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High-definition television sets sights even higher at UN study group

Demonstration of ultra high definition television by  ITU staff and Japan Broadcasting Corporation
Demonstration of ultra high definition television by ITU staff and Japan Broadcasting Corporation

High-definition television sets sights even higher at UN study group

Ultra high-definition television (UHDTV) has taken a major step towards becoming reality, with experts agreeing on most technical characteristics for a medium that will be at least 16 times visually sharper than current state-of-the-art TV, a United Nations agency reported today.

Ultra high-definition television (UHDTV) has taken a major step towards becoming reality, with experts agreeing on most technical characteristics for a medium that will be at least 16 times visually sharper than current state-of-the-art TV, a United Nations agency reported today.

The experts, including scientists and engineers from around the world, have been working together for several years in the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Study Group on Broadcasting Service to jointly develop and agree on the technical specifications that will successfully create UHDTV.

“UHDTV promises to bring about one of the greatest changes to audio-visual communications and broadcasting in recent decades,” Study Group Chairman Christoph Dosch said. “Technology is truly at the cusp of transforming how people experience audio-visual communications.”

In a demonstration of UHDTV by the Japanese public service broadcaster NHK at ITU earlier this month, the screen displayed 33 million pixels compared to a maximum two million pixels for the highest quality HDTV screens on offer today, ITU noted in a news release.

Last month, a trial UHDTV link was arranged between London and Amsterdam and plans are under way to cover part of the 2012 London Olympic Games in UHDTV for screening at public venues around the world.

“The relationship that a viewer has with television viewing is linked to the overall experience of the picture and quality of sound,” said David Wood, Chairman of the concerned ITU Working Party in the Broadcasting Service Study Group. “The extremely high quality of UHDTV will have a definite impact on our lifestyle and on our engagement with the programmes we watch.”

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré, looking ahead to the day UHDTV will become a reality, said: “UHDTV will create an immersive experience for viewers and will generate a host of new business and marketing opportunities.”