The next HD standard, which aims to replace Full HD in the future, is as good as ready. It is called Ultra HDTV or UHDTV and uses a 7680x4320 pixel resolution. The London Olympics 2012 will be broadcast in UHDTV.

UHDTV standard almost ready
The International Telecommunication Union, ITU, has pretty much agreed on the UHDTV standard and the technical specifications.

Ultra-HDTV goes by many names and besides UHDTV it is called 8Kx4K or Super Hi-Vision. UHDTV is 16 times Full HD (that dominates on TVs today) and offers a total of 33,177,600 pixels. An uncompressed UHDTV signal requires 25 Gbit/s data transfer but a compressed takes “just” 150 Mbit/s. A typical 720p-1080p HD feed requires between 9-36 Mbit/s.


Sharps 85” 8Kx4K TV is jaw-droppingly impressive

UHDTV has been demonstrated in Japan by NHK but Sharp also exhibited a 85-inch 8K TV at IFA 2011 in Berlin. FlatpanelsHD saw that presentation and it was jaw-droppingly impressive. At the Olympics in London next year BBC will also cover part of the event in UHDTV for screening at public venues around the world.

ITU says that the UHDTV supports up to 22.2 audio speakers channels. 

Before UHDTV – or 8K – becomes mainstream, manufacturers will most likely embrace the 4K standard. Sources tell FlatpanelsHD that we might see 4K TVs as soon as 2012.