Japan’s national broadcaster NHK has broadcast live 8K images via Eutelsat’s 12 West B satellite as it launched its new channel BS8K.
The broadcast took place on December 2 from the Vatican where Eutelsat images were transmitted to Tokyo with a mobile uplink provided by M-three Satcom.
Gerry O’Sullivan, Eutelsat’s executive vice president, global TV and video said: “Eutelsat has been a pioneer in delivering HD and Ultra HD formats since their inception, and this broadcast confirms satellite’s unique position as one of the vital technologies capable of broadcasting 8K signals. We look forward to working hand in hand with customers such as NHK as they continue to raise the bar higher for the broadcasting industry, to deliver the best possible video experience to viewers.”
NHK relied on DVB-S2X modulation, in 16APSK, and HEVC encoding. The images (7680 pixels over 4320 lines, 33.3 million pixels per image) were shot at 60 frames per second in BT2020 colour space, with 10 bits of colour depth (1 billion colours) and high dynamic range HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma), combined with 22.2 channel audio.
BS8K features 8K Ultra HD footage of major cultural and sporting events, museums and natural landscapes, providing viewers with a fully immersive experience which will be broadcast 12 hours a day. The channel will allow for further experimentation with 8K prior to the large-scale deployment of the format for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics games in 2020. NHK’s 8K channel was launched this month.
