NHK to Demonstrate 8K Video Transmission Over a Single TV Channel at NAB Labs Futures Park

The following Press Release was issued today by the NAB:

– Pioneering wireless demo will be first outside Japan –

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Japanese public broadcaster NHK will present the latest iteration of its Super Hi-Vision system at the 2014 NAB Show, including a closed-circuit demonstration of over-the-air transmission of 8K content in a single 6 MHz UHF TV channel. The demonstration will be presented at the NAB Labs Futures Park, April 7-10 in Las Vegas. This will be the first time anywhere in the world outside Japan that wireless transmission of 8K Super Hi-Vision has been demonstrated over a single 6 MHz TV channel. NHK will also present detailed results of a long-distance, single-channel, over-the-air 8K test broadcast recently conducted in Japan.

In addition, the NHK exhibit will feature a presentation theater with a 350-inch screen for viewing newly shot Super Hi-Vision content with 8K video projection and full 22.2-channel sound reproduction, including highlights from the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Progress in the increasing practicality of Super Hi-Vision systems will also be demonstrated, including an 8K video camera that weighs less than 4.5 lbs (2 kg), the world’s first 8K-capable real-time HEVC encoder, and a display-integrated immersive sound system providing virtual representation of 22.2-channel sound for a domestic environment.

NHK also plans to show its latest developments in hybrid TV with a presentation of its “Hybridcast” system, providing interactive capabilities via a converged broadband/broadcast service, which launched last September for regular consumer service in Japan.

NHK is one of 15 organizations presenting demos in this year’s NAB Labs Futures Park, a section of the NAB Show exhibition floor reserved for broadcast-related research and development projects from around the world. Other exhibitors at the 2014 NAB Labs Futures Park will present demonstrations of emerging technologies such as high frame-rate and high dynamic-range 4K video, advanced media preservation techniques, augmented broadcasting, targeted advertising, and advances in video compression, 3D TV, emergency alerting, and more.

About NAB Labs
Created in 2012, NAB Labs is a program of the National Association of Broadcasters that provides a platform for innovation, a venue for forging partnerships and testing new technology, and educational events to create awareness about over-the-air radio and television technology initiatives.