Ultra high definition television (also known as Ultra HD television or UHDTV) includes 4K UHD (2160p) and 8K UHD (4320p), which are two digital video formats proposed by NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories and defined and approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The Consumer Electronics Association announced on October 17, 2012, that "Ultra High-Definition", or "Ultra HD", would be used for displays that have an aspect ratio of at least 16:9 and at least one digital input capable of carrying and presenting native video at a minimum resolution of 3,840 × 2,160 pixels.
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Ultra high definition is also known as Ultra HD, UHD, and UHDTV.[1][2][3][4][5] In Japan, 8K UHDTV will be known as Super Hi-Vision since Hi-Vision was the term used in Japan for HDTV.[6][7] Companies had previously only used the term 4K at the 2012 International CES but that had changed to Ultra HD during the 2013 International CES.[4][5] The Ultra HD term is an umbrella term that was selected by the Consumer Electronics Association after extensive consumer research.[8]
Two resolutions are defined as UHDTV:[1][2][3]
The p in 2160p and 4320p stand for progressive scan or non-interlaced.
The Rec. 2020 (UHDTV) color space can reproduce colors that can not be shown with the Rec. 709 (HDTV) color space.[6] In coverage of the CIE 1931 color space the Rec. 2020 color space covers 75.8%, the digital cinema reference projector color space covers 53.6%, the Adobe RGB color space covers 52.1%, and the Rec. 709 color space covers 35.9%.[6] Rec. 2020 allows for frame rates up to 120 frames per second (fps).[11][3]
Super Hi-Vision specifications:[12][6][7][13]
NHK researchers built their own UHDTV prototype from scratch, which they demonstrated in 2003.[14] They used an array of 16 HDTV recorders with a total capacity of almost 3.5 TB that could capture up to 18 minutes of test footage.[14] The camera itself was built with four 2.5 inch (64 mm) CCDs, each with a resolution of only 3840 × 2048.[14] Using two CCDs for green and one each for red and blue, they then used a spatial pixel offset method to bring it to 7680 × 4320.[14][15] Subsequently, an improved and more compact system was built using CMOS image sensor technology[16] and the CMOS image sensor system was demonstrated at Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan, the NAB 2006 and NAB 2007 conferences, Las Vegas, at IBC 2006 and IBC 2008,[17] Amsterdam, Netherlands, and CES 2009. A review of the NAB 2006 demo was published in a Broadcast Engineering e-newsletter.[18] The final goal is for UHDTV to be available in domestic homes, though the timeframe for this happening varies between 2015 to 2020 but Japan and China may get it in the 2013–2014 time frame.[19]
On November 2, 2006, NHK demonstrated a live relay of a UHDTV program over a 260 kilometer (km) distance by a fiber-optic network.[20] Using dense wavelength division multiplex (DWDM), 24 Gbit/s speed was achieved with a total of 16 different wavelength signals.[20]
On December 31, 2006, NHK demonstrated a live relay of their annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen over IP from Tokyo to a 450 in (11.4 m) screen in Osaka. Using a codec developed by NHK, the video was compressed from 24 Gbit/s to 180–600 Mbit/s and the audio was compressed from 28 Mbit/s to 7–28 Mbit/s.[21] Uncompressed, a 20-minute broadcast would require roughly 4 TB of storage.
