bother trying to convince you. Just watch it.
Raw (2016)
(Available to rent.) Watch only if you have a strong stomach!
(Available to rent.) OK, here's our pitch: Jessica Walter and Clint Eastwood. Are you sold?
(Available to rent.) Not to be confused with the Brooke Shields film The Blue Lagoon. This one is about a lagoon monster.
(Available to rent.) You'll never want to fly again.
(Available to rent.) This is possibly one of the worst films ever made, but it stars Gerard Butler as Dracula. So you should probably watch it anyway.
(Available to rent.) Nearly half the movies in our roundup were in some way inspired by this classic slasher film. An absolute Halloween classic.
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8K TV Explained, and Why You Definitely Don't Need to Buy One
8K TV Explained, and Why You Definitely Don't Need to Buy One
Believe it or not, 8K TVs are available right now. Yep, 8K, as in four times the resolution of Ultra HD 4K TVs. You can, if you really want to, buy models from Samsung, Sony, LG and TCL in a variety of sizes. As you'd expect from cutting-edge technology with over 30 million pixels, the prices are quite high. In most cases 8K TVs cost more than a high-end, and often higher-quality, 4K TV.
Should you consider an 8K TV? Are they the best TVs out there? In a word: No. In two words: Not yet. You're better off getting a high-quality 4K TV for far less money. It will look better with 99.9% of the content you put on it. That said, 8K is here, and it's not going away, so it's worth taking a closer look. You'll need to look very close, as those pixels are tiny.
Eventually 8K will be far more mainstream. It's possible 4K will go the way of all those lower resolutions, and be relegated to tech history. Does this mean your 4K TV is already obsolete? Should you wait to buy a new TV until 8K prices drop? Do you need an 8K TV for the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X? Read on for the answer to all these questions and more.
Read more: PS5 and Xbox Series X Can Game in 8K Resolution. Should You Care?
This shows the relative number of pixels in each of the major resolution formats. Not actual size of course; this is a chart not a visual representation (though it is to scale if you click on it). From largest to smallest: 8K (tangerine), 4K Cinema in 1.78:1 aspect ratio (black); Ultra HD (white); 2K Cinema in 1.78:1 aspect ratio (green); Full HD 1080p (red); 720p (blue). For more detail, pun intended, check out 4K vs. 8K vs. 1080p: TV resolutions explained.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Is it worth buying an 8K TV?
Here's a quick summary of our current thinking regarding 8K TVs in early 2022.
Unless you have money to burn, don't even consider buying one right now.
From what we've seen, there's little, if any, image quality improvement over 4K TVs.
Any improvement we have seen required sitting very close to a very large screen.
To get the most out of any 8K TV, you need actual 8K content (and there basically isn't any).
Both new consoles promise 8K resolution, but that's potentially misleading.
In the next few years 8K TVs will get cheaper and perhaps actually be worth considering.
To reiterate, one of the biggest reasons 8K TVs are not as amazing as you might expect, besides their price, is that there simply aren't any 8K TV shows or movies to watch on them. And while the latest gaming consoles will eventually do 8K (maybe), 8K games today are basically nonexistent. The best you can get in most cases is 4K, so all those extra pixels of an 8K TV won't be used to their fullest potential.
Now that you've slid your wallet back into your pocket, sit back and soak in everything there is to know about 8K TVs today.
Read more: Remember When TVs Weighed 200 Pounds? A Look Back at TV Trends Over the Years
What is 8K, and is it better than a 4K TV?
A traditional HDTV from a few years ago is 1080p, which means it has 1,920 pixels horizontally and 1,080 vertically. Many digital cinema projectors -- the ones in movie theaters -- have a resolution of 2,048x1,080. Because it's common in Hollywood-speak to only refer to the horizontal resolution, they call that "2K," but it's basically the same as the HDTV 1080p you have at home.
Mathias Appel/HDMI Licensing
The term "4K" comes from the digital cinema side, too, with a horizontal resolution of 4,096, hence "4K." However, on the TV side, manufacturing efficiencies meant we got double the horizontal and vertical resolutions of 1080p HDTV, so 3,840x2,160 pixels. Everyone colloquially calls this "4K," though the technical term is Ultra HD. This has four times as many pixels as 1080p HD.
Which brings us to 8K. You guessed it: twice the horizontal and vertical resolution of 4K, for a whopping 7,680x4,320 and 33,177,600 total pixels. Not only is that four times the resolution of 4K, that's an incredible 16 times more pixels than 1080p. Or to put that differently, you could put 16 full-resolution 1080p videos on an 8K screen at the same time with no loss of quality. I'm not sure why you'd want to do this, but hey, why not?
Read more: 4K vs. 8K vs. 1080p: TV Resolutions Explained
TV and projector resolutions
Resolution name
Horizontal x vertical pixels
Total pixels
Other names
Found on
8K
7,680x4,320
33,177,600
8K Ultra HD, Ultra High Definition (UHD), Super Hi-Vision, UHD-2
High-end TVs
4K
3,840x2,160
8,294,400
Ultra High Definition (UHD)
Most modern TVs, some projectors
1080p
1,920x1,080
2,073,600
High Definition (HD)
Smaller, less expensive and older TVs, most projectors
720p
1,280x720
921,600
High Definition (HD)
Very small and older TVs
The Consumer Technology Association's 8K Ultra HD logo.
