Advances in SUPER Hi-VISION in 2012

Public viewings at the London Olympics, and standardization at the ITU-R

Masayuki Sugawara

Executive research engineer

Advanced Television Systems Research Division,
Science and Technology Research Laboratories
Nippon Hoso Kyokai

1. Introduction
HDTV has achieved worldwide popularity. In Japan, HDTV
is already available from sources such as terrestrial broadcasting,
satellite broadcasting, cable TV, Internet broadcasting and
package media. The next generation of broadcasting and television
technology is now being researched and developed. This is called
SUPER Hi-VISION (SHV), and is being promoted by Nippon
Hoso Kyokai (NHK: Japan Broadcasting Corporation) [1]. SHV
consists of ultra-high-definition video (16 times as many pixels
as HDTV) and 22.2 multi-channel audio. Compared with
conventional media, it provides a far higher sense of presence and
immersion, and allows audiences to experience high-quality video
and audio. NHK is conducting research and development with
the aim of starting experimental SHV broadcasts by 2020. Two
important epoch-making events in the history of SHV took place
in 2012. One was the public viewings of the London Olympics,
and the other was the standardization of this technology by the
ITU-R.

2. Public viewings at the London Olympics

2.1 Overview
During the London Olympics, NHK held SHV public
viewings at venues in Japan, the UK, and the USA, in cooperation
with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the
Figure 1: System overview of SUPER Hi-VISION public
viewings of London Olympics

Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS). Figure 1 illustrates the

system overview. A total of seven events were presented in SHV
during the London 2012 Olympic Games. These were the
opening and closing ceremonies, swimming, basketball, athletics,
cycling, and synchronized swimming. Content created at the
venues was carried by optical fiber to a temporary production and
transmission base that had been established in TC0, a studio at
the BBC Television Centre in London. Live content was sent
"as-is" via the studio in Television Centre while other content was
edited and packaged there before delivery. Both live and non-live
programs were compressed into transmission streams (TS) at a
rate of approximately 280 Mbps before distribution via IP lines
to the public viewing venues in the U.K., the USA, and Japan for
presentation. In addition, an uncompressed signal was sent from
the BBC Television Centre studio to a public viewing theatre at
the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) within the Olympic
Park. This theatre was for members of the international media
community so they could experience SHV viewing of the events
around the Olympic venues. The opening and closing ceremony
and the swimming competitions were presented live in the UK
and the USA but due to time differences, only the morning (local
time) section of the July 30 swimming competition was shown live
in Japan.
2.2 Venue Production
Two trucks were used at each location: one for video, and
the other for audio (Figure 2). They were staffed with a single
crew and after each event they had to de-rig the equipment
before moving to the next venue The video OB-van was a rental
truck that was furnished with empty equipment racks before
Figure 2: OB-vans for video and audio (behind)

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 Figure 3: 1.25-inch 4-CMOS camera and 5x lens

Figure 5: 22.2ch one-point microphone

Figure 6: BBC TCO system configuration

Figure 4: Camera positions for athletics and opening/

closing ceremonies

being shipped to London from Japan. Once there, it was rigged

with the SHV production equipment. This included an eightinput switcher system along with two SHV cameras (three at
the opening and closing ceremonies), two SSD live-slow-motion
devices, an up-converter (to up convert the host HD signal), and
graphics equipment.
Three cameras [2], each with four 1.25-inch CMOS image
sensors, were used at the opening and closing ceremonies while
for all other events this was reduced to two. Each camera had two
lens options, a 5 12 mm to 60 mm lens (Figure 3) and a 10 18
mm to 180 mm lens. The lenses were selected according to the
requirements of each venue. To cover the action it was decided
each venue would have a master or base camera in a high position
while the second camera would give a different angle from a
lower position. The second camera position was primarily used
for close-ups. Depending on the venue, the low-position camera
gave an image with more depth and which gave a greater sense of
presence, so it was switched in and out with the base camera shot
during each event. The camera positions for athletics and opening/
closing ceremonies are described in Figure 4.
An audio OB-van rented in the UK for the Olympic
period, was fitted with a 22.2ch live mixing board and 22.2ch
speakers. The mixing board was developed at the NHK Science

