TV makers to start shipping 4K ultra HD sets
While there is no broadcast content yet at 4K, which is four times the resolutuion of current HDTV, manufacturers are looking to upscale existing content and do multiple HD screen on one display, says Rob Green, senior marketing manager for broadcast at field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip maker Xilinx.
"4K is coming to market," said Green. "The TV manufacturers expect to ship this Christmas." LG, Sony and Toshiba all showed 84in 4K TV sets at the IFA show in Berlin last week.
The 4K and Super Hi Vision (which is 16 x the resolution of HD) have nominally been approved by the ITU as the next standard for high definition after no companies objected to the existing proposals.
This is also the first time that high end FPGAs have been used in consumer TV sets using the Xilinx Kintex-7 devices, says Green.
"We like standards that are emerging," he said. "We are seeing TV makers using upscaling and displaying four independent screens, they are doing the same with Super Hi Vision, although that’s not for consumers, more for the production equipment."
European satellite operator SES is also showing the first 4K transmissions with a protected video channel uplinked from the SES headquarters in Luxembourg via the ASTRA Satellite System.
The 4K content is being played out in Quad Full HD format encoded in the H.264 standard at a data rate of 50 Mbit/s and is delivered on Sony Bravia 84" 4K displays at a pixel resolution of 3840 x 2160.
“Sony is committed to bringing ever greater viewing experiences to consumers around the world and 4K delivers on that promise. This live demonstration with SES on our new 4K TV demonstrates that 4K satellite transmission may arrive in the home sooner than predicted by the industry” said Olivier Bovis, Head of AV media, Professional Solutions Europe, Sony Europe.
“It’s been at the heart of SES since its early days to deliver a large choice of linear TV in the highest possible quality to audiences across the globe. To meet that promise, SES and its engineers have been pioneering new TV standards such as DVB and HDTV. With the same dedication as when deploying HDTV, SES will contribute to the development of the necessary ecosystem – both operationally and technically – in order to make 4K happen," said Ferdinand Kayser, Chief Commercial Officer of SES.
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