The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has finalised standards that promise to revolutionise television viewing with ‘ultra high-definition’ pictures of stupendous clarity and size in the coming years.
Even as high-definition (HD) TV has been gaining ground over the years, displacing, to some extent, the standard definition TV, the ITU has come up with the latest ultra high-definition TV (UHDTV) standards that will push picture resolution manifold.
The resolution of a picture depends on the number of dot-like pixels squeezed into a given area and ‘standard definition’ TV, which has been in use for long, usually delivers pictures of a resolution of 704 or 720 of these pixels across 480 scanning lines. High-definition TV, or HDTV, which has been replacing standard definition TV comes in two formats — 1280 x 720 pixels and 1920 x 1080 pixels, the latter being often called ‘full HD.’
Two steps
The ITU announcement says the new standard or recommendation comes in two steps. Compared with HTDV pictures that are about 1-2 mega pixels in size, the first level of UHDTV picture sizes will be of the order of 8 mega pixels (3840 x 2160 pixels). And at the second level, the pictures will be 32 mega pixels in size (7680 x 4320 pixels). These are called ‘4K’ and ‘8K’ UHDTV systems.
It will take years for UHDTV to gain a measure of popular acceptance, though some manufacturers have started showcasing UHDTV displays in recent times. “It will take several decades before we see it widely used, and even then not everywhere — just as it is with HDTV. The manufacturers need to gear up to making UHDTV displays. Plans will need to be made to make the UHDTV programme-making equipment available, and broadcasters will need to try it and be convinced by it. One thing is sure — it will happen. Having an ITU-R recommendation was the trigger for the industry to go for digital television and then HDTV, and the same will be true of UHDTV. This is it — but it will take time, and just like HDTV, the timescale for its use will be quite different in different countries…,” said David Wood, Chairman of ITU-R Working Party 6C, in response to questions from The Hindu .
It was this ITU study group that developed the new recommendation.
The ‘founding father’ of UHDTV was the Japanese broadcaster NHK, Mr. Wood said. “They started it all, and have had faith in the idea for many years. They believe that the most important UHDTV level is ‘8k,’ and they hope to start ‘8k’ broadcasting trials before the end of the decade in Japan. But in the UHDTV standardisation discussions, others like Samsung, were involved. A number of companies are developing ‘4k’ level equipment, and they surely include Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Dolby and others. So, many companies are either ‘on board’ or ‘getting on board’ the UHDTV train.”
And will better resolutions and larger TV sets necessarily become the norm after some years? “The first displays available will surely be the ‘4k’ displays, and this will probably be in the next five years. The ‘8k’ displays and services will come later — but how much later we don’t know today,” Mr. Wood said.
Push and pull
Asked whether manufacturers or public demand will drive the advent of the new standards, he said: “Manufacturers, of course, want to make equipment that the public will buy, so they will surely be one of the drivers. But UHDTV will only be successful if the public wants to upgrade to UHDTV — so it’s a combination of ‘manufacturer push’ and ‘public pull’.”
