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8K is Here to Stay
Each time there is a new display resolution promoted, the nay savers are abundant, and their arguments include, the lack of content, the inability of over-the-air transmission to handle the bit rate, the lack and cost of cameras to capture the content and the change needed in consumer behavior. It happened with HD and then with FHD, then with 4K and it’s happening again with 8K. For HD and FHD, the major issue was solved by ATSC, which developed transmission standards for 720p and 1080p and all the other constraints fell into line. With 4K, ATSC has been unable to create a proper standard, for radio transmission or cable, but the resolution flourishes because of streaming. 8K is here and the TV set makers and camera makers love it because it widens the market. History tells us that TV technology and transmission technology always catch up. Today, we have 5G and high performance mmWave technology that soon will be able to carry 8K transmissions efficiently. 6G is on the drawing board and is expected to offer 10x the speed of 5G. Some will never gain access to the new technology as over-the-air may never get to 4K. Cable and satellite TV will be challenged, and some forms of OLED TVs will have difficulty at 55” or less because of the limited aperture ratio. But 8K camera technology with HDR is already supported by some smartphones. The government may have to step in and mandate that 8K cannot be exclusionary and people who can’t afford it can still get the latest releases on HD or UHD. But the government should not exclude the technology advance.
What is clear is that the higher the resolution, the better the viewing experience. According to Benjamin Schwartz, American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer, the advantages of shooting digital video, using higher resolutions falls into four categories:
· When shooting in a higher resolution than the target resolution, filmmakers can reframe, even create camera movements in post-production. An 8K video can be thought of as being made up of four 4K videos or 16 HD videos. Filmmakers wanting to render in 8K can already shoot in 12k to benefit from reframing.
· When the final viewing experience preserves the higher resolution, a new way of filming becomes available. Sports was once only available in standard definition (SD), and field action was always close-up. Shots with more than one or two players onscreen were rare because, in such cases, the detail was not discernable. The extra resolution that HD brought twenty years ago enabled longer shots with half a dozen players on screen and even short ones of half a pitch. 8K opens up a world of new possibilities. Two years ago, France TV demonstrated a live 8K stream from the French Tennis Open, where a single fixed shot of the whole court gave a new experience, heretofore unavailable.
· Improved quality of lower-resolution files created from high-resolution rushes. Even without taking advantage of the reframing possibilities, merely encoding a file from a higher resolution master creates a higher quality result. The encoder is simply presented with much more information and can make more informed decisions as to what information is significant in the image.
· The use of higher resolutions is only a matter of when not if. Film content from a mere decade ago, produced in SD, will soon only be used for historical archives, just like the newsreels from the last world war.
Each time there is a new display resolution promoted, the nay savers are abundant, and their arguments include, the lack of content, the inability of over-the-air transmission to handle the bit rate, the lack and cost of cameras to capture the content and the change needed in consumer behavior. It happened with HD and then with FHD, then with 4K and it’s happening again with 8K. For HD and FHD, the major issue was solved by ATSC, which developed transmission standards for 720p and 1080p and all the other constraints fell into line. With 4K, ATSC has been unable to create a proper standard, for radio transmission or cable, but the resolution flourishes because of streaming. 8K is here and the TV set makers and camera makers love it because it widens the market. History tells us that TV technology and transmission technology always catch up. Today, we have 5G and high performance mmWave technology that soon will be able to carry 8K transmissions efficiently. 6G is on the drawing board and is expected to offer 10x the speed of 5G. Some will never gain access to the new technology as over-the-air may never get to 4K. Cable and satellite TV will be challenged, and some forms of OLED TVs will have difficulty at 55” or less because of the limited aperture ratio. But 8K camera technology with HDR is already supported by some smartphones. The government may have to step in and mandate that 8K cannot be exclusionary and people who can’t afford it can still get the latest releases on HD or UHD. But the government should not exclude the technology advance.
What is clear is that the higher the resolution, the better the viewing experience. According to Benjamin Schwartz, American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer, the advantages of shooting digital video, using higher resolutions falls into four categories:
· When shooting in a higher resolution than the target resolution, filmmakers can reframe, even create camera movements in post-production. An 8K video can be thought of as being made up of four 4K videos or 16 HD videos. Filmmakers wanting to render in 8K can already shoot in 12k to benefit from reframing.
· When the final viewing experience preserves the higher resolution, a new way of filming becomes available. Sports was once only available in standard definition (SD), and field action was always close-up. Shots with more than one or two players onscreen were rare because, in such cases, the detail was not discernable. The extra resolution that HD brought twenty years ago enabled longer shots with half a dozen players on screen and even short ones of half a pitch. 8K opens up a world of new possibilities. Two years ago, France TV demonstrated a live 8K stream from the French Tennis Open, where a single fixed shot of the whole court gave a new experience, heretofore unavailable.
· Improved quality of lower-resolution files created from high-resolution rushes. Even without taking advantage of the reframing possibilities, merely encoding a file from a higher resolution master creates a higher quality result. The encoder is simply presented with much more information and can make more informed decisions as to what information is significant in the image.
· The use of higher resolutions is only a matter of when not if. Film content from a mere decade ago, produced in SD, will soon only be used for historical archives, just like the newsreels from the last world war.
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