/ 10.14.2011 12:00AM
ITU Advances Ultra Hi-Def Standard
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: This just in from the International Telecommunications
Union: “Ultra high-definition television took an important step towards
becoming reality when experts reached agreement on most of the pertinent technical
characteristics of this exciting new standard for television. UHDTV marks a
leap forward beyond the current standards for high-definition television.
“The experts, which include scientists and engineers from around the world,
have been working together for several years in the ITU Study Group on
Broadcasting Service (ITU-R Study Group 6) to jointly develop and agree on the
technical specifications that will successfully create ‘UHDTV’.
“A demonstration of UHDTV was provided by the Japanese public service
broadcaster NHK at ITU earlier this month. The screen displayed a staggering 33
million pixels, compared to a maximum 2 million pixels for the highest quality
HDTV screens on offer today.
“In Sept. 2011, a trial UHDTV link was arranged between London and Amsterdam
and plans are under way to cover part of the 2012 London Olympic Games in UHDTV
for screening at public venues around the world.
“David Wood, chairman of the concerned ITU Working Party in the Broadcasting Service
Study Group, said, ‘The relationship that a viewer has with television viewing
is linked to the overall experience of the picture and quality of sound. The
extremely high quality of UHDTV will have a definite impact on our lifestyle
and on our engagement with the programs we watch.’
“Christoph Dosch, chairman of the Broadcasting Service Study Group, said, ‘UHDTV
promises to bring about one of the greatest changes to audio-visual
communications and broadcasting in recent decades. Technology is truly at the
cusp of transforming how people experience audio-visual communications.’
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré, looking ahead to the day UHDTV will
become a reality, said, ‘UHDTV will create an immersive experience for viewers
and will generate a host of new business and marketing opportunities.’”
NHK has demonstrated UHDTV at several NAB shows. LG showed an 84-inch UHDTV 3D
panel at the Society for Information Display trade show in Seattle last year.
JVC in 2007 showed a prototype UHDTV camera at CEATAC in Japan. Sony rolled out
an ultra hi-def projector last month.