Japanske NHK lancerer den 1. december verdens første 8K tv-kanal. Der skal sendes film som 2001: A Space Odyssey, videoer fra NASA, koncerter og andet indhold i 8K.
Som forberedelse til OL 2020 i Tokyo
Den japanske public service-udbyder NHK har udviklet 8K-billedteknologi siden 1995. Målet har været at blive klar til at sende OL 2020 i Tokyo i højeste kvalitet. Selskabet lancerer nu ’BS8K’ kanalen som optakt til den store begivenhed.
NHK’s BS8K tv-kanal vil sende 12 timer daligt. På lanceringsdagen vises 8K-optagelser af jorden, skabt af NASA på den internationale rumstation. Kanalen kommer desuden til at vise Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey i en restaureret 8K-udgave, som er skabt fra den originale 70mm filmrulle i samarbejde med Warner Bros.
- “On the BS8K channel on December 1st, a landmark film in cinematic history, the science-fiction epic "2001: A Space Odyssey" will be broadcast,“ forklarer Yukinori Kida, Executive Director of Broadcasting, NHK. “Although many films were shot in 35mm, this film which was made half a century ago, was one of the few shot in 70mm, the highest quality available at the time. NHK was the first in the world to request this film be converted to 8K. Warner Bros, which owns the film, scanned the original film negatives, repairing scratches and restoring the color, to convert it into 8K.”
Andet indhold i 8K dækker over koncerter fra tre af verdens førende orkestre, herunder Vienna Philharmonic, optagelser fra kunstudstillinger som Louvre, live sumo-wrestling, dokumentarer såsom Treasures of Tutankhamun, tv-dramaer og naturprogrammer. I marts 2019 vil man sende en restaureret udgave af klassikeren My Fair Lady, som ligeledes er optaget på 70mm.
Stadig lang vej endnu
Lanceringen af NHK BS8K er en milepæl, men der er stadig lang vej endnu for alle involverede parter. Sharp og Samsung har lanceret de første 8K-tv, men de er ikke kompatible med det 8K60-format, som NHK anvender. De er i stedet begrænset til 8K30. NHK har planer om at hæve niveauet til 8K120 HDR.
Før 8K kan blive en realitet hjemme i stuerne, skal forbrugerne investere i 8K-skærme med fuld HDMI 2.1. Disse skærme eksisterer ikke på nuværende tidspunkt. Overgangen vil tage adskillige år og måske endnu længere end overgangen til 4K. Det skyldes, at mange film og videoproduktioner kan genudgives i 4K baseret på den originale 35mm filmrulle, hvorimod 8K kræver typisk 70mm eller optagelser skudt med nye digitale kameraer såsom RED. Netflix’s Lost in Space er optaget i 7K med RED Helium-kameraet, men selskabet har endnu ikke annonceret planer om at tilbyde i den høje opløsning. YouTube streamer allerede i formatet.
NHK BS8K tilbyder desuden lyd i op til 22.2 kanaler, men ikke alt indhold vil blive udsendt i dette surround-format. 2001: A Space Odyssey sendes eksempelvis i 8K med standard 5.1 surroundlyd og ingen HDR, hvorimod udsendelsen fra Vienna Philharmonic byder på både 22.2 lyd og HDR.
Disse udfordringer vil blive løst med tiden og måske begynder forbrugere sågar at købe endnu større tv-skærme, der kan udnytte den meget høje opløsning. Vejen er dog lang og brolagt med hindringer.
NHK har været en drivende kraft i udviklingen af 8K-teknologi, som de tidligere har kaldt “Super Hi-Vision”. Ved den officielle lancering lader det dog til, at public service-udbyderen har lagt sig fast på det mere udbredte udtryk ’8K’, som er en forkortelse for 7680x4320 pixels – fire gange så mange pixels som 4K.
Hvis du er nysgerrig efter at læse mere om NHKs arbejde på området, så besøg nhk.or.jp/8k. Vi forventer at høre mere om 8K på CES-messen i januar 2019.
NHK: The history of 8K Super Hi-Vision
| 1995 | | Research on ultra high-definition video system begins. |
| 2000 | | Research begins on ultra high-definition video system with 4000 scanning lines and 3D audio system. |
| 2002 | March | Ultra high-definition video system with 4000 scanning lines and 3D sound reproduction system displayed at the inaugural ceremony at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories. |
| 2003 | May | Movie on the ultra high-definition video system with 4000 scanning lines shown at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories open house. |
| 2004 | | Ultra high-definition video system with 4000 scanning lines and 22.2 multichannel sound system named Super Hi-Vision. |
| 2005 | March | Super Hi-Vision is shown on a 6OO-inch screen at the Expo 2005 Aichi Japan. |
| October | The Kyushu National Museum introduced a system displaying stills of art pieces in Super Hi-Vision. |
| November | Live feed experiment to transmit uncompressed Super Hi-Vision signals via optical fiber succeeds. |
| 2016 | April | Displayed at the NAB2006 (biggest international exhibition of broadcasting equipment in the US) in Las Vegas. |
| September | Displayed at the lBC2006 (biggest international exhibition of broadcasting equipment in Europe) in Amsterdam. |
| December | NHK's program "Kouhaku Utagassen" (The Red and White Year-end Song Festival) was successfully transmitted with bit-rate compression over IP networks from Tokyo to Osaka, in cooperation with NTT and NTT Communications. |
| 2007 | October | Video format standardized by SMPTE. |
| 2008 | July | Audio system format (22.2 multichannel sound system) standardized by SMPTE. |
| September | At the lBC2008 in Amsterdam, NHK succeeded in an international transmission experiment, in cooperation with BBC, RAI, among others (IP networks from London to Amsterdam; satellite from Turin to Amsterdam). | |
| 2009 | April | Displayed at NAB2009 in Las Vegas. |
| May | Live experiment to transmit Super Hi-Vision video over multiple channels via satellite. A full resolution projector was put on display at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories open house. |
| 2010 | May | Full resolution color camera was displayed at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories open house. |
| August | Interface standardized by SMPTE. |
| September | Displayed at the IBC2010 in Amsterdam. NHK succeeded in an international live feed transmission experiment from London to Tokyo using IP networks, in cooperation with BBC, NTT, among others. |
| 2011 | January | Practical compact projector developed. |
| May | 85-inch liquid crystal display and display with built-in 22.2 multichannel sound reproduction system were exhibited at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories open house. |
| September | Exhibited at the IBC2011 in Amsterdam. |
| September | Exhibited at ITU-R in Geneva. |
| 2012 | February | Image sensor with the frame rate of 120Hz is developed. |
| April | 145-inch plasma display is developed. |
| May | Compact camera (same size as HDTV camera) is developed. |
| May | Transmission experiment via terrestrial waves succeeds. |
| May | Production system for 22.2 multichannel audio exhibited at NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories open house. |
| July | Public viewings of the 2012 London Olympic Games in Super Hi-Vision held. |
| August | Recommended as the international standard for television by lTU-R. |
| 2013 | February | Transmission experiment via cable TV facilities succeeds. |
| May | HEVC encoding device is developed. |
| May | Cube type compact camera head is developed. |
| 2014 | January | Long-distance transmission experiment via terrestrial waves succeeds. |
| February | Public viewings of the 2014 Sochi Olympics Games was held. |
| May | 8K Super Hi-Vision transmission test using the nation's largest cable TV facility succeeded. |
| June | Public viewings of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ was held. |
| September | Video shot using a 8K Super Hi-Vision camera with a frame frequency of 120Hz was shown for the first time in the world at IBC2014 in Amsterdam. |
