Consider the NAB broadcast engineering conference keynote address delivered by Hirokazu Nishiyama, executive director of Japanese broadcaster NHK. Nishiyama focused on what he coined as the transition from "Tele-vision"—being able to see a distant location—to Tele-Sense in which a viewer feels like he or she is virtually at that locale.

The means toward that sophisticated end, according to the NHK exec, is Ultra-HDTV video offering a resolution of 7680 x 4320, which is some 16 times clearer and better defined than high-def television. NHK is in the process of developing specs for Ultra-HDTV equipment such as cameras and displays, which will require 32 million pixels. Also on the drawing board are high-speed HDTV cameras that will operate up to one million frames per second.

Gearing Up In Europe

Meanwhile others are gearing up in more conventional fashion yet their investments also signal a strong commitment to HD. A case in point is ARRI Film & TV Services, the postproduction services division of ARRI Group, which at NAB purchased three Nucoda Film Master systems with DVO image processing software from manufacturer Digital Vision. ARRI Group selected the Film Master systems to extend its services portfolio to include HD and 2K mastering and image enhancement for its film and television clients in Germany and Switzerland.

Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master is a resolution-independent, end-to-end grading and finishing system for feature films, commercials, long-form television and restoration projects. Digital Vision Optics (DVO) is a collection of resolution-independent image processing tools used to manage film grain and video noise, automatically remove dust and dirt and improve picture quality. ARRI will install the new systems on SANs in its Munich, Berlin and Bern facilities in the coming weeks to enable concurrent postproduction tasks and to increase efficiency.

Henning Radlein, head of ARRI Film & TV Services, said, "When we decided to make the transition to multi-format mastering, we knew we wanted a non-linear software solution that would handle both HD and film.

"The Film Master is a comprehensive, very high-quality finishing system that gives us all of the capabilities we need for conforming and grading, as well as noise and grain reduction. We are also impressed by Digital Vision's engagement on the development side. They're very interested in pushing the envelope and working with us to understand what we need."

Digital Vision president and COO Simon Cuff, said, "Given ARRI's well-known attention to detail and insistence on quality, the fact that they've selected Film Master for multi-format mastering is a real testimony to the system.

"Having paint, grain and aperture correction integrated within the grading toolset is what makes the difference to the creatives. We are extremely pleased to work with them."

Digital Vision provides innovative image restoration, enhancement, color correction and data conforming systems that major movie studios, television networks and post facilities use to produce and enhance feature films, TV programs and commercials. The company's Nucoda product line provides a suite of products for the burgeoning digital intermediate 2K/4K market.

Digital Vision is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with two wholly owned subsidiaries, Digital Vision (US) in Los Angeles, and Digital Vision UK in London. The company maintains its global presence through a network of qualified distributors. Digital Vision is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange.

By Robert Goldrich- Reported in Shoot Magazine April 27, 2007