1080p NOT the end all be all

[Glockstar]

???

Super Hi-Vision Update
Proposed 7680 x 4320 resolution broadcast standard may make viewers ill.
by Gerry Block

January 25, 2008 - Last year we covered news from Japan that the country's national TV network, NHK, had unveiled a new high-definition video standard massively higher quality than the current highest-end 1080p. Dubbed Super Hi-Vision, the proposed broadcast standard features a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320, rather easily enough to make 1,920 x 1,080 look pretty lame.

The BBC caught up with researchers at NHK for an update yesterday, and the news wasn't all positive. Though progress on the actual technology is moving forward steadily, the practical application of the Super Hi-Vision resolution in the home may be limited. Researchers seem concerned that it takes a display of at least 60-inches to be able to see the benefits of the resolution, which is odd considering the same could be said for 1080p. Truly worrisome is researcher Masuru Kanazawa's comment that viewing such a display in a small room might "make people feel sick."

NHK sees more potential in truly big screen applications. The group has constructed a specially built 500-inch screen paired with a 22.2-channel surround sound system in the lab for testing purposes. That's certainly an ultimate setup, though commercial availability of Super Hi-Vision isn't coming any time soon. NHK hopes to ratify the technology as a broadcast standard by 2015, with potential rollout estimated for 2025.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/847/847868p1.html


2015 to 2025?! Uh, never mind; nothing to see here.

[joquito]

4K resolution systems have been developed for some time. 4K displays albeit adhoc have been around for at least 6 years. I read of a 4K system in Japan that indeed made the viewers sick. The big stumbling block is bandwidth. Cable and Satellite HD channels lack the bandwidth to broadcast a distortion free 1080i signal. DirecTV's HD channels are not 1080X1920 but 1080X1280 (Unless DirecTV recently changed). Even Verizon Fios isn't quite as good as Over The Air broadcasts. The whole 1080p HDTV debacle is even worse with the majority of 1080p HDTVs only resolving 600-700 vertical lines of resolution. (Courtesy of HDguru). I guess a man can still wish.

[Glockstar]

That's weird; I'm wondering what it is that makes people sick?

[Fivespot]

Motion sickness is my guess. I felt a little myself switching from GH2 on a 1080i to GH2 on a larger 1080p. For some reason the scrolling music bar never bothered me prior to the upgrade and now I can only play in small doses.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I think I got motion sickness from playing Metroid Prime 3 on 480p (or is it 480i? Probably so, since it's on my composite inputs). If the Wii had HD capabilities, I would have emptied my stomach after 2 minutes of it.