SuperHiVision
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These 8K displays may end up on your next tablet
Most of us have barely touched 4K content, but the keen folks in Japan are already showing off some 8K displays, and we're not just talking about those of conventional TV sizes. At CEATEC, NHK brought along three upcoming 8K panels that may end up on future tablets, laptops and monitors. These include JDI's 17.3-inch LCD that was just announced last week, as well as Ortus' insanely sharp 9.6-inch LCD (that's a whopping 915 dpi!) from May, and Sharp/SEL's 13.3-inch OLED display. Even though the OLED panel was unveiled back in June last year, it's still by far the best 8K display out of the three; it's as if you're looking into another world, thanks to the combination of high contrast, strong vibrancy plus insanely sharp resolution. Alas, there's no launch date for any of these just yet, but a spokesperson from NHK hopes to see these come out before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which will be broadcast in 8K.
First Super Hi-Vision broadcast from UK to Japan is one for the geeklopedia
Super Hi-Vision is still very experimental, but the BBC and NHK's first UK-to-Tokyo SHV broadcast trial of a live musical set by the The Charlatans hints it is inching closer to commercial viability. A NHK-developed camera -- one of three in existence -- made it all possible, and featured a specialized lens and optical data transmitter to handle the retina-confounding 7680 x 4320 pixel signal. This SHV trial was also the first to use a blazingly fast 24Gb/s internet connection to broadcast in lieu of more expensive satellite transmissions used in previous tests. As if the brouhaha wasn't bleeding-edge enough, a lucky few at the BBC could even view the show on a prototype 103-inch plasma television developed by NHK to see a mere quarter of the signal's massive resolution. Sure, this may not be the kind of event kids will learn about in class someday, but it certainly makes us feel like giddy little school boys. To learn more, watch a behind the scenes BBC video on the event embedded after the break. [Thanks, Matt]
NHK prototypes one-fourth of a 116-inch, 8K plasma set (video)
NHK has been working on 33 megapixel, 8K Super Hi-Vision displays for quite some time now. As the story goes, in 2005 the group's Science and Technology Labs estimated a necessary 0.3mm dot pitch for plasma screens in the 100-inch category to achieve the necessary 7,680 x 4,320 pixels for display. At the time, the best plasma could muster was 0.9mm, but now the researchers have created a prototype 58-inch screen with 0.33mm pixel pitch. Ergo, four such prototypes stacked together should create a 116-inch window to the world that just about displays 8K video. It's still a ways off from market, but be honest, are you really already griping about the visible pixels on your 1080p set? Totally inadequate web video version after the break.
