The Big Picture Story
Years ago, I was part of the team that first took TV streams and figured out how to get them to play on a PC. The first commercail digital video was only 25 years ago, and the first viable digital video was probably about 20. I can remember the arguments of using analog video or digital video for the first high-definition systems, since the feeling was that over-the-air was the only way the most people would get video.
Fast forward to today, and nearly every signal to the home in a developed country is via a digital box. The bandwidth of digital delivery has gone up significantly, and the jump to HDTV has been relatively seamless for most people. So what could be better? How about higher resolution?
Japanese telly addicts will get to see the 2014 FIFA World Cup in glorious Ultra HD. As a result, they’ll get 4K x 2K broadcast content beamed into their homes two years earlier than expected.
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said the move had been prompted by a desire to stimulate demand for the 3840 × 2160 pixel format, which delivers a picture resolution four times that of a 1080p Full HD image.
The transmissions will initially be made via satellite rather than terrestrial, the Japanese-language Asahi Shimbun reported today. That’s no doubt to give the broadcasts accessible the greatest possible geographical coverage. No doubt the footie will be transmitted by NHK, Japan’s public service broadcaster.