China Media Group is to broadcast the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in 8K resolution at big screens in public locations.
The broadcaster has set up the country’s first 8K TV channel, CCTV-8K, for the task, but it’s not clear if any international broadcasters will distribute the feed from Beijing.
The delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics were meant to be the first real showcase of 8K broadcasting, but those plans ultimately fizzled out and the event ended up being more of a local technology showcase.
However, CMG intends to realize the potential of 8K broadcasting with the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be videod, produced and broadcast in 8K Ultra HD. However, the feed will only be shown on large screens in public areas.
As FlatPanels HD reported, CMG has launched CCTV-8K with the intention of broadcasting the Olympics to audiences in 8K resolution.
"To meet the goal of presenting the Beijing 2022 via 8K ultra-high-definition technology, the CMG has advanced the construction of the relevant production and broadcasting system, and has accelerated the rapid growth of the whole industrial chain that covers 8K TV production, broadcasting and transmission,” CMG said in a statement.
The big screens have been set up in public places across China, including at train stations that link Beijing with its Olympics co-host city Zhangjiakou.
The Winter Olympics will run from February 4 to 20.
Although the broadcast will be limited, 8K proponents will no doubt be hoping that it will propel the broadcasting industry to begin taking the format more seriously. Going back to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, that was one of the first live events in the world to be broadcast in HD, which went on to become mainstream a few years later.
That said, these things take time. While parts of the London 2012 Summer Olympics were shot in 4K, here we are ten years later and 4K broadcasting is far from being the norm. We imagine a similar lengthy wait before 8K broadcasting becomes standard.