& Technology Research Laboratories (NHK STRL) and its

operation optimized for live production and included 3D soundimage positioning (3D panning) functions. The 22.2ch-audio onepoint microphone (Figure 5) was a fixed, monolithic microphone
holder consisting of a 45-cm sphere divided into upper, middle
and lower layers. Each layer was partitioned into eight directions
by sound baffles with a compact microphone installed in each
partition. The microphone was positioned near the base camera.
Unfortunately it was not permitted to place the microphones
freely in the venues, therefore audio was produced with the onepoint microphone as a base and mixing in the microphone feeds
distributed from the international feed. 3D reverb equipment
(22.2ch audio reverb) was used to help to reproduce the expansive
sound of the venues.
2.3 Transmission and Editing
Transmissions for both live and edited package program,
play-out, video editing, audio post-production, and monitoring
operations were carried out in the BBC TC0 studio (Figure 6).
The main and backup feeds were recorded on two SHV P2
recorders in the TC0 studio for packaged programs. Each SHV
recorder used 16 x P2 cards with an additional card to record HD
proxy data. After each competition two edited packages were

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 Figure 7: Distribution system including IP networks

Table 1: List of screening venues

produced a World Feed (WF) for the UK and USA, and a Japan
Feed (JF) for Japan using two SHV editors. These were edited
simultaneously as ten minute segments with content dependent
on medal standing or popularity of the event. Several segments
were then combined into a package of approximately 45 minutes
duration. Editing was carried out overnight from midnight to 10
am to be ready for distribution to Japan and to be prepared for
the presentation in the UK and the USA starting at noon. HD
material was used as proxy data for an off-line edit that produce
EDL data. The SHV image was then conformed using the offline EDL data. Captions were created as SHV (7680 4320)
TIFF files by the graphics overlay equipment and imported to the
SHV editor. Finally a 24-channel WAV file of the complete audio
master was imported and merged into the SHV editor time line to
complete the content.
Two simultaneous audio edits were also produced (to match
the two video edits) using the HD proxy editing data in two audio
post-production systems. The first consisted of a digital audio
workstation (DAW) with a mixing desk that supports 22.2ch
audio and a backup DAW and was set up in the audio mixing
room. The second audio post-production system was set up in
the SHV preview room and consisted of a DAW and the preview
room's 22.2ch sound speaker system. Audio post-production made
it possible to control the overall audio balance for multiple events,
improving the quality of the content.
An SHV 8 8 routing switcher system (an HD 128 128
router configured to switch 16 channels simultaneously) was used
to access the various resources in TC0 including the live signals
(main and backup) brought in from each venue by optical lines
and the P2 recorders (main and backup) used for playing back the
content. An additional and separate monitoring system was built
to allow the signals from the relay site to be checked even during a
public viewing screening.

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2.4 Distribution and Screening

This part includes encoding of the baseband signals from the
BBC studio equipment, transmission over IP, the transport system
that decodes and restores the baseband signals and the screening
system that reproduces the video and audio from the baseband
signals. IP networks within the UK were used to transmit signals
to the three locations (London, Bradford, and Glasgow) and dark
fiber was used to transmit uncompressed signals to the IBC within
the Olympic complex. Global IP networks were used to transmit
to Washington D.C. in the USA, and to Tokyo in Japan. In the
USA, the domestic network was used to transmit the signals from
the terminus of the global network to the venue within the USA.
In Japan signals were transmitted to NHK STRL by domestic
lines from the Tokyo terminus, then distributed by IP multicast
over dedicated domestic lines to three locations in Japan (Shibuya,
Akihabara, and Fukushima).
A schematic diagram of the distribution system [3][4], consisting
of encoder, transport equipment and IP network, is shown in
Figure 7. The encoder[5] employs AVC/H.264 for video encoding
and MPEG-2 AAC-LC for audio encoding. In order to transmit
the 280 Mbps compressed MPEG-2 TS SHV video and
audio over global IP networks, the required bandwidth had to
be secured. Fluctuations that occur on the network had to be
compensated for and a mechanism for maintaining security was
needed. Specifically, functions to control jitter for synchronous
transmission and for real-time encoding and decoding along with
function to handle packet loss, and functions for advanced error
correction were needed. All these functions were built into the IP
transmission terminal equipment.
At the public viewing venues, two types of projector were
used as well as an 85-inch LCD [6], a 145-inch PDP [7], and a 360inch multi-screen LCD. At five of the theatre venues, the SHV
projectors[8] had 8-megapixel display devices and a pixel-shifting
technology called e-shift to increase the resolution. This had the
advantage of reducing the size and power consumption of the
projector. The projector in the NHK Minna no Hiroba Fureai
Hall had 33 megapixel display devices for RGB [9], making it a socalled full-resolution projector. This projector had a high output
power as it was for use on the venues very large 520-inch screen.
A new 22.2 multichannel audio system was developed for direct
viewing displays and was combined with the 85-inch LCDs and
the 145-inch PDP. In theatres using a projector, the theatre sound
system was used.
The display equipment and screen size used at each public
viewing venue is shown in Table 1.
In Japan the public viewings were held from July 28 to August
12 at the NHK Minna no Hiroba Fureai Hall in Shibuya (Figure
8), NHK Studio Park, in the Belle Salle Akihabara event space
near Akihabara station, and at the NHK Fukushima broadcasting
station. In the UK, the BBC took the lead with cooperation
from NHK. Screenings were held from July 23 to August 12 at

