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Sony targets 8K sets to release in time for 2020 Olympic Games (1 Viewer)

Ashly Yeo

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http://advanced-television.com/2016/08/26/tv-giants-look-to-8k/

By Chris Forrester
August 26, 2016

Ultra-HD/4K is hardly mass-market just yet, but already many industry players are looking to the ‘next big thing’ in TV’s never-ending road to higher resolution.

Now, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, along with the nation’s two giant electronics specialists, Sony and Panasonic, are to cooperate in order to further develop technology for TV’s capable to handle 8K video transmissions.






8K (Super Hi-Vision) has four-times the image resolution of 4K/Ultra HD.

The Japanese consortium is looking to regain the technological initiative somewhat lost to its South Korean arch-rivals at LG and Samsung. There could also be spin-off benefits for Sony and Panasonic in their camera divisions (both video and ‘still’ cameras). Sony’s F65 Cine Alta high-end professional video camera – and appreciated by many film directors – is capable of capturing 8K.

Japan is already testing 8K transmissions, and beamed about 100 hours of 8K coverage of the Rio Olympics, although the broadcasts went only to designated ‘public viewing’ screens. NHK, and other Japanese broadcasters, say they will start regular 8K transmissions in 2018.

The trio will be overseen by NHK and it is expected that chip-set developer Socionext (itself formed by a merger between Fujitsu and Panasonic’s chip divisions) will be involved in developing a ‘next generation’ chip-set for use in 8K.

Sony has already said it will have 8K sets on the market in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

NHK is a regular at trade shows such as IBC in Amsterdam, and at MIPCOM in Cannes (October 17-20) it will be showcasing programming in 4K and 8K.
 

Gary Seven

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This is why I have not boarded the 4K train as I knew Japan was already working with 8K. So 4 years until the first 8K TVs show up. Good to know.
 

Josh Steinberg

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Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of new theatrical releases are completed at 2K, and most television broadcasts are currently limited to highly compressed 720p and/or 1080i signals.

I can see the use of large 8K displays for presentation and public display uses, but I don't see the use for it in the consumer arena where none of the content we watch is available in that format.
 

Lord Dalek

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Less than probably 5% of the country watched the OIympics in 4k (I have a 4k TV and even I couldn't!), why does anyone expect to buy 8k in 2020?
 

Tony Bensley

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It seems pointless to even attempt to keep up with the advances, these days! Even the cable companies aren't bothering to try! :P

8K will be fine for the Jumbotron screens utilized for big ticket concerts and major sporting events, I suppose.

CHEERS! :)
 

Josh Steinberg

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8K will be fine for the Jumbotron screens utilized for big ticket concerts and major sporting events, I suppose.

I'm sure that'll be a use, but I have to wonder if it's necessary. Last night I saw Bruce Springsteen at MetLife stadium, and he had the largest giant screens I've ever seen - a long horizontal one behind the performers that ran the entire length of the stage, and then another giant vertical screen to the left and right of the stage that was practically the height of the stadium. They were all being fed HD (1080) video, and looked amazing. So yes, they could upgrade those to 4K in the future, or even 8K, but I'm not sure how much of that difference will be needed or noticed by the audience.

Most IMAX locations, which are the largest screens in the world, are currently limited to 2K projection. Even though a select few locations which have 4K laser projection equipment, the vast majority of titles that they show have been made in 2K. They look fine. If 2K is enough for the world's largest screens, I wonder how much more is really necessary, especially for people at home who do not have the world's largest screens.
 

Tony Bensley

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It was more of a concession on my part that 8K might have some uses, rather than necessarily thinking it necessary in my view.

For the record, we don't even have any 1080p (Or 2K) screens in our household, never mind 4K. All of our screens are 720p, save for one HP Monitor, which has an oddball 1440 x 900p resolution, that I plan to sell, as the old Dell Dimension 3000 Tower to which it was attached, will soon be going to the appropriate waste disposal. This 17 inch Flatscreen is of no use on its own as it has no tuner, I'm sad to say! Our 32 inch Toshiba 720p Flatscreen TV is the biggest screen that we have, and we neither have the space, nor the funds for anything much larger than that!

So you got to see the Boss, Josh! Color me envious, in using the old early '90s vernacular! That must have been a fantastic show! :thumbsup:

CHEERS! :)
 
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Lord Dalek

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This is really just another example of NHK using the Olympics as an excuse to shoot in a format only their technical department supports purely for testing purposes. They've been doing it ever since they recorded the 1984 LA Olympics in 720p (yes... in 1984!).
 

Dave Moritz

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I love 4K but have no reason to go to 8K! Local broadcasters have not even talked about moving up to 4K and not all the studios are putting out 4K UHD titles. So why would any content providers like HBO, Discovery or local tv stations embrace 8K when 4K UHD TV's have not been out very long! I see 8K being more beneficial for commercial cinema than consumers and see no benefit for small screen sizes in consumers homes. Besides there has not been enough consumer adoption of 4K yet and not enough 4K content to be thinking about jumping to 8K delivery.

Just think of the bandwidth issues trying to get 8K content over the internet as the average consumer doesn't even have the bandwidth for 4K content! No disc available that can deliver 8K content and what broadcaster is going to invest in being able to deliver 8K anyway! Oh and name a cable company that will have the capability to offer 8K stations or even a satellite company that will be able to deal with a 8K signal. They are still working on getting the remaining studios to release 4K content on 4K UHD blu-ray so with the technology issues 8K is not going to get far other than upscalling 4K content on screens to small to take advantage of 8K content or even upscalling 4K content.

So sorry Sony and anyone else thinking about releasing 8K displays, I will not purchase one and I doubt that they will sell very many of them.
 
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Adam Gregorich

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I can't provide any specifics, but I got to see a prototype 8k set last year. In my opinion it's going to be a commercial product- don't get me wrong. It looked beautiful, but I don't watch my TV with my nose touching the screen. They were showing close up footage of a beautiful antique tapestry and you could see every stitch and all the fine detail - the perfect display to have in museums, etc. Of course I said I would never buy a 4K set and I just did :)
 

Craig Beam

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Yeah, I said my 60" 1080p plasma would be the last, best TV I'd ever get. So what has two thumbs and can't stop eyeballing 4K sets? THIS GUY.
 

Edwin-S

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Of course I said I would never buy a 4K set and I just did :)

:laugh: You and me both. I was sure that I wouldn't buy one of the things any time soon and here I am with one sitting in my living room; although, I am still contemplating taking it back to the store.
 

Edwin-S

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It will amount to personal preference. I thought the curved screen would be distracting, but I really don't notice much, if any, of a difference. Two people, sitting on the outside positions on my couch, said the picture was good. They never noticed any anomalies from the curved screen.
 

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