Earlier this week, we learned that the first live 4K/Ultra HD broadcast would take place during the 2014 World Cup, the world’s biggest sporting event. Then, just yesterday, TV Technology reported that 4K/Ultra HD would also be front-and-center at America’s biggest sporting event.
CBS has promised an unprecedented level of coverage of the 2013 Super Bowl, employing 60 to 70 cameras to titillate the 110+ million sets of eyeballs that will tune into the game. Among that army of recording devices, however, there will be six special Heyeper Zoom 4K replay cameras. These native 4K models are designed to provide a “pristine, high-resolution view of critical points of a play.”
When/if 4K/Ultra HD TVs are adopted en masse, sports networks will be among the biggest beneficiaries. The potential to break down plays at a super-sharp 3840×2160 resolution – and at anywhere from 300-500 frames per second – surely has plenty of executives salivating.
As for the big game, the effect of the 4K cameras will certainly be limited by the resolution and refresh rates of the TVs tuned into them, but they will still allow CBS to zoom in to small segments of the frame without worrying about pixelation and motion blur.
This is undoubtedly another step forward for the technology that seems like the heir apparent to HDTV. No matter who hoists the the trophy after the dust settles Sunday night, those tuning into the game will have witnessed history.