 Figure 8: Public viewing in the Minna no Hiroba

Fureai hall (NHK broadcasting centre)

Figure 9: Video system classification described in Report

ITU-R BT.2246
EHRI: Extremely high resolution imagery
LSDI: Large screen digital imagery

the BBC Broadcasting House in London, the National Media

Museum in Bradford, and the BBC Scotland building in Glasgow.
At the IBC, the OBS took the lead providing demonstrations
targeted at broadcasting community. In the USA, NBC took the
lead with cooperation from NHK, and screenings were held from
July 27 to August 12 in meeting rooms in the Comcast building in
Washington D.C. mainly for invited guests from government and
the content, communications and electronics industries.
Many dignitaries and people related to the broadcasting
industry attended the screenings, and there were many comments
about how wonderful the images and sounds were as well as
inquiries about when the SHV broadcasting would begin.

3. The establishment of Recommendation

ITU-R BT.2020
In August 2012, ITU-R Recommendation BT.2020 was
established [10]. This Recommendation specifies video formats for
the production and international exchange of ultra-high-definition
television (UHDTV). Like other technologies, television has
evolved through different generations. However, one of the
characteristics of television is the long duration of each generation.
For example, standard definition TV (SDTV; the precursor of
HDTV) was the mainstream technology for some 4050 years.

Figure 10: Rapporteur group (RG) meeting in

February 2012
Demonstration of study results to EBU experts for their
opnions
From right, Mr. Wood, RG chair, Ms. Choi (Korea), RG co-vice
chair, the author

Figure 11: Demonstration of SUPER Hi-VISION at

ITU, Geneva in September 2011

For this sort of TV broadcasting service, the establishment of an

ITU-R Recommendation for UHDTV which can be thought of
as the next generation after HDTV is of great significance.
3.1 The process leading to Recommendation status
UHDTV standardization activities in ITU-R SG6 started
with Japan's proposal of a new Question (study agenda) at the first
meeting of the 20072012 study period in April 2008. Although
the standardization of UHDTV received some negative opinions,
including concerns that the technology was too premature for
standardization, Japan accepted the position of the chairman of
the Rapporteur group and subsequently led the work. Technical
contributions were chief ly submitted from Japan and Korea,
and although there were differences of opinion between the two
countries on some aspects, the activities of the two countries
showed that there was a need for an international UHDTV
standard. During the four-year study period, progress was made
with the aim of creating a video format Recommendation to
form the foundation of a technical standard needed for UHDTV
broadcasting. The study efforts included the Rapporteur activities
(Figure 10) and a demonstration of UHDTV by NHK (Figure
11). As a result, we were almost on target by being able to make an
agreement to proceed to adoption and approval procedure at the

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 Table 2: Major parameters and their values specified in Recommendation ITU-R BT.2020

