Japan's NHK has been experimenting with 8K broadcasting since 1995, sending out a compressed "Super Hi-Vision" signal for the first time back in 2012 and then managing to broadcast some events at the 2016 Rio Olympics at 16 times the resolution of the HD televisions you might have in your living room. On Saturday December 1, NHK launched the first daily 8K TV channel.
Japan's Communications Minister Masatoshi Ishida kicked off proceedings at the launch ceremony on Saturday by saying that he hopes Japan will play a leading role in 4K and 8K broadcasting. Then at 10 am local time, 4K and 8K content started appearing on a bunch of suitably capable monitors.
According to the BBC, Stanley Kubrick's epic 2001: A Space Odyssey was one of the first things to be broadcast in 8K. Domestic viewers will need compatible televisions – such as Samsung's QLED or LG's OLED offerings perhaps – to watch the 7,680 x 4,320 content, and a suitably-specced external tuner before diving into the company's BS4K and BS8K satellite channels.
The 8K channel will run from 10 am to just after 10 pm daily, while 4K content is expected to broadcast for 18 hours. As well as eye-popping visuals, viewers can look forward to programming supported by up to 22.2 channel audio.
Source: NHK
