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NHK, NFB team up on future HD, 3D projects
Taking time out from working on Super Hi-Vision, NHK found time to extend an existing memorandum of understanding with Canada's NFB promising plenty of co-produced HD and 3D content to come. Don't expect big investments in sports or entertainment broadcasts however, as they'll be focusing on environment and social issues and producing for multiple platforms. Now all we need is an MOU promising all of the Canadian Discovery Channel's content here in the U.S. day and date and we should be all set.
JVC shows off 8k x 4k D-ILA projector, asks when SHV is dropping by
Think 4k x 2k is intense? Get a load of this. At CEATEC 2008, JVC is once again proving its mastery of the projector art form by showcasing a somewhat ridiculous 8k x 4k beamer. The prototype device boasts a native resolution of 8,192 x 4,320 and packs a dynamic contrast ratio of 1,100,000:1. In case you couldn't guess, its purpose is to display Super High Vision material in all of its natural glory, though only time will tell when that content (and this machine) are widely available to enjoy.[Via AboutProjectors]
Super Hi-Vision demo seen in totally inadequate web video player
By now, you're completely familiar with what Super Hi-Vision is looking to do. You know, revolutionize HDTV programming as we know it. Provide an intense amount of detail good for filing up hundred-foot screens. That type stuff. If you've been eager to actually see what SHV can do, but you weren't able to make the trip to Amsterdam for IBC2008, fret not -- Auntie Beeb has hosted up a video of the demonstration in a wee web video player. Nah, it's no 7,680 x 4,320, but at least you'll get the idea. (Psst... it's in the read link.)
The DS Life: Domo
Wikipedia describes Domo -- the brown, open-mawed creature depicted above -- as "a strange creature that hatched from an egg." Other details: he lives in a cave with Mr. Usaji, he dislikes apples, and he loves Guitar Wolf, a Japanese garage punk band. From what my wife tells me, they used to put on some really wicked shows.For this week's installment of The DS Life, we will examine Domo's life in three different acts: Domo as a DS gamer Domo as a DS case Domo as a pianist If you've never taken the time to learn more about the "internet meme" figure, here's your chance! There's more to Domo than just his cavernous mouth!
NHK demonstrates 8K display: 16x more detail than 1080p
Looks like NHK brought a prototype 33 megapixel, 8K Super Hi-Vision projection system to the auditoriums of CommunicASIA. Using a pair of LCoS projectors, NHK threw 7,680 x 4,320 pixels illuminated at 8,000 lumens onto a screen measuring 6.6 x 3.7 meters. The images were recorded from a prototype 8K studio camera -- as good as it gets until the first live SHV television broadcasts are demonstrated in September.
BBC teaming with NHK for Super Hi-Vision trials
Talk about getting around. Auntie Beeb has jumped from Freeview to FreeSat to Sky HD to iPlayer to who knows where else in no particular order, and while the vast majority of Europe is still struggling to adopt vanilla HD, the network is already dipping its toes in the next best thing. Reportedly, the BBC is all set to participate in a transmission trial using the Super Hi-Vision (SHV) system developed by Japan's NHK. The series of demonstrations will combine content from Japan and London, and the actual screenings are supposed to take place in the NHK Theater using an 8k x 4k projector. We'll admit, this isn't the very first time we've heard that The Beeb may be interested in this stuff, but with the UK-based 2012 Olympics growing ever closer, it looks like the dedication may be ratcheting up.[Via TechRadar, thank L. Rawlins]
Japan's NHK demonstrates 33MP image sensor prototype for SHV
Considering that we just doused you with acronyms in that headline, let us break it down real quick. Japanese public broadcaster Nippon Hoso Kyokai has recently demonstrated a prototype 33-megapixel image sensor -- which enables engineers "to use one chip per color" -- for its baffling Super Hi-Vision technology. With this device, each color sensor can operate in full resolution, whereas previous iterations relied on a foursome of 8.3-megapixel sensors (two green, one red, one blue) in order to reach 7,680 x 4,320 pixels. No worries if all these huge numbers are blowing your lid -- this stuff is still years away from being away close to mainstream.
