BBC, NHK make first 8K resolution TV broadcast
updated 03:40 pm EDT, Thu September 30, 2010
BBC, NHK send first SHV show from the UK to Japan
The BBC, in conjunction with Japanese public broadcaster NHK, have collaborated to not only film a live performance with a Super Hi-Vision camera at 7,680x4,320 (8K) resolution, but sent the live broadcast to Japan. The Charlatans performed for the first-of-its-kind broadcast, which is four times sharper than 1080p HDTV resolution. Super Hi-Vision technology was developed by NHK.
NHK hopes to send out regular Super Hi-Vision broadcasts by 2020, and no current TV can fully show off the resolution natively. The transmission was an important step in the development of the technology, said NHK R&D head Dr. Keiichi Kubota. Together with the BBC's R&D department, NHK was working on developing ways to compress the video signals for efficient transmission.
The feeds require 24Gbps of bandwidth, and the Tokyo audience watched the feed thanks to the UK's Janet network, which can operate at 40Gbps.
NHK is also developing a vision mixer that will allow mixing signals from more than one camera, along with a recording standard to accommodate the large amount of data required. This could be done in a year, says an NHK engineer, along with a superimposer for subtitles, allowing for a complete production for live coverage. BBC research and development also used this opportunity to experiment with 3D coverage from the single, fixed-lens Hi-Vision camera.
There is also talk to showcase the technology at the 2012 Olympics. This would likely involve filming some of the events in Super Hi-Vision and showcase it on some publicly-displayed test screens. [via BBC]