The SMPTE first released Standard 2036 for UHDTV in 2007.[22] UHDTV was defined as having two levels called UHDTV1 (3840 × 2160 or 4K UHDTV) and UHDTV2 (7680 × 4320 or 8K UHDTV).[22][23]
In May 2007, the NHK did an indoor demonstration at the NHK Open House in which a UHDTV signal (7680 × 4320 at 60 fps) was compressed to a 250 Mbit/s MPEG2 stream.[24] The signal was input to a 300 MHz wide band modulator and broadcast using a 500 MHz QPSK modulation.[24] This "on the air" transmission had a very limited range (less than 2 meters), but shows the feasibility of a satellite transmission in the 36,000 km orbit.[24]
In 2008, Aptina Imaging announced the introduction of a new CMOS image sensor specifically designed for the NHK UHDTV project.[25] During IBC 2008 Japan's NHK, Italy's RAI, BSkyB, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic Corporation, Sharp Corporation, and Toshiba (with various partners) demonstrated the first ever public live transmission of UHDTV, from London to the conference site in Amsterdam.[26][27]
On September 29, 2010, the NHK partnered up and recorded The Charlatans live in the UK in the UHDTV format, before broadcasting over the internet to Japan.[28]
On May 19, 2011, SHARP in collaboration with NHK demonstrated a direct-view 85 inches (220 cm) LCD display capable of 7680 × 4320 pixels at 10 bits per pixel.[29] It was the first direct-view Super Hi-Vision-compatible display to be released.[30]
Before 2011, UHDTV allowed for frame rates of 24, 25, 50, and 60 fps.[23] In an ITU-R meeting during 2011, an additional frame rate was added to UHDTV of 120 fps.[31]
On February 23, 2012, NHK announced that with Shizuoka University they had developed an 8K sensor that can shoot video at 120 fps.[32][33][34]
In April 2012, NHK (in collaboration with Panasonic) announced a 145 in (370 cm) display (7680 × 4320 at 60 fps), which has 33.2 million 0.417 mm square pixels.[35]
In April 2012, the four major Korean terrestrial broadcasters (KBS, MBC, SBS, and EBS) announced that in the future, they would begin test broadcasts of UHDTV on channel 66 in Seoul.[36][37] At the time of the announcement, the UHDTV technical details had not yet been decided.[36][37] LG Electronics and Samsung will also be involved in the test broadcasts of UHDTV.[37]
In May 2012, NHK showed the world's first ultra-high-definition shoulder-mount camera.[38] By reducing the size and weight of the camera, the portability had been improved, making it more maneuverable than previous prototypes, so it can be used in a wide variety of shooting situations.[38] The single-chip sensor uses a Bayer color-filter array, where only one color component is acquired per pixel.[38] Researchers at NHK have also developed a high-quality up-converter, which estimates the other two-color components to convert the output into full resolution video.[38]
Also in May 2012, NHK showed the ultra-high-definition imaging system it has developed in conjunction with Shizuoka University, which outputs 33.2 megapixel video at 120 fps with a color depth of 12 bits.[39][40] As ultra-high-definition broadcasts at full resolution are designed for large, wall-sized displays, there is a possibility that fast-moving subjects may not be clear when shot at 60 fps, so the option of 120 fps has been standardized for these situations.[39] To handle the sensor output of approximately 4 billion pixels per second with a data rate as high as 51.2 Gbit/s, a faster analog-to-digital converter has been developed to process the data from the pixels, and then a high-speed output circuit distributes the resulting digital signals into 96 parallel channels.[39] This 1.5 in (38 mm) CMOS sensor is smaller and uses less power when compared to conventional ultra-high-definition sensors, and it is also the world's first to support the full specifications of the ultra-high-definition standard.[39]
During the 2012 Summer Olympics in Great Britain, the format was publicly showcased by the world's largest broadcaster, the BBC,[41] which set up 15 meter wide screens in London, Glasgow, and Bradford to allow viewers to see the Games in ultra-high definition.[42][43]
On May 31, 2012,[44] Sony released the VPL-VW1000ES 4K 3D Projector,[45] the world's first consumer-prosumer projector using the 4K UHDTV system, with the shutter-glasses stereoscopic 3D technology priced at US$24,999.99.[46][47]
On August 22, 2012, LG announced the world's first 3D UHDTV using the 4K system.[48]
