Japanese broadcaster NHK presented an astonishing look at the future of high definition during the recent National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention.
NHK was positioned in the very back of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s central hall with a prototype camera and theatrical screening demonstration of its developing Ultra High-Definition System, which supports 8k by 4k (7680 horizontal pixels x 4320 vertical) resolution.
To put this resolution in context, today’s 1080HD has a resolution of 1920×1080. The increasingly popular 2k resolution is 2048×1556; and 4k–four times the data of 2k–is 4096×3112.
NAB attendees that were lucky enough to get through the line and into the screening area were treated to awe-inspiring, Ultra High-Definition images, including scenes from a soccer match–so vivid that in a single frame you could catch thousands of emotions on each individual face in the stands. The new level of detail and the heightened reality made looking at images–which included clips of a whale, sumo wrestling, and gorgeous renderings of New York–a completely new experience.
“It opened the door to a new aesthetic,” enthused Red Car CEO Larry Bridges, who pointed out that you could have a magnificent wide shot, and enough detail to essentially have maybe three gorgeous images in different sectors of the single frame. For example, he cited the last shot of the demo–a wide shot of the tip of Manhattan. He pointed out that one could isolate a gorgeously lit image of the Statue of Liberty within that picture.
“It shows almost a new medium that is unattainable except in a theater,” he said. “I think it may be the dawn of super large projection–where conventional cinema meets IMAX and beyond.”
“I saw a whole new potential in the way to express myself through cinematography,” Bridges added, considering the possible impact on filmmaking. “8k projection potentially could revitalize the use of film emulsions without compromises due to resolution and duplication.”
“My ultimate thrill was the Ultra High-Definition,” echoed New York-based PS260 principal/editor John Zieman, noting the contrast between this experience and some of today’s movement toward compression and low-quality images. “In the face of those trends, it’s nice to see someone pulling for high def–It’s nice to see a trend toward mind boggling sharpness and resolution.”
Like Bridges, Ziemen was anxious for more. He admitted, “It made me want to do their demo reels.”
SHOOT senior editor, technology and postproduction, Carolyn Giardina can be reached at 310-822-0211 or at cgiardina@shootonline.com.
