NHK (of Japan), RAI (of Italy) and the BBC will collaborate at IBC2008 on live demonstrations with international links of Super Hi-Vision, an NHK-based system that combines 7680x4320 pixel images with 22.2 channel immersive audio.
In the demonstrations, content shot in Japan will be mixed with live pictures from a camera in London; the live feed from London will be compressed using MPEG-2 and delivered over an ultra-broadband fiber. Content will also be played into the demonstration from a server in Torino, Italy, delivered over two full satellite transponders provided by Eutelsat.
The demo will take place at the NHK theatre using an 8K x 4K projector and at the EBU Village stand (10.D21). The EBU Village will house the satellite downlink and will show the content downconverted for a still-spectacular 3840x2160 pixel LCD display, alongside a similar display with a second demonstration showing Super Hi-Vision content coded using the Dirac algorithm. Super Hi-Vision can also be viewed on the Eutelsat stand (1.D59).
“We have undertaken a huge challenge with our plans for IBC,” said Kenkichi Tanioka, director general of the Science and Technical Research Laboratories of NHK. “It is a tribute to the alliance of forward-looking companies working on this project that we are confident all will be well. In particular, I know that my colleagues at the BBC and RAI would like to thank our industry partners who are investing heavily in broadband and satellite capacity over an extended period to make this work.”
“We first brought the NHK Ultra High Definition Television system to IBC in 2006,” said Phil White, director of Technology and Events for IBC. “This year, through the live links to the U.K. and Italy—not once but many times a day—the partners involved in this project will be showing absolute leading edge technology with real practical applications: just what our visitors expect from IBC.”
In addition to the demonstrations (which will be regularly repeated in the NHK theatre and are open to all visitors) an IBC conference session will address the technologies behind the systems and the future for ultra-HD television like Super Hi-Vision. The conference session is at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, in the Forum.
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