Full Earthrise over the moon captured from space in HD
Late last year, we sat in awe peeping the pictures of Earth captured by the KAGUYA satellite, but we're fairly certain we've spotted Engadget HQ in the latest grabs. All kidding aside, the latest HD Earthrise movie is even more desirable than the last due to this one being a "full" Earthrise, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency isn't hesitating to pat itself on the back for snagging such an accomplishment. Check out the read link for more pictures, video and an explanation of how the whole thing went down.
NHK offers old shows on HD VOD
NHK on Demand is prepping for a December launch in Japan, offering viewer a chance to check out older programming at their leisure. Available via PC, the acTVila service or J:COM On-Demand, there should be about 1,000 programs available at launch, with 1,000 more added every year afterwards, in high definition where applicable. Beyond just old catalog stuff, morning television, nightly news and prime time programming from the past week will be available, for a fee. NHK expects the VOD biz to operate at a loss for the first few years but sees profits far off once things are all set up. Remember the old days when you just had to watch what was on TV right then?
Super Hi-Vision gets tested, could be used to publicly display 2012 Olympics in Britain
2015? Nah, that's about three years too long to wait for Super Hi-Vision -- for Britons, at least. Reportedly, Japanese public broadcaster NHK is currently testing the Super Hi-Vision system, and the BBC has announced plans to use said technology in order to "broadcast the 2012 Olympics to large TV sets placed in public areas across Britain." For folks worried that their current HDTV is about to become obsolete, we're here to pass along the news that it's not. According to Masuru Kanazawa, a research engineer at NHK's Science and Technical Research Laboratory, "SHV requires at least a 60-inch screen" in order to even see the improvements in quality, and of course, it's not exactly being aimed at the consumer market right now, either. 'Course, all that could change when 150-inch sets become living room mainstays.
Toshiba pulling the plug on HD DVD already? - Yup it's over.
Japan's NHK has followed up The Hollywood Reporter's earlier indications Toshiba was ready to dump its money-losing HD DVD business, with news that the company is prepared to cease manufacturing software and hardware, at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. This caps the worst week ever for red, when HD DVD was dumped by Netflix and Wal-mart, pushed to the background by Best Buy and put on -- an apparently incredibly short -- deathwatch right here. Toshiba is mum on the subject right now, but we hear there's plenty of cheap players and movies in a dumpster around back of the HQ. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in; via Reuters; warning, Japanese read link]Update: Along with an English translation of the NHK's article (Thanks sfditty!) comes additional confirmation from Reuters sources, it's a wrap. Toshiba is shutting down its DVD manufacturing facilities in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, while official word is expected "soon".
33 megapixel Super Hi-Vision (Ultra HDTV) could be on the air in 2015
1080p and QuadHD / 4K can take a step back, the Japanese government has announced plans to bring Super Hi-Vision (a.k.a. Ultra High Definition) to life as a broadcast standard by 2015. With its 33 megapixel (7,680 x 4,320) resolution and 22.2 channel surround sound, challenges so far have included building a camera that can record it, and equipment to transfer the 24Gbps uncompressed stream. Fortunately, some forward thinker in Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry -- that we are strongly considering as a write in candidate for the presidential elections -- is beginning a joint project with private companies to make this happen, beginning with a research investment of about $2.7 million this year alone. If you're still confused as to how much more res this is than anything you currently own, check out the handy chart after the break.
Super Hi-Vision creeps towards reality with latest breakthrough
Because 1080p and even Quad HD just aren't high-def enough, Japanese broadcaster NHK has announced new breakthoughs in it's Super Hi-Vision (formerly Ultra High Definition Video) technology. They've been showing it off periodically for the last several years, but the latest step towards living rooms is a single image sensor that for TV cameras that is capable of full SHV (7,680 x 4,320) resolution. Previous prototypes were limited to half that resolution, but now they're focusing on shrinking the equipment necessary to encode/decode the uncompressed 24Gbps SHV stream to 124Mbps from its current to fit in broadcaster headends and UHDTVs near you. While those pixels are nothing to sneeze at, we're still trying to figure out where to get speakers for the planned 22.2 channel audio.