April/May meeting in 2012 (about six months later than planned),

and the Recommendation was established in August after the
approval procedure by the member states by correspondence.
3.2 Technical explanation of the Recommendation
Table 2 lists the Recommendation's main parameters and
their values, and compares them with the parameters of HDTV.
The documents submitted in the investigation of these parameter
values have been compiled into the Report ITU-R BT.2246 [11],
produced by the activities of the Rapporteur group. This conforms
to the Report ITU-R BT.801 "The present state of high-definition
television" produced during the research of HDTV.
An itemized description follows.
First, increasing the number of pixels is, as its name suggests,
the essential point of UHDTV. Assuming the picture is viewed
at the optimal viewing distance,1 the increased number of
pixels increases the viewing angle and enhances the user's visual
experience (sense of presence, etc.). Meanwhile, according to
Recommendation BT.1201, it is desirable that systems beyond
HDTV have an integer multiple of the number of pixels in
HDTV [12]. The number of pixels in UHDTV was chosen to
be 2 or 4 times that of HDTV. According to Recommendation
BT.1845 "Guidelines on metrics to be used when tailoring
television programs to broadcasting applications at various image
quality levels, display sizes and aspect ratios", the horizontal fields
of view at each optimal viewing distance are 58 and 96.
Up to 60 Hz, the same frame rate values are stated as for
HDTV. Beyond 60 Hz, the additional value of 120 Hz is also
included. The need for this was asserted and observed from the
results of an investigation of flicker and motion blur conducted by
Japan. Progressive scanning is the only scanning method because
UHDTV is only likely to be used in digital system. Regarding
the colorimetry, since there is no need to assume the use of CRT
displays as was required for HDTV, it is made capable of handling

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Figure 12: Colorimetry for UHDTVcomparison with

HDTV in CIE xy chromaticity diagram

a wider color gamut than HDTV (Figure 12). In particular, as

the most important requirement, adjustments were made together
with Korea in line with Japan's assertion of using real physical
colors for the three primary colors, resulting in the values shown in
Table 2. The nonlinear transfer function (i.e., gamma correction)
characteristics are the same as for HDTV.
The luminance and color signal equations were the most
controversial issue. In the luminance signal equation of HDTV
and earlier standards, the Y signal was not a true representation
of luminance (non-constant luminance). Although this only had a
small effect on picture quality, the issue was common knowledge
among television engineers, most of whom considered that a

constant luminance system should be brought in sooner or later.

This was proposed by Korea. On the other hand, the hidden
benefits of the current non-constant luminance approach such
as the fact that the results of signal processing can be handled
in the same way as with RGB signals while still encoded had
not been fully recognized, and finally became clear through the
activities of the Rapporteur group on color signal systems. It thus
became possible to understand the benefits and drawbacks of the
constant luminance and non-constant luminance method, and
as a result the Recommendation was formulated to contain both
methods alongside each other.
With regard to the transmission signal subsampling ratios,
the 4:2:0 ratio was added due to its applicability to progressive
scanning, and with regard to the bit depth, from the viewpoint of
the contrast sensitivity of the human visual system, the 8-bit depth
was dropped and a 12-bit depth was added.
3.3 The significance of this Recommendation, and the
future of television
At the ITU, this Recommendation has reached the stage
of the agreement at SG6 to proceed to adoption and approval
procedure by the member states, and a press release to this effect
was published on May 24 [13]. This Recommendation demonstrates
how advances are still being made in television technology, which
has improved dramatically between its invention in the 1930s and
the advent of modern HDTV systems.
In the words of ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun
Tour, "UHDTV is an earth-shaking development in the world
of television. Watching UHDTV in the near future will be
a breath taking experience, and I look forward to it." WP6C
chairman David Wood said, "This is the dawn of a new age for
television that will bring unprecedented levels of realism and
viewer enjoyment. It's a historic moment. Some years will pass
before we see these systems in our homes, but come they will."
Christoph Dosch, the chairman of SG6, said "This is clearly
a major achievement for SG6 of which we can be proud. The
Recommendation means that organizations around the world
can safely begin work to make UHDTV a reality," and ITU-R
director Franois Rancy said, "I've personally seen the pictures
with 8K UHDTV system, 2 and it's absolutely stunning the
sense of being there is superb. This agreement shows the great and
continuing strength of the ITU-R and SG6." This press release
shows how important UHDTV is to the ITU, and how it is
paving the way forward for the success of UHDTV broadcasting
to create this Recommendation.
NHK is researching and developing SHV as a next-generation
television broadcasting technology. It goes without saying that this
international standardization process is essential for the practical
application of this technology to television broadcasting. From this
point of view, NHK has been deeply involved in the establishment
of Recommendation BT.2020, not only through its deliberations
within Japan but also through its dealings with the ITU-R. This
Recommendation can be regarded as the acceptance of SHV as
a global television standard. This Recommendation has finally
started off the process of establishing standards for various criteria
so that broadcasting can begin. In the future, it will be necessary
to create additional standards for audio and video technologies

such as interfaces, coding techniques, broadcast specifications and

quality evaluation methods.