On August 23, 2012, UHDTV was officially approved as a standard by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), standardizing both 4K and 8K resolutions for the format in ITU-R Recommendation BT.2020.[11][49]
On September 15, 2012, David Wood, Deputy Director of the EBU Technology and Development Department (who chairs the ITU working group that created Rec. 2020), told The Hollywood Reporter that Korea plans to begin test broadcasts of 4K UHDTV next year.[50][51][52] Wood also said that many broadcasters have the opinion that going from HDTV to 8K UHDTV is too much of a leap and that it would be better to start with 4K UHDTV.[50] In the same article Masakazu Iwaki, NHK Research senior manager, said that the NHK plan to go with 8K UHDTV is for economic reasons since directly going to 8K UHDTV would avoid an additional transition from 4K UHDTV to 8K UHDTV.[50]
On October 18, 2012, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced that it had been unanimously agreed on by a vote of the CEA’s Board of Industry Leaders that the term "Ultra High-Definition", or "Ultra HD", would be used for displays that have a resolution of at least 8 megapixels with a vertical resolution of at least 2,160 pixels and a horizontal resolution of at least 3,840 pixels.[53][54][55][56] The Ultra HD label also requires the display to have an aspect ratio of at least 16 x 9 and to have at least one digital input that can carry and present a native video signal of 3840 × 2160 without having to rely on a video scaler.[53][54][55][56] Sony announced that their 4K products will be marketed as "4K Ultra High-Definition (4K UHD)".[57]
On October 23, 2012, Ortus Technology Co., Ltd announced the development of the world's smallest 3840 × 2160 pixel LCD panel with a size of 9.6 in (24 cm) and a pixel density of 458ppi.[58][59][60] The LCD panel is designed for medical equipment and professional video equipment.[58][59][60]
On October 25, 2012, LG Electronics began selling the first flat panel Ultra HD display in the United States with a resolution of 3840 × 2160.[61][62][63] The LG 84LM9600 is a 84 in (210 cm) flat panel LED-backlit LCD display with a price of US$19,999 though the retail store was selling it for US$16,999.[61][62][63]
On October 26, 2012, AU Optronics announced that it had developed a 65 in (170 cm) Ultra HD IGZO TV panel with a resolution of 3840 × 2160.[64][65]
On November 13, 2012, Samsung announced that they would show an 85 in (220 cm) Ultra HD TV at the 2013 International CES.[66][67]
On November 28, 2012, Sharp Corporation announced the PN-K321 which is a professional 32 in (81 cm) LCD Monitor that uses a IGZO panel and edge-lit LED backlighting.[68][69] The PN-K321 will have a resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels and will support 60 fps with the DisplayPort connection, 60 fps using two HDMI connections, or 30 fps using a single HDMI connection.[68][69] The PN-K321 will be released in Japan on February 15, 2013.[68][69]
On November 29, 2012, Sony announced the 4K Ultra HD Video Player, which is a hard disk server preloaded with ten 4K movies and several 4K video clips that will be included with the Sony XBR-84X900.[70][71][72] The preloaded 4K movies will be The Amazing Spider-Man, Total Recall (2012), The Karate Kid (2010), Salt, Battle: Los Angeles, The Other Guys, Bad Teacher, That’s My Boy, Taxi Driver, and The Bridge on the River Kwai.[70][71][72] Additional 4K movies and 4K video clips will be offered for the 4K Ultra HD Video Player in the future .[70][71][72]
On November 30, 2012, Red Digital Cinema Camera Company announced that they were taking pre-orders for the US$1,450 REDRAY 4K Cinema Player which is capable of outputting 4K resolution to a single 4K display or to four 1080p displays arranged in any configuration and connected using four HDMI 1.4 connections.[73][74] Video output can be 4K DCI (4096x2160), 4K Ultra HD, 1080p, and 720p at frame rates of up to 60 fps with a bit depth of up to 12-bits with 4:2:2 chroma subsampling.[73] Audio output can be up to 7.1 channels.[73] Content will be distributed online using the ODEMAX video service.[73] External storage can be connected using eSATA, Ethernet, USB, or a Secure Digital memory card.[73]
On December 13, 2012, Helinet Aviation Services announced that they had bought Shotover Camera Systems, which developed the world's first gyro-stabilized Ultra HD aerial camera system.[75][76] The system will be used in aerial cinematography by a team with credits in a total of over 300 films.[75][76]
