UHDTV to be the new standard for 4K and 8K displays

If one is in the market nowadays to buy a television, monitor or any other display solution, they would probably not opt for a television with a 720p resolution as it is rather old. Most likely they would opt for display solutions featuring the common standard resolution which is 1080p. But as technology improves, this 1080 resolution also seems to be rather old and the new standard is 4k and 8k. While 720p has the name HD, 1080 is called full HD, the International Telecommunications Union has agreed that these new transmissions will be termed as UHDTV which is an abbreviation for Ultra High Definition television.

UHDTV is the new standard

The ITU-R Recommendation lays out the quality standards for UHDTV in two steps. The advances made with each of these quality steps are roughly similar to the step from the old ‘standard definition television’ to ‘high definition television (HDTV)’. HDTV pictures today have the equivalent of between 1-2 megapixels. The first level of UHDTV picture levels has the equivalent of about 8 megapixels (3 840 x 2 160 image system), and the next level comes with the equivalent of about 32 megapixels (7 680 x 4 320 image system).  As a shorthand way of describing them, they are sometimes called the ‘4K’ and ‘8K’ UHDTV systems.

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These new transmissions are explained as Ultra high definition picture quality accompanied by improved colour fidelity, and options for higher numbers of pictures per second than for today’s television systems. Speaking on the agreement, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said, “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.”

David Wood, Chairman of ITU-R Working Party 6C (WP 6C) which developed the draft new recommendation, 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.  The die is now cast, thanks to the untiring efforts of the international experts participating in WP6C.”

With this recommendation being agreed upon, we now have a fair idea on what upcoming displays will be termed as instead of just being termed as 4K or 8K.