Los Angeles’ Video & Audio Center (VAC) was among the first handful of retailers to get their hands on Samsung’s new 85-inch 8K QLED TV.
The Q900R, unveiled last August at IFA 2018, is the tip of the spear for the new generation of 8K displays, which have four times the resolution of 4K sets and are 16 times sharper than 1080p TVs.
To help generate excitement and sales around the new technology, VAC held a special VIP launch event at its new Westfield Century City Mall showroom this past Friday afternoon. Select clients were invited based on past TV predilections, and the retailer, which has a well-established knack for introducing new tech, sold five of the $15,000 sets within the first hour.
[Read: Is 8K Gaining Traction?]
Corporate director Tom Campbell (photo, right) credits the TV itself, which features an onboard demo mode in native 8K, and an AI-based up-scaling technology that wowed the crowd when the set was fed simple HD signals from live cable broadcasts.
“The native 8K is phenomenal and the cable content we demoed just popped,” he said, “so consumers can enjoy it right now.”
Speaking to the crowd, co-owner Joseph Akhtarzad (photo, left) thanked Samsung for making VAC one of the first retailers to carry the 900R, and described customer reaction to the new TV as “just amazing.”
