Tags: Japan, Broadcasting, Satellite TV
Publication: HollywoodReporter.com
Publication Date: 01/28/2013

56-inch 4K OLED TV prototype. Image credit: Sony

Japan has announced plans to offer 4K satellite broadcasts starting July 2014. The country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is reported to be discussing plans with local networks and television manufacturers to make this possible.

Initially, Japan plans to use satellite channels for the new format. As 4K images are made up of about eight million pixels, twice the amount of HD images, the move will require much more bandwidth than current high-definition (HD) broadcasts.

If Japan succeeds to deliver 4K by 2014, it will most likely be the first country to offer such broadcasts in the world. This would give the country’s major consumer electronics manufacturers such as Sony, Sharp, Toshiba and Panasonic, an advantage in the market.

Additionally, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK is going one step further in developing its 8K Super Hi-Vision system, which it demonstrated last year by showing footage from the London Olympics in this definition. The broadcaster expects to bring 8K online by 2016, four years before its expected date of 2020. 8K is understood to be at the limit of what the human eye can process.

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