CTA
One thing to look for in new 8K TVs: It will feature the official logo and "spec" on new 8K TVs. This goes beyond raw pixel count to help you find TVs that perform to at least a certain standard. This is partly to avoid the mess from the early days of HD and 4K, where some of the first TVs couldn't accept a full HD or later, a 4K signal. The Consumer Technology Association lays out the following minimums a TV is required to have to wear the 8K Ultra HD logo:
At least 7,680 pixels horizontally and 4,320 vertically.
At least one HDMI input capable of accepting that resolution, at 50 or 60 fps (depending on region), with HDR.
The ability to upconvert lower resolution signals to 8K.
The ability to receive and display 10-bit content.
Can the human eye even see 8K?
Technically yes it can, but the difference will be very subtle at best.
As we've explained many times with 4K TVs, there's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to resolution. The human eye can see only so much detail, and extra pixels beyond what you can discern are basically wasted. To get anything out of higher resolutions and their proportionally tinier pixels, you need to sit closer, get a bigger TV, or both.
It's rare that anyone gets a large enough TV -- or sits close enough to one -- to justify the need for even 4K resolutions. 8K is excessive overkill... at least for a TV. If you're talking about massive theater-size screens like Samsung's Wall or Sony's Crystal LED, 8K would be amazing. But since 4K is hard to discern when comparing to a 1080p TV, 4K to 8K from 10 feet away will be pretty much impossible.
That said, because 8K TVs are currently the most expensive offerings from most companies, they often have features which help them produce stunning images that are completely divorced from resolution. So most 8K TVs, with the likely exception of the "cheap" models, will usually look great regardless of their pixel count.
Read more: Best 4K Projectors for 2022
TCL's 65-inch 8K 6-Series TV.
TCL
8K content: Can I actually watch anything in 8K?
Without 8K content, an 8K TV is just a 4K TV with a few thousand dollars stuck to it with duct tape. Samsung talks up fancy "AI" upscaling technology on its TVs, designed to improve the look of mere 4K and 1080p sources on an 8K screen. And other TV makers like Sony and LG have touted their own 8K special sauces. But to get the most out of all those 33 million-plus pixels, the incoming source needs to be 8K too.
There are three main aspects to getting any new format, like 8K, into your home:
1. Content recorded in the new format
2. Transmission of the new format (broadcast, streaming, etc.)
3. Playback of the new format
An 8K TV represents the last part of the system: playback. That's the easy part. Any TV manufacturer can design and produce a TV with any resolution it wants. It's just up to the company and its resources.
Creating content in the new resolution, meanwhile, is a lot tougher. While the number of 8K-capable cameras has dramatically increased in the last few years, they're still expensive to buy or rent. In most cases, these cameras are used to create 4K content instead. There are lots of reasons it's a great idea to capture in 8K. The end result, however, is 4K, because of the second part of the process (transmission).
Read more: How I Built My Dream 8K-Capable Video Editing PC
The Red Monstro 8K VV "Brain" has a 35.4-megapixel CMOS sensor, can record 8K video at 60 fps, has over 17 stops of dynamic range, and costs -- brace yourself -- $54,500.
Red
Ultra HD 4K transmission takes a lot of data. You need a really fast internet connection to stream it. Streaming 8K is a whole other level, well beyond what many have in their homes. With only a tiny percentage of their audience able to see it, mainstream streaming services are slow to adopt higher resolutions, with the increase in cost of storage, processing and more.
Which is all to say, don't expect 8K versions of your favorite streaming shows anytime soon. And without 8K content, the main benefit of an 8K TV is at least partially wasted.
Do I need 8K to play Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 games?
Both Sony and Microsoft have announced that their next-generation gaming consoles, the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, will both be capable of outputting 8K resolution via future updates. Sounds like a great excuse to buy an 8K TV, right? Not so fast.
First, and most important, you will not need an 8K TV to play games on these consoles. They will work just fine on most 1080p and nearly all 4K TVs. If you can connect a PS4 or Xbox One to your current TV, it will work with a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
Read more:Sony PS5 vs. Microsoft Xbox Series X: Game On
Secondly, games will need to be specifically written to take advantage of 8K, something that isn't going to be particularly common. The resolution you see on screen, even if your TV says it's 8K, might not be what resolution the console is rendering the game. It will likely be far more common for the console to build the game's visuals at a lower resolution, 1440p or 4K at best, and convert to 8K to send your TV. This is the same thing your TV does automatically.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
A Sony spokesperson confirmed that this FAQ, published on the PlayStation blog in November 2020, was still the case: "PS5 is compatible with 8K displays at launch, and after a future system software update will be able to output resolutions up to 8K when content is available, with supported software." We're still waiting for that update.
