NHK to launch 8K channel in December 2018

[DCI forum]

The actual launch as a regular satellite channel at the end of next year, will be preceded by coverage of the Korean Winter Olympics at the beginning of the year followed by a tour of Europe with an Outside Broadcast truck to stimulate the 8K production market, providing opportunities to production companies to gain some experience in shooting and producing 8K content. Content required to fill its 8K channel.

NHK has been working on the follow-up to Hi-Vision, Super Hi-Vision for a decade or two when the channel launches. It has had several trial broadcasts the last few years the most noted being the opening and closing ceremonies and a few events of the Rio, Brazil, Olympics of 2016.

NHK has said on several occassions over the past few years it was looking for a 2018 launch of regular broadcasts in Super Hi-Vision, or Ultra HD Television, or 8K, bringing the original launch date forward from 2020. It has now confirmed the launch at the MIPCOM TV market tradeshow in Cannes France.

[MrPixels]

Where is the US in the 8k race?
We have plenty of 4k TVs but lacking 4k broadcast content. Maybe a spanking new 8k TV will help shame the networks!

[donaldk]

The first commercially available 8K TV, not commercial monitor, will not become available in the US. That's because Sharp sold its Mexican assembly plant, Brand name, marketing rights to the US to HiSense. And it is not willing to relent those to major competitor Foxconn/Honhai that acquired Sharp. It just started shipping or is about to start shipping in China right now. China is the new lead market. Both for 8K and Chinese vendors.

Every major player in LCD TVs has been showing prototypes in large and less large sizes the past year or two, but LG's US market entry disapeared quietly.

There is currently no real production in 8K. Given the many upconversions of 2K to 4K, I doubt availability of an 8K TV set will kickstart 8K content delivery and production. Satellite operator Eutelsat says "Delivering 1,100 HD TV Channels" and "Broadcasting 6,600 TV channels", that does not mean the other 5500 channels are in 4K, actually there is only about an handful of 4K (demo-)channels there. The same goes for other operators. With every 4K service/platform launch one sees the same 4K channels pop up.

NHK has been building an ecosystem, displays, camera's, receivers, HEVC compression, 22.1 audio.