I believe F1 are or were also looking into 120Hz?
They are, I didn't mention it because I haven't seen the test footage.
They were also many years ago theoretically interested in 300fps due to the ability to produce clean 50 and 60 fps material and slo mo from the same source, well except for that pesky fractional 59.94 problem.
There is a future for 120Hz as far as sports coverage and broadcasting goes, but are the likes of SKY really going to want to spend the kind of money this will require to attract the number of new customers it may attract?
Sky may get desperate and see it as a way to differentiate themselves from the streaming services. Although the streaming services could do 120fps (or 100fps for the European market) far more easily than a proper broadcaster like Sky.
It's been mumbled about in various trade forums and Sky are part of all that these days, not just BBC. BBC don't have anybody much left to work on this stuff despite being a big proponent of high frame rate more than ten years ago.
If you think it's hassle getting a HDMI 2.1 48G signal through a domestic AVR and TV or Projector, imagine how much fun it is to get it through the usually 1.5G or 4x3G infrastructure in a broadcast facility! The first NHK 4160p120 cameras used 16 3G HDSDI fibers, not much fun.
At least with IP infrastructure it's a bit easier, kind of, so it might actually happen.
But with BT Sport demoing Rugby at 25p not so long ago I think there's an attitude change needed.
You really need the likes of Amazon to get involved, but they can't even decide on which HDR format to support or add full support for Atmos so what are the chances of them digging into their vast monetary resources to buy sports rights and then provide 4K/120Hz coverage?
Yeah but Amazon might just go "let's do 120p for a laugh" I'll nudge my old flatmate into it, he's involved in that. They are buying up sports rights and then failing to distribute in half the markets they have the rights for, they behave like they are doing it with pocket change "for a laugh".
There's 8K coverage of the Olympics, not here in the UK though.
Japan's national public broadcaster NHK has said it will provide widespread coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in 8K, including t...
www.insidethegames.biz
NHK just go do those sort of things, amazing, I'll try to get a look while I'm there.
The BBC of all people actually trialled the streaming of 8K content back in 2012:
The first live Super Hi-Vision broadcast for public consumption was of the Olympic opening ceremony in London last week. We didn't get to see that premiere, or the second or third screenings either -- but the fourth? Oh yes. We grabbed a seat right up front of a small theater inside BBC...
www.engadget.com
Yes it looked completely wonderful, well if you could see past the strobing of the 50Hz lighting.
The interesting thing about such broadcasts being made available via streaming services is why would you need HDMI version 2.1 to access them? You could simply use an app onboard the TV itself to watch them.
Exactly, and that's probably the biggest reason it might actually happen.
The streaming system Amazon bought a couple of years ago can upgrade to 120p without too much grief. There are OB trucks that can do some 120p feeds, it's actually quite common for super slomo cameras to run at 150fps, occasionally 300fps, I get involved in bring those back to the studio on occasion.
I've been shooting all my home video skiing and sailing at 720p119 for many many years, thanks to the BBC R&D guys getting me hooked on HFR, looks great, lovely motion, even just using nasty cmos roll gopros.