"Xbox Series X is fully capable of 8K output. However, as there is no media content or games that currently support 8K resolution, we have not enabled the option within the system settings at this time. Xbox Series X was designed with the next 8 to 10 years of advancements in mind, and as we see signals from creators and 8K becomes a more widely adopted format, we will update console software to support it," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Long story short, few games will look much different on an 8K TV than they will on a 4K TV. There is limited time and money when you develop a game (well, most games), and few developers will want to invest those limited resources on something only a handful of people will be able to enjoy. Far more likely are games rendered in 4K with higher frame rates, something else made possible by the latest version of HDMI and available on the new consoles.
Read more: 120Hz Gaming: Best TVs for PS5 and Xbox Series X
Where can I stream 8K? Do Netflix or YouTube support it?
Getting the 8K onto your new 8K TV is also a bit of a challenge. Ideally, the TV's internal apps for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and the rest will be 8K compatible. You'd think that'd be a given, but it wasn't in the early days of 4K. Further, there's no 8K content from any major streaming service available yet. The exceptions are YouTube, as you see in the video below, Vimeo and a new service called The Explorers exclusive to 8K Roku TVs. Eventually, ATSC 3.0, also known as Next Gen TV, might allow 8K to be broadcast over the air, but we're a long way from that.
How fast does your internet need to be to stream 8K?
8K also presents another issue for the early adopter: The bandwidth required is immense. Most 4K content streaming companies recommend you have an internet connection in the 20Mbps range. 8K, even with everything else the same, has four times as many pixels.
That doesn't equate exactly to a 4x increase in data or bandwidth, but, and this is just a ballpark guess, a connection requirement in the 40 to 50Mbps range wouldn't be unexpected. Maybe you, cutting-edge CNET reader, have that kind of speed, but most people do not.
A visual representation of how much more bandwidth the upcoming Ultra High Speed cables can handle.
HDMI Forum
What kind of HDMI cable do I need for 8K?
One thing we've already got is the physical connection thing sorted in case any 8K media streamers hit the market or they're needed for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. HDMI 2.1 is capable of 8K resolutions and more. But before you rush out and stock up on HDMI 2.1-compatible cables, keep in mind there will almost certainly be a new standard between now and the wide adoption of 8K. So those cables might be obsolete, despite their current forward-looking appearance.
All of the major 8K TV makers say that their sets have HDMI 2.1 inputs capable of handling the 48Mbps bandwidth required for the highest resolution and frame-rate combinations (8K and 60 frames per second and 4K at 120 fps). We also got a look at some new, higher-bandwidth HDMI cables.
To take advantage of higher 4K frame rates on the new consoles, presuming your TV can handle them, you might need new cables.
Read more: When is the Best Time to Buy a TV?
Is 8K TV a gimmick?
To put on my cynic hat, increasing resolution is one of the easiest ways to offer the appearance of higher performance. This is likely what TV makers are smoking, coming out with 8K TVs when there's essentially no content and no 8K infrastructure.
Given how easy it was to market 4K as "better looking than 1080p," TV makers are claiming the same thing with 8K. But resolution is just one aspect of overall picture quality, and not one of the most important ones. Improving other aspects, such as contrast ratios, overall brightness for HDR, more lifelike colors and so on, offer better image improvements but they are significantly harder to implement. This is especially true for LCD, which is a technology Samsung is still strongly flogging -- e.g. all of its QLED TVs are simply LCD TVs with quantum dots.
It's relatively easy to create a higher-resolution LCD panel, but improving the other aspects of performance for that tech is a greater challenge. Not "more" pixels but "better" pixels. This is why OLED is a thing, and why many companies are researching new technologies like true direct-view quantum dot displays, MicroLED, and mini-LED. Samsung is even coming out with an OLED-quantum dot hybrid that promises to combine the contrast ratio of OLED and the bright colors of quantum dot-based displays. These technologies, regardless of resolution, should look better than 8K TVs, which are currently only LCD-based.
Well, except for LG's OLED, which costs $20-$30,000 depending on size.
Direct-view quantum dot display.
Nanosys
Bottom line: Don't wait for 8K
If you're thinking about buying a new TV, does this mean you should hold off? If your current TV works, you should probably hold on to it regardless. New 8K TVs shouldn't be a factor, because as we mentioned above, early 8K TVs are expensive. We're also many, many years away from any sort of widespread 8K content. We arguably don't have widespread 4K content, and no one is talking about scrapping 4K to go directly to 8K.
The other aspect is a warning that will be seconded by countless 4K early adopters: There's no guarantee these early 8K TVs will end up being compatible with any future 8K standard. There are tens of thousands of 4K TVs that can't play any current 4K media content.
Lastly, even as prices drop, like they have with the $2,200 TCL 8K 6-series, you're almost certainly better off with a 4K TV for the same money. It offers better picture quality overall and only lacks the bragging rights that you have more pixels than your neighbor. But if that's your thing, go for it.
Update, March 14, 2022: This article was first published in 2018 and is regularly updated with new info.
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.
He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.
