Ultra-HDTV just 8 years away

chris

Flat panel TV sales are now mainstream, say researchers at InStat*, and that the industry is now looking at the next stages in the development of Ultra High Definition broadcasting. InStat predicts that Ultra HDTV could be offered by some broadcasters in about 8 years’ time.

InStat says it believes there will be a lengthy time period before the UHD market reaches a critical mass of 5% household penetration. However, as the initial market debuts over the next five to ten years, there will be ample opportunities for technology companies, manufacturers, service providers and media companies to experiment with business models and strategies to make UHD a strong business in the long term.

The UHD mass market materializes between 2023 and 2024, when UHDTVs reach 10% global household penetration. The first 4K UHD broadcasts should start around 2017, while the first 8K UHD broadcasts should begin around 2022.

“UHD formats provide between four and sixteen times the resolution of Blu-ray or 1080p high definition as well as 22.2 multichannel three-dimensional sound,” says Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst. “This is a vast improvement over the currently available end user viewing experience in the home.”

As originally proposed, U-HD comes in two levels of resolution: 7680 x 4320 pixels (i.e., 8K resolution), and 3840 x 2160 (i.e., 4K resolution, and often described as “Super-HD”).

The rising popularity of high-resolution digital cinema will expose consumers to high resolution content. Then, early U-HDTVs will be made available to provide a digital cinema high resolution viewing experience in the home. Ultimately, broadcasters will start offering U-HD content to an addressable market of U-HDTVs, between 2017 and 2022.

In-Stat expects the total installed base of UHDTVs Europe to approach 5% household penetration until 2021, and increase to over 28.2% penetration by 2025.

Japan will be among the early adopter countries, says InStat, helped by the pioneering work of public broadcaster NHK.

*The Market Opportunity for Ultra-HDTV Video, $3,495


Source:RapidTVNews

Channel Hopper

I saw (some of) the technology three years ago at the IBC, and it is moving with speed in Japan.

Some movers and shakers confirm that since the technology already exists, the competition will be 3D technology, which is why some are launching prematurely, without conforming to a universal standard.

UHTV however (4K and onwards) incorporates enough redundancy for dual broadcast, allowing 3D and UHTV to live together in one format.

Don't change that television yet.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"