NHK's 15k RPM optical disc recording system utilizes Blu-ray technology
Pulling out the 15k RPM card this late in the game would usually be frowned upon, but in the case of NHK, its latest development to spin at 15,000 revolutions per minute has nothing to do with a hard disk drive. Researchers at Nippon Hoso Kyokai are working with engineers at the Science and Technical Research Laboratories (STRL) to create an "optical disc recording system based on consumer Blu-ray disc technology that can spin as fast as 15,000 RPM" without worry of a disc experiencing a complete meltdown and shattering within the drive. The first iteration was reportedly demonstrated just last week, and could purportedly be used to record 250Mbps HDTV streams; furthermore, researchers have seemingly dodged the disintegration issue by "making a flexible disc that is just 0.1-millimeters thick." The disc was co-developed with Ricoh and is "essentially the recording layer from a Blu-ray Disc without the 1.1-millimeter plastic substrate that is used to give the disc rigidity," thus, a "thick stabilizing plate has been added into the drive" to keep volatility at a minimum. NHK reportedly claimed that this newfangled approach was similar to that seen in the Stacked Volumetric Optical Disc, but unfortunately, it wasn't able to hand out any hard numbers as to when we'd see this stuff in action.[Image courtesy of DigitalArts]
LG to demo 1080p broadcast television content at CES
While we're sure to see plenty of high definition on display at next week's CES, LG is hoping to cause a stir of its own by broadcasting something other than finely tuned HD DVD / Blu-ray loops. Reportedly, the company will demonstrate "full HD" 1080p content on a series of 37-, 42-, 47-, and 55-inch LCD TVs, but the imagery seen will actually be experimental television footage from Nippon Hoso Kyokai. NHK, a public broadcaster in Japan, will be showing off content captured with 1080p "high speed motion cameras," and while most of its HD footage thus far has been beamed out in 1080i, this could potentially spark up more interest in getting 1080p to the home. Of course, none of this matters if you believe ole Mossberg's take, but we'll take all the televised HD content (especially in 1080p) we can get.
It came from outer space: Live HDTV from the space station this morning
Don't forget, this is the morning of the live HDTV broadcast from the International Space Station, being shown exclusively in Japan on NHK and elsewhere on Discovery HD Theater. The Sony HD camera was donated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), so that we can get the best look at space available without heading to the local IMAX theater. Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and engineer Mikhail Tyurin will host the event, while third crewmember Thomas Reiter operates the camera. Hopefully this is the first of many live broadcasts, which are preferred because it saves money from transporting extra weight in the form of tapes to and from the ISS. The broadcast kicks off at 11:30 am EST and will re-air at 9 p.m. and midnight.
Why does Discovery HD Canada get all the cool shows?
Our friends to the north may live in America Jr. but they are getting some great exclusive HD programming. Our friends at Digital Home Canada have posted several new shows coming to Discovery HD Canada this month as a part of their partnership with Japanese broadcaster NHK. The series is titled A Day in the Life of Japan and will include 6 Canadian-exclusive episodes that take looks at everything from earthquake-preparedness to the famed Akihabara district.We still haven't managed to find out what happened to that HD footage of the aftermath of the Yogyakarta earthquake that never aired here, meanwhile the U.S. Discovery HD page continues to trumpet new episodes of Sunrise Earth as though they are doing us a favor. Take a look at the programs planned for August 13th and see what you're missing. Invasion of the Giant Jellyfish Science Zero: Daily Planet Coolest Hideouts in Tokyo Sumo Struggles Bracing for the Big One Akihabara Geeks What do we have to do for these shows to get played in the U.S.? As much as we love seeing Blue Realm every day, there's got to be more to high-def life.
NHK makes a showing at NAB and brings Ultra HD
Hey! High definition is confusing enough. People are just now getting used to 720p/1080i and 1080p, so here comes NHK again with their UHDV. Ultra High Definition TV has a resolution of a measly 7,680 x 4,320 which works out to be 16 times the current 1920 x 1080 standard we have today. This is nothing new though guys. (and gals) They have been showing this off around the world for a couple of years now starting at NAB back in 2004. It is still pretty cool though and when you combine that uber-high resolution with 22.2 channels of audio...WOW. Simply wow. Don't except Circuit City or Best Buy to carry this anytime within the decade though. Or even within the next decade, as they are aiming for a 2025 launch. So if you save a dollar a day till the launch in 19 years, you will have just under $7000 to be the first kid on the block with UHDV![thanks to everyone that sent this in]
