Just because you have a 4K TV doesn't mean you can watch the World Cup in 4K

The World Cup is in full swing. This highly anticipated international event is of course inseparable from television. It is this world-class sporting event held every four years that has massively boosted the sales of new flat-panel TVs. In fact, the connection between them is more than that. The World Cup is also a continuous "testing ground" for new television technologies, which are changing our daily TV watching habits and ways.

From the first presentation of "color events" in 1970 to "ultra-widescreen events" in 2006, and then to 3D, HD and mobile events in 2010, the viewing method is gradually upgrading and people's viewing experience is being improved again and again.

Fast forward to 2014. In addition to the matches that people stayed up all night watching in front of their TVs, many friends should have seen Sony's advertising billboards constantly attracting their attention, conveying the information of 4K/UHD, because Sony and FIFA will work together to promote 4K video, and for the first time in Brazil, shoot the "World Cup" with a new resolution, and broadcast three games including the final. As we all know, the common resolutions of 4K broadcasting technology are 3840×2160 and 4096×2160, which is 4 times the resolution of HD, which is really a feast for the eyes.

Unfortunately, if you want to watch 4K high-definition videos, consumers must spend a lot of money to buy a new 4K TV. Most people may wonder why they can't watch ultra-high-definition events in other ways. You will find the answer if you read on.

Scale up:

"Filming a World Cup match is a large-scale HD production, much larger in proportion than a normal Premier League match," said David Bush, Sony's marketing director, stressing the challenge of cramming 12 UHD cameras into an already crowded environment.

Sony is the only video producer for the World Cup, which means it needs to transmit high-quality HD videos of 64 games to billions of viewers around the world. Although it has a team of 300 people in 12 locations to handle this, there are also many producers, engineers, etc. who need to edit independent 4K videos.

“There are a limited number of crossovers between HD and 4K, and we’re going to find one or two HD bits in there and upconvert that to 4K video, but the majority of it is captured natively,” Bush said.

3D Failed:

There is a difference between 4K and 3D images, and as early as 2010, similar efforts were invested in 3D cameras, but the technology seemed to have completely failed.

However, compared with 3D, Bush is full of confidence in 4K. He personally believes that 4K will rapidly "invade" the technology field like a "Trojan Horse".

Although there are not many 4K videos, Bush still believes that this "World Cup" will be a good opportunity for users to enjoy the impact of 4K. In addition to the 4K videos of the three games, Sony will also send 2 to 3 minutes of UHD highlights to channel partners every day to demonstrate 4K technology.

Where is the 4K video?

Although 4K video sounds cool, where is it? Why can't you watch 4K video on HD channels? There are many reasons, but the main problem is that very few broadcast channels have tried the technology, so large-scale trials like the "World Cup 4K Video" are crucial to the future of UHD.

As shown in the picture above, the grass is greener under the 4K video. Bush said: "It depends on each country's problem. There is no separate 4K broadcast patent. FIFA will provide 4K sources to media that have the right to broadcast HD sources in each region. Whether to broadcast depends on the media itself. Some media will choose the 4K option. For example, the BBC in the UK has internal technical tests and will use 4K signals to determine whether it is feasible to use a new channel."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.