On December 26, 2012, LG Display announced that they would show three Ultra HD TVs at the 2013 International CES in sizes of 55 in (140 cm), 65 in (170 cm), and 84 in (210 cm).[77][78] The TVs will have a resolution of 3840 × 2160 and will support polarized 3D glasses.[77][78] LG Display will also show a 30 in (76 cm) computer monitor with a resolution of 4096 × 2160.[77][78]
On December 27, 2012, Westinghouse Digital announced that they would release four Ultra HD TVs with a resolution of 3840 × 2160 in sizes of 50 in (130 cm), 55 in (140 cm), 65 in (170 cm), and 110 in (280 cm) in Q1 2013.[79][80][81] On the same day it was announced that an 84 in (210 cm) Ultra HD TV from JVC is expected to ship in Q1 2013 and that it will be priced at under $20,000.[82] The TV will come in two versions with the JVC RS-840UD sold to custom installers and the JVC PS-840UD sold to businesses.[82]
On January 3, 2013, ViewSonic announced an 84 in (210 cm) 4K Ultra HD interactive touch digital sign that will be sold to the commercial market and a 32 in (81 cm) 4K Ultra HD desktop display.[83][84] An interactive demo of the 4K Ultra HD displays will be shown at the ViewSonic booth at the 2013 International CES.[83][84]
On January 4, 2013, LG Electronics announced that all three of their Ultra HD TVs will support their Triple XD Engine and Resolution Upscaler Plus.[85][86] LG Electronics also announced an agreement with Korean terrestrial broadcaster KBS for the creation of 4K Ultra HD content.[85][86]
On January 6, 2013, Toshiba announced their L93000 series of 4K Ultra HD TVs that will come in sizes of 58 in (150 cm), 65 in (170 cm), and 84 in (210 cm) with an expected release date of summer 2013.[87][88][89] The TVs will have a resolution of 3840 × 2160, a CEVO 4K Quad+Dual core processor for upscaling, have edge-lit LED backlighting with local dimming, support passive 3D, and have a ClearScan 240 Hz refresh rate.[87][88][89] On the same day NHK announced that Super Hi-Vision satellite broadcasts could begin in Japan in 2016.[90]
On January 7, 2013, Sharp Corporation announced the PN-K321 which is a 32 in (81 cm) Ultra HD computer monitor with an IGZO panel and a resolution of 3840 × 2160.[91][92] The PN-K321 will be released in February and a Sharp Aquos 60 in (150 cm) Ultra HD TV called the Sharp Purios will be released in the second half of 2013.[91][92][93][94] The Sharp Purios will be the first display to receive THX 4K Display certification.[94] On the same day Vizio announced the XVT70 series which are three 4K Ultra HD TVs in sizes of 55 in (140 cm), 65 in (170 cm), and 70 in (180 cm) that will ship in 2013.[95][96][97] The XVT70 series will have edge-lit LED backlighting and support passive 3D.[95][96][97] Also on the same day Sony announced the X900A series of 4K Ultra HD TVs that will ship in sizes of 55 in (140 cm) and 65 in (170 cm) with a resolution of 3840 × 2160.[98][99] The X900 series supports wide color gamut using TRILUMINOS Color and will ship in the spring of 2013.[98][99] At the 2013 International CES both Panasonic and Sony showed prototypes of 56 in (140 cm) 4k Ultra HD OLED displays.[100][101][102]
On January 7, 2013, Eutelsat announced the first dedicated 4K Ultra HD channel.[103][104][105][106] ATEME uplinks the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC channel to the EUTELSAT 10A satellite.[103][104][105][106] The 4K Ultra HD channel has a frame rate of 50 fps and is encoded at 40 Mbit/s.[103][104][105][106] The channel started transmission on January 8, 2013.[103][104][105][106] On the same day Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs announced that mobile devices capable of playing and recording 4K Ultra HD video will be released in 2013 using the Snapdragon 800 chip.[107][108][109] Also on the same day Hisense announced their XT900 series of 4K Ultra HD TVs that will come in sizes of 65 in (170 cm), 84 in (210 cm), and 110 in (280 cm).[110][111] The XT900 series has a resolution of 3840 × 2160, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and support active shutter 3D glasses.[110][111] On the same day Samsung announced the S9 Ultra HD TV series that will come in sizes of 85 in (220 cm), 95 in (240 cm), and 110 in (280 cm).[112][113][114] The S9 series features a floating frame design, a 120 watt 2.2 channel speaker system, and a quad core processor for upscaling.[112][113][114] The S9 85 in (220 cm) UN85S9 is available for pre-order in Korea at a price of 40 million Korean won or just under US$38,000.[112][113][114]
