TCL brings 8K resolution to its value-conscious 6-Series Roku TVs

[MUSIC] TCL is well known for its affordable TVs the US Roku is excellent streaming system at CES two 2021, which is entirely virtual this year, the China-based company says it will bring affordability to a class of TVs that could really use it, 8K, here's what we know. Actually, I'll start with what we don't know, the price. TCL hasn't said how much its 8k TV will cost only that the most affordable version would be part of the six series. That was already a 4k version of the six series and it happens to be my favorite TV for the money. You can get a 65 inch model for about 900 bucks. I'm guessing the 8k version will cost perhaps twice as much But don't quote me on that. Even at $1,800 though, the 8K 6 series from TCL represent quite a price cut. To put it into perspective, the cheapest 8K TV right now is a 65 inch Samsung for about $2,700. A bigger question is whether it's worth paying anything extra for 8K. There's no 8k video sources right now, and in my experience 4k TVs have plenty of resolution. So the difference in picture quality between 4k TV and an 8k TV will be pretty slight, especially at screen sizes. 75 inches or less Now there might be some more 8k content coming in the future. But for now, it's really not the best use of your TV dollar. Big screen sizes however, and TCL will sell its first 85 inch televisions this year. It'll have three models starting with the four series for about 1600 bucks and topping out with a flagship 8k model that uses the company's latest mini LED backlight system. Mini led allows the company to pack more light emitting diodes behind the screen, which leads to improved brightness and better backlight precision. It's one reason why I really liked that 6 Series and gave him my Editor's Choice. By the way That 4k six series will remain on sale throughout 2021 LCDs new generation of mini LED is called od zero. The big improvement is it eliminates the gap between the backlight and the LCD display itself, allowing the TV to be much thinner and slicker looking. Current mini LED TVs like the six series are pretty thick. But in my book, that's not a huge deal. Again, you don't really watch TV much from the side TCL didn't get into too many other specifics about its 2021 TVs. It didn't tell us what gaming features they would support for example, and as I mentioned earlier, they were pretty vague on pricing. Still given TCL reputation for affordable televisions, I expect it's 2021 models to continue to be among the best values on the market. I look forward to more information from the company probably happening later this spring. I'm David Katzmaier for CNET at virtual [UNKNOWN] 2021