Background information
All fooled by the 4K scam
by Luca Fontana
UHD, 4K and 8K: the true meaning of data transmission
19.12.2018
Translation: machine translated
Video: Stephanie Tresch
Picture resolutions are developing rapidly. 4K and Ultra HD are only just becoming established and 8K televisions are already on the shelves. But even the best 8K TV is useless if one thing isn't right: The data transmission.
Some technologies are developing faster than they can become established. Picture resolution, for example. 4K and Ultra HD are not yet so widespread, but Samsung is already presenting the first 8K televisions.
This is happening too quickly. Because before a new format can establish itself, it has to overcome three hurdles.
- A suitable playback device
- Availability of content
- Large transmission rates
Making devices that can handle four times the resolution of Ultra HD (UHD) is not the hard part. Nor is finding such high-resolution content. It is the transferability of the content to the playback device that determines the success or failure of a new format.
The 1st hurdle: The playback device
In order for image resolutions such as UHD or even 8K to be displayed, a compatible playback device is required. Televisions. Monitors. Billboards. The resolution is not the result of any software that calculates small pixels. Nor can it be added via a firmware update. The image resolution is physically present, in the form of pixels. Always. In other words: The higher the resolution, the more pixels are installed on the screen.
It's getting crazier and crazier.
Despite the difficulties, this first hurdle is easy to overcome. Samsung is currently leading the 8K race. The South Korean manufacturer has been offering the first UHD-2 TV for home cinema since autumn 2018. UHD-2 - that's the name for the 8K format in home cinema. At least until someone has a better idea than simply sticking a two after "UHD".
The tragic thing is that it's not the sheer mass of pixels that determines how good the picture looks to the viewer.
The 2nd hurdle: High-definition content
A UHD 2 TV without suitable content, i.e. films and series in 8K, is nothing more than a UHD TV with a few thousand francs in pixels stuck to it. That's why the second hurdle is critical.
Upscaling as the only 8K/UHD 2 source therefore cannot work. It needs real moving footage that has been recorded with appropriate video cameras. That is a problem. Red is one of the leading companies in Hollywood for the production of film cameras. And they are one of the few who produce 8K cameras at all.
The 3rd hurdle: Data transfer
Imagine this tunnel
Metaphorically speaking, it is the bandwidth. The cars travelling through it are the data volume. If the bottleneck is too small, the cars will only make slow progress. Traffic jam. This is exactly what happens to data when the bandwidth is too small. It can't get to your TV fast enough. Videos start to stutter until at some point nothing runs at all and the system gives up due to overload.
The amount of data for 4K and UHD content is huge. In the Blu-ray sector, televisions are already equipped to handle this. It needs an HDMI 2.1 connector - which most people have - and an 8K-capable HDMI cable with a transmission rate of 48 gigabits per second. That's no problem either.
The problem is that there are no UHD 2 Blu-rays or will be in the foreseeable future.
That leaves streaming portals such as Netflix or Prime Video. For their online content, they recommend an internet connection that can handle at least 25-30 megabits per second (Mbps). This would ensure that videos can be played at a reasonable rate of sixty frames per second.
One thing is clear: the infrastructure for bandwidths and transmission rates that can handle the large amounts of data generated by 8K and UHD-2 content is virtually non-existent in the world.
This is why data transmission is the highest of the three hurdles. It will therefore be years before 8K and UHD-2 have become established. <p
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
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