8K Production for 8K Distribution
In December 2018, NHK launched the first 8K commercial service via satellite in native 8K. A more detailed description is available in a whitepaper here.
In 2019, the French Tennis Open was broadcast in 8K delivered by a 5G network. Details of the production can be found in this blog article.
8K Production for 4K Distribution
In this use case, live production is captured in 8K, but the signal gets down-converted to 4K to reduce storage and bandwidth. The 4K signal is then up-converted by the 8K TV.
Studies have shown that down-converting from native 8K capture can deliver a higher fidelity experience compared to native 4K capture with TV upconversion to 8K. This process can be further enhanced when paired with AI-based Neural Network algorithms. Down-conversion can be applied at the beginning of the workflow, as represented below, or applied just before final compression during the distribution stage.
8K Post-Production from 4K Live Capture
AI-based Super Resolution (SR) technologies are now mature enough to produce high-fidelity 8K content from a 4K format. While there are challenges to upscaling in real time, upscaling from a higher resolution source can deliver potential benefits for future linear programming.
Such techniques are already employed by TV brands in their 8K TV sets, but professional upscaling can also be applied in the production process, as has already been demonstrated in many 8K trials.
4K Production from 8K Live Capture
The goal of this application is to cover the entire field of view with one 8K camera and offer the possibility of cutting out several 4K or 2K views, thereby reducing production costs. This is the so-called “region of interest” capability that several companies currently offer, using software that can automatically follow certain players, actors or musicians across a large 8K canvas. One example of an 8K camera with this software option is Sony’s 8K camera.
