The UltraSharp 32 Ultra HD 8K (UP3218K) monitor uses a 31.5-inch panel featuring 7680x4320p resolution and 33.2 million pixels, more than a billion colors and a 178-degree viewing angle. The display infuses the company’s recent InfinityEdge trend with a narrow 9.7 millimeter bezel around the edges, while the panel itself is built into an aluminum cover.
Dell was not showing any video playback samples during the media event, but displayed an 8K desktop using 100 percent of the Adobe RGB and sRGB color spectrums, 98 percent of DCI-P3 color space, and just over 80 percent of the Rec2020 color space at a refresh rate of 60Hz.
As for connectivity, the panel features two DisplayPort 1.3 ports, one microphone jack, three USB 3.0 ports and an additional one BC1.2 charging capability.
Just as with the entertainment industry, the PC industry has been slowly convincing consumers into transitioning from 1080p sets to larger 1440p and 4K counterparts, though adoption has mostly been limited to gaming and professional applications. The market for video content has been hindered until recently by Hollywood’s lockdown on 4K copyright protection, though hardware DRM initiatives such as Microsoft PlayReady 3.0 are now allowing blockbuster film playback on all monitors and cables supporting HDCP 2.2.
During the Rio 2016 Olympics, Japanese broadcaster NHK experimented with 8K TV satellite broadcast streams along with 22.2-channel audio, though the tests were limited to just a few public viewing stations around its home country. The content should be ready by around 2020, but for now the appeal of owning an 8K display will probably be more catered for PC-related use.
Dell's UP3218K monitor launches on March 23rd at a price of $4,999 and will be marketed to early adopters and industry professionals seeking to further refine their workflow process with much-refined pixel accuracy.