Skip to content
Home » Site-Sections » Gadget News » The BBC and Japan to go 4K crazy – Ultra HD Meerkats and World Cup 2014 planned

The BBC and Japan to go 4K crazy – Ultra HD Meerkats and World Cup 2014 planned

Every year at the CES show in Las Vegas there is one noticeable trend; whether it be 2011’s tablet frenzy or the great 3D bent of 2012, there is always something that every manufacturer of electronics is trying to promote. This year was no exception as CES 2013 was ruled by 4K technology.

4K is the gloriously high-def 3840 x 2160 resolution TV tech that was showcased in full at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, with brands such as Sony, Samsung, LG, Philips and Toshiba all showcasing the technology in their TVs.

The only issue at the moment is that nowhere actually shows the new super HD technology (Sony is releasing a host of 4K Blu-rays soon), but this is looking set to change. First up, our Japanese friends are looking to transmit 4K broadcasts of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

So in July of next year some ultra-rich Japanese people will be able to view the Brazil World cup in Ultra HD 4K resolutions, which will make things look super realistic!

Things are also looking up for us in the UK as today the good old BBC has also said that it is looking into 4K broadcasting, with the corporation planning on showing a 4K Ultra HD TV show that has been recorded, surrounding everyone’s favourite animal at the moment – Meerkats.

The BBC has been trialling UHD filming since way back in 2008, with the broadcasters even going as far as recording certain bits of the London 2012 Olympics in 4K as a tester.

What this mean is that the Meerkat-focused show “Survivor” will be the UK’s first wildlife series to be filmed in the pixel-tastic format, with the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU) handling the logistics.

Mike Gunton, creative director of the NHU, explained the point: “There’s a new reality which those images give. I think it makes the images more engaging. You feel you can almost touch them and get into the heads of the animals.”

Survivor will be the BBC’s next big wildlife series and it will be shown in 4K to the lucky few who have the technology, but there are currently no set dates for the show’s broadcast.