4. Conclusion
In this paper, we introduced the ITU-R standardization
of system parameters and the public viewings of the London
Olympics, which were important events during 2012 with regard to
SHV. There are several events that take place between a television
system's initial development and its practical implementation.
Of these, standardization and demonstration at major events are
particularly important.
On the subject of public viewings at major events, broadcast
technology has evolved together with the Olympics. In 1964, the
Tokyo Olympics saw the introduction of color broadcasting and
live broadcasts via communication satellites. At the 1984 Los
Angeles Olympics, video was captured on HDTV for the first
time. Then at the 2012 London Olympics, SHV made its first
appearance. We were reassured to receive very positive feedback
from the people who saw the public viewings.
ITU-R standardization is an acknowledgment of the future
direction of television broadcasting by experts in this field all
over the world. As stated by Christoph Dosch, the chairman
of ITU-R SG6, it is now safe for organizations around the
world to start working on implementing environments that
incorporate UHDTV. Also, having established a video format
Recommendation as a foundation for all related standards,
it should now be possible to develop a full suite of standards
necessary for broadcasting.
These two achievements show that the world is waiting
expectantly for the arrival of SHV. From 2013 onwards, NHK
hopes to work even faster towards the practical realization of SHV
broadcasting.
References
[1] http:www.nhk.or.jp/strl/
[2] K. Arai, S. Mitsuhashi, D. Ito, H. Fujinuma, R. Funatsu and. T. Kikkawa: "Newly Developed
UHDT V Camera System," Presented at IBC2010 Conference, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, September 9-14 (2010).
[3] Y. Nojiri, K. Iguchi, K. Noguchi, T. Fujii, M. Ogawara: "National Super Hi-Vision
Transmission Test using IP Networks for Global Research and Education," Broadcast
Technology (Hoso Gijutsu), Vol. 64, No. 6, pp. 135-141 (2011) (Japanese).
[4] S. Sakaida, K. Iguchi, N. Kimura, M. Ogawara, Fujii: "International Super Hi-Vision
Transmission Test and Exhibition of Related Equipment at IBC2011," Broadcast
Technology (Hoso Gijutsu), Vol. 65, No. 1, pp.151-156 (2012) (Japanese).
[5] Y. Shishikui, K. Iguchi, S. Sakaida, K. Kazui, A. Nakagawa: "Development of High
Performance Video Codec for Super Hi-Vision, "65th NAB Broadcast Engineering
Conference, pp. 234-239 (2011).
[6] T. Kumakura, M. Shiomi, S. Horino, Y. Yoshida, S. Mizushima: "Development of Super
Hi-Vision 8Kx4K Direct-View LCD for Next Generation TV, " SID 2012 Digest, pp. 780-783
(2012).
[7] K. Ishii, T. Usui, Y. Murakami, Y. Motoyama, M. Seki, Y. Noguchi, T. Furutani, T. Nakakita,
T. Yamashita: "Developments of a 145-inch Diagonal Super Hi-Vision Plasma Display
Panel, " SID 2012 Digest, pp.71-74 (2012).
[8] F. Okano, M. Kanazawa, Y. Kusakabe, M. Furuya, Y. Uchiyama: "Complementary Field
Offset Sampled-Scanning for GRB Video Elements, " IEEE Trans. Broadcasting, Vol. 58,
No. 2, pp. 291-295 (2012).
[9] T. Nagoya, T. Kozakai, T. Suzuki, M. Furuya, and K. Iwase, "The D-ILA device for the
world's highest definition (8K4K) projection system, " Proc. Int. Display Workshop (IDW)
2008, vol. 15, pp. 203206 (2008).
[10] Recommendation ITU-R BT.2020 "Parameter values forultra-high definition television
systems for production andinternational programme exchange "
[11] Report ITU-R BT.2246 "The present state of ultra high definitiontelevision"
[12] Recommendation ITU-R BT.1201 "Extremely high resolutionimagery"
[13] http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/31.aspx
Notes:
1 The viewing distance for which an angular resolution of 30 cycle per degree is obtained.
Expressed as a multiple of the screen height (H), and equal to 3H in the case of HDTV. In
Recommendation BT.1127, this is also called the design viewing distance.
2 A format stipulated in Recommendation BT.2020, with a pixel size of 76804320.

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