On January 8, 2013, Broadcom announced the BCM7445 which is an Ultra HD decoding chip capable of decoding High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) at up to 4096 × 2160p at 60 fps.[115][116][117][118] The BCM7445 is a 28 nm ARM architecture chip capable of 21,000 Dhrystone MIPS with volume production estimated for the middle of 2014.[115][116][117][118] On the same day THX announced the "THX 4K Certification" program for Ultra HD displays with the first certification going to the Sharp LC-60HQ10.[119][120][121] The certification involves up to 600 tests and the goal of the program is so that "content viewed on a THX Certified Ultra HD display meets the most exacting video standards achievable in a consumer television today".[119][120][121]
On January 9, 2013, AU Optronics announced that they had jointly developed the 4K Ultra HD OLED panel that Sony was showing at the 2013 International CES.[122][123] AU Optronics also announced 4K Ultra HD LCD TV panels in sizes of 55 in (140 cm) and 65 in (170 cm).[122][123] The panels have a resolution of 3840 × 2160 and the 55 in (140 cm) panel supports a wide color gamut that covers 96% of the NTSC color space.[122][123]
On January 14, 2013, Blu-ray Disc Association president Andy Parsons stated that a task force created three months ago is studying an extension to the Blu-ray Disc specification that would add support for 4K Ultra HD video.[124][125]
On January 25, 2013, the BBC announced that the BBC Natural History Unit will produce Survival which will be the first wildlife TV series to be filmed in 4K resolution.[126][127]
On January 27, 2013, Asahi Shimbun reported that 4K Ultra HD satellite broadcasts will start in Japan with the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[127][128][129] Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications decided on this move to stimulate demand for 4K Ultra HD TVs.[127][128][129]
On February 21, 2013, Sony announced that the PlayStation 4 will support 4K resolution output for photos and videos but games can not be rendered at that resolution.[130][131]
On March 26, 2013, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) announced a call of proposals for the ATSC 3.0 physical layer which states that the plan is for the system to support video with a resolution of 3840 × 2160 at 60 fps.[132][133][134][135]
On April 6, 2013, Harmonic announced the addition of HEVC and Ultra HD support to their ProMedia suite of products.[136][137] These features will be demonstrated at the NAB Show in April 2013.[136][137]
On April 12, 2013, Seiki started selling the SE50UY04 which is a 50 in (130 cm) 4K Ultra HD TV.[138][139] The SE50UY04 uses a 120 Hz LCD panel with LED backlighting and was selling on TigerDirect for US$1,299.[138][139]
On April 15, 2013, Seiki announced that the SE50UY04 has a suggested retail price of US$1,499 and would become available at other retailers in late April.[140][141] Seiki also announced plans to release a 65 in (170 cm) 4K Ultra HD TV in 2013.[140][141]
On April 19, 2013, SES announced the first Ultra HD transmission using the HEVC standard.[142][143][144] The transmission had a resolution of 3840 × 2160 and a bit rate of 20 Mbit/s.[142][143][144]
On May 9, 2013, NHK and Mitsubishi Electric announced that they had jointly developed the first HEVC encoder for 8K Ultra HD TV, which is also called Super Hi-Vision (SHV).[145][146][147][148] The HEVC encoder supports the Main 10 profile at Level 6.1 allowing it to encode 10-bit video with a resolution of 7680 × 4320 at 60 fps.[145][146][147][148] The HEVC encoder has 17 3G-SDI inputs and uses 17 boards for parallel processing with each board encoding a row of 7680 × 256 pixels to allow for real time video encoding.[145][146][147][148] The HEVC encoder is compliant with draft 4 of the HEVC standard and has a maximum bit rate of 340 Mbit/s.[149] The HEVC encoder will be shown at the NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories Open House 2013 that will take place from May 30 to June 2.[145][147][150]
On May 15, 2013, DivX released a draft version of DivX HEVC video profiles that are based on the Main profile and Main tier of HEVC with additional restrictions specific to the DivX HEVC video profiles.[151][152] The draft version of DivX HEVC 4K, 1080p, and 720p video profiles currently define only the video and DivX is planning to define other elements of the profiles in the future.[151][152] The DivX HEVC 4K video profile allows for a maximum bit rate of HEVC Level 5.1 (40 Mbit/s) but the maximum number of samples per second is limited to HEVC Level 5 (4096 × 2160 at 30 fps).[153]
Standards that deal with UHDTV include:
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