BBC Goes 'Super Hi' With Olympics

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BBC Goes 'Super Hi' With Olympics
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (August 29, 2011) -- The BBC has announced that it will broadcast part of the 2012 Olympics in 'Super Hi-Vision' -- a new picture technology that purports to deliver images 16 times clearer than current High-Definition TVs.

That's according to an article by the London Guardian.

The newspaper reports that BBC executive Roger Mosey says both 3D coverage and 'Super Hi-Vision' testing of the Olympics' 100m races was "certainly on the agenda."

The experiment will be a big step forward for Super Hi-Vision, although the Olympic coverage will only be available to the public at three British locations -- BBC's Pacific Quay building in Glasgow, the Broadcasting House in London and, the National Media Museum in Bradford, writes the Guardian.

Sharp earlier this year introduced a 85-inch Super Hi-Vision set, but it's only a prototype. The TV maker acknowledges that the new technology may not even be available for public trials until 2020 at the earliest. But the prototype -- and the BBC's Olympic test -- shows that the technology is possible and a likely addition in the CE marketplace within a decade or so.

Sharp says Super Hi-Vision images will offer four times as much detail than today's high-def images. The prototype delivers a picture with 7,680 by 4,320 pixels.

Sharp is developing the new picture technology with the Japanese broadcaster NHK. PC World reports that because Super Hi-Vision delivers so much detail, each frame is roughly the same as a 33-megapixel still picture.

"When you sit and watch it you really get the experience of being in seat D5 in the stadium," said Mosey, according to the Guardian. "Super hi-vision might be a better long-term prospect than 3D in some ways as it gives you the feel of being in the stadium. People are knocked out by it."

"It is fair to say there is a trade-off between 3D and HD," Mosey added. "We don't want to damage the mass audience that watches HD with [too much] 3D, which is viewed by a minority."

Swanni is Phillip Swann, president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

Click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.
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