BBC plans to film London Olympics in 3D and 'super hi-vision'
The BBC is considering plans to broadcast the 100 metres final at next year's London Olympics in 3D, as well as trying out a new technology that delivers picture quality said to be 16 times better than high-definition TV (HDTV).
Speaking at the Edinburgh Festival this weekend, Roger Mosey, the BBC executive in charge of the Corporation's London 2012 coverage, said that 3D coverage for the 100m and other events was "certainly on the agenda" as part of a "limited experiment".
The BBC says it will also test 'super hi-vision', a new broadcasting technology so advanced that it's not expected to be in people's homes for a decade.
Three 15 metre (50ft) high screens will be erected around the country so that the public have a chance of seeing the imagery that Mosey said was so good it would match up with the experience of watching from the stands.
"When you sit and watch it you really get the experience of being in seat D5 in the stadium," he said. "Super hi-vision might be a better long-term prospect than 3D in some ways as it gives you the feel of being in the stadium. People are knocked out by it."
Super hi-vision screens will be erected at the BBC's Pacific Quay building in Glasgow, Broadcasting House in London and, subject to negotiations, the National Media Museum in Bradford.
The BBC is also likely to broadcast the Olympic opening ceremony using the technology.
Mosey adds that Sharp is working on an 85in TV set using super hi-vision technology but that it is unlikely to be widely available until 2022.
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Comments
There is room for a few more HD chanels, with five and channel 4 being very interested. But there's also plenty of frequencies left in the spectrum, they just haven't been auctioned off. As for 4K, in my closest cinema, Cineworld, they use 2K projectors. I can very clearly see the pixel structure from just passed half way up the auditorium, which is why I travel the extra mile to Vue, who have 4K displays.
I saw a demo of this at last years IBC in Amsterdam and it was indeed breathtaking.
The problem is not so much going to be getting the public to invest in yet more new technology (which will probably be a battle after HD and 3D), the real problem is going to be the amount of broadcast bandwidth available for transmitting such huge amounts of data. Freeview is already full and trying to squeeze bandwidth so that more HD channels will fit, so it hasn't a chance of squeezing in any Super-HD. Satellite broadcasters don't like spending lots of money on bandwidth either, so its difficult to see how this will get off the ground. Obviously with a new TV will come a new set top box/media player to go with it.
Internet will really be the only distribution method for content such as this, so we're going to all need to improve our connections considerably to get this sort of resolution without having to wait days for an hours worth of viewing.
4K is a waste of time. You'll never notice any difference between 2K (which is what we have now in HD) and 4K on any size of screen that will fit in your home. Even the move to 4K in cinemas is a waste of time for all but the largest screens with stadium seating in the auditorium which puts you close to the screen, so the only cinemas set to really benefit from 4K will be full size IMAX screens.
Sharp - who's showing a Super Hi-Vision set here at IFA - says it's the broadcast issues that are holding it back from faster adoption. They predict it'll be 2020 before Super Hi-Vision is anywhere near mainstream. Mind you, we've got 4K2K sets to come from 2012
I reckon the Beeb are saying 2022 after pressure from the manufacturers who have years of R&D to recoup from sales of sets,which just isn't happening at the moment + consumers are getting fed up of being pressured to buy new technologies all the time. 11 years is a hell of a long time in technology terms,I would suggest these sets will be in the shops within 3-5 years max.
It helps that the kit is being provided by Olympic sponsor, Panasonic - more info in our story from IFA earlier:
http://www.whathifi.com/news/ifa-2011-2012-panasonic-tvs-%E2%80%98bigger...
So much for the BBC having to save money then!!!!
The technology has been developed by NHK in Japan. Clickety
Is this an advance on 4k/2k then, I can only think that it will approach 8k/4k to give 16 times more than 1920 x1080?
Thats 32,000,000 pixels, wow that should be almost photographic in resolution