During CES week, European television network Eutelsat launched the first-ever 4K TV channel, and while it’s only for experimental and demonstration purposes, it’ll set the tone for the future of television broadcasting. Case in point: Japan is planning on launching 4K TV broadcasts in July 2014, which is two years ahead of schedule.
According to a report from the Asahi Shimbun, the 4K transmissions will first begin using communication satellite channels before moving to broadcast satellites, with digital broadcasting arriving at a later date. Not a lot of details are available at this point, but it should only be a matter of time before we hear more about 4K TV broadcasting.
However, the report notes that the 4K broadcast is set to be up and running by the time the final match of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil kicks off, which will no doubt excite avid soccer fans in Japan. Plus, since 4K broadcasts are two years ahead of schedule, they’re also moving up 8K broadcasts as well, which should be launching in 2016.
The biggest story of CES 2013 was the rise of 4K televisions. It’s certainly not the first time we’ve heard about them this year, but companies like Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, and LG are just now putting their respective models up for sale, but of course, it’ll cost you a pretty penny to afford one of these new panels.
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[via Reuters]
Japan to launch 4K TV broadcasts in July 2014 is written by SlashGear.
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