Imagine 80-inch screens with quadruple the image quality of Full HD, plus passive 3D content that you’d consider actually watchable. That’s 4K TV technology. It could deliver a stunning home theater experience—just as soon as 4K-enabled TV’s like Sony’s latest begin to cost less than a Kia. More »
We’ve seen plenty of 4K cameras, and we’ve even heard a whisper or two about 8K, but the quality of a viewing experience isn’t tied only to resolution — frame rate also comes into play, especially with fast-moving subjects. NHK’s prototype Super Hi-Vision camera doubles the capture rate from the standard 60Hz to a much speedier 120Hz, yielding sharper motion. While the difference isn’t noticeable with static or slow-moving scenes, it certainly comes into play when filming rapid-motion sporting events or panning the camera. The Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s latest model was on hand at IBC in Amsterdam, and the advantages of a 120Hz cam were immediately crystal clear.
Filming a rotating image that paired ordinary objects and cityscapes with letters and numbers, you could see the difference instantly, with the 120Hz image on the right side yielding far shaper details, while the left side was often a blurry mess. There’s no software smoothing on hand here — because the higher frequency comes directly from the source, it appears perfectly natural, and much more pleasant. We captured a video demonstrating the expo floor rig, but because our camera doesn’t sport the same spec, you won’t notice a difference in the hands-on clip after the break. You can see the difference in our stills gallery below, however, and you can take us on our word — the improvement is quite dramatic.
Gallery: NHK 120Hz 4K camera eyes-on
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD
NHK 8K Super Hi-Vision camera captures native 120Hz footage, we go eyes-on at IBC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tucked away into a dark corner of Panasonic’s booth is the clear highlight of the outfit’s IFA 2012 showcase: a 145-inch 8K plasma display panel. Developed in partnership with Japan’s NHK, the prototype is merely a proof of concept for the broadcaster’s planned 2020 launch of Super Hi Vision TV. In person, the flat screen is truly awe-inspiring, offering such richness of detail that even up-close we weren’t able to discern any pixels, while colors appeared balanced and natural. Overall, the image quality — 16 times that of regular full HD — nearly apes the real-world images it replicates. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait sometime before this tech trickles down to the mass market level. In the meantime, content yourself with a brief video demo after the break.
Continue reading Panasonic’s 145-inch 8K PDP eyes-on (video)
Filed under: Displays
Panasonic’s 145-inch 8K PDP eyes-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You can always count on Japan’s NHK to come up with new, exciting and innovative ways to bring us video coverage. The latest project? A wind- and solar-powered robot camera designed for situations such as natural disasters. Loaded with a 1,200 Ah battery, even if the elements don’t bless it with sun and air, it can keep filming for two to three days. The combination of wind turbine and solar panels obviously allow it to generate more power than either method on its own, with the turbine reportedly generating 1 kW at 11 m/s wind speeds. A special power-saving mode prevent it draining too fast when full functionality — such as the built-in wireless, cellular and satellite broadcasting systems aren’t needed. Currently the prototype is installed on a rooftop while battery and power-generation are fully tested, but it’s hoped that this could lead to further developments for disaster area broadcast equipment. Or — here’s hoping — power-cut-proof sports coverage.
NHK developing hybrid renewable energy-powered video camera for use in disaster areas originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We’d heard that the International Telecommunication Union was close to approving Super Hi-Vision as an Ultra High Definition TV standard, and the UN agency hasn’t waited long to confirm the rumors. The recommendation to use NHK’s 7,680 x 4,320 format has gone unopposed and should define the parameters for incredibly detailed 8K video worldwide. This shouldn’t lead anyone to return that 4K TV just yet — once again, it’s important to remember that NHK still won’t start any kind of wider testing until 2020. That’s also assuming that the first 8K sets are down to Earth instead of the incredibly expensive 145-inch variety.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD
ITU approves NHK’s Super Hi-Vision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’ve seen NHK preparing its Super Hi-Vision 8K video since time immemorial. Wouldn’t it be nice if the TV broadcast technology was more than just a perpetual research project? If sources for Japan’s Nikkei aren’t dreaming, the International Telecommunication Union is now “likely” to declare the format an official standard for broadcasters and TV makers. Should it go ahead, the UN telecom body would ask the world to rely on Super Hi-Vision as an eventual successor to HDTV and reduce the balkanization of TV standards that we’ve seen in the past. Neither the ITU nor NHK is known to have commented on the claim so far, but NHK isn’t exactly in a rush to get a seal of approval from anyone — widescale test broadcasts aren’t coming until 2020, and production TVs themselves are only just entering a 4K universe.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Nikkei: ITU near recommending NHK’s Super Hi-Vision as official TV standard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The first live Super Hi-Vision broadcast for public consumption was of the Olympic opening ceremony in London last week. We didn’t get to see that premiere, or the second or third screenings either — but the fourth? Oh yes. We grabbed a seat right up front of a small theater inside BBC Broadcasting House, watched a live 33-megapixel feed from the Aquatics Center and absorbed some very fond memories in the process. At the same time, a question hung over the footage like a watermark: why bother? The world is barely getting to grips with the notion of 4K, which already solves pixelation at regular viewing distances, so why did the BBC and Japanese broadcaster NHK go to the expense of sending a dedicated SHV video truck, a SHV audio truck rigged for 22.2 channel sound, and the world’s only three 8K Ultra HDTV cameras to London? Fortunately, we caught up with someone in charge who was able to respond to that question. Read on for what they said, plus a slightly fuller sense of what the footage was like to watch.
Continue reading BBC shows off 33-megapixel Super Hi-Vision Olympic footage, we ask: why?
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment
BBC shows off 33-megapixel Super Hi-Vision Olympic footage, we ask: why? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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