Author Topic: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition  (Read 32557 times)

Offline Scylla

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NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« on: 09/11/2015 07:44 pm »
NASA, Harmonic Launch First Non-Commercial UHD Channel in North America
http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-harmonic-launch-first-non-commercial-uhd-channel-in-north-america

NASA is partnering with Harmonic, a worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure, to launch NASA TV UHD, the first ever non-commercial consumer ultra-high definition (UHD) channel in North America. The partnership is the result of a Space Act Agreement between Harmonic and the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Using an end-to-end UHD video delivery system from Harmonic, NASA Television will have the capability to deliver linear 2160p60 video content, allowing viewers to enjoy footage on a wide range of television and internet-connected devices. The new UHD channel is expected to launch on Nov. 1, following preliminary tests.

“Partnering with Harmonic gives NASA an outlet for its UHD content, which has four times the resolution of HD and is the next iteration of digital television,” said Robert Jacobs, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Office of Communications at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.

Leveraging the 8-megapixel resolution of UHD, the channel will showcase the breathtaking beauty and grandeur of space. NASA TV UHD video will be sourced from high-resolution images and video generated on the International Space Station and other current NASA missions, as well as re-mastered footage from historical missions.

Harmonic currently is in discussions with pay TV operators to carry the channel on the satellite, cable and optical networks for consumer access. The channel also will stream on the Internet, which will require at least 13 MBps access connectivity to receive the signal and enjoy the UHD experience.


“As NASA reaches new heights and reveals the unknown, the NASA TV UHD channel can bring that journey to life in every home. And as organizations at the forefront of innovation, together we are leading the adoption of this exciting technology,” said Peter Alexander, chief marketing officer at Harmonic. “As the leader in UHD development, Harmonic provides a complete solution for Ultra HD video production and delivery, enabling content and service providers to offer better video quality at a low total cost of ownership.”
« Last Edit: 09/11/2015 07:45 pm by Scylla »
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Offline MattMason

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #1 on: 09/11/2015 08:00 pm »
Oh, great. Now NSFers will be able to discern every rivet of a spacecraft...and more.

"Hey, looks like Suri likes Doublemint gum!"  ???

I appreciate the detail we have to-date, but while UHD might make for more NSF natter, the historical clarity we'll save for technical reviews by staff as well as archives will make some films of the Apollo and STS era look like it was scribbled in crayon.
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Offline catdlr

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #2 on: 09/11/2015 09:42 pm »
NASA, Harmonic Launch First Non-Commercial UHD Channel in North America
http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-harmonic-launch-first-non-commercial-uhd-channel-in-north-america
Oh goodie, just what I've been waiting for.


Looks like it may be part of this announcement from Harmonic:
http://www.harmonicinc.com/news/harmonic-and-intelsat-launch-uhd-demo-channel-north-america
« Last Edit: 09/11/2015 09:48 pm by catdlr »
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Online ZachS09

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #3 on: 09/12/2015 03:09 am »
Now that's a huge improvement for NASA TV!  :D

By the way, I've never heard of ultra-high def; isn't it way past 1080p?
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Offline MATTBLAK

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #4 on: 09/12/2015 03:18 am »
4K
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Offline Scylla

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #5 on: 09/12/2015 03:42 am »
Now that's a huge improvement for NASA TV!  :D

By the way, I've never heard of ultra-high def; isn't it way past 1080p?

Here's the chart from the press release to compare.
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Offline TomH

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #6 on: 09/12/2015 04:54 am »
It may originate in UHD, but I am wondering which carriers will carry it. I already pay extra for HD on DircecTV and not much content is actually even in HD. UHD hogs a lot of bandwidth. I would imagine the Super Bowl and PayPerView events being in UHD, but I have to wonder how many carriers will carry NASA TV in UHD.

Offline Jarnis

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #7 on: 09/12/2015 06:37 am »
Carriers become irrelevant if this is also streamed on the web, which appears to be so.

Only worry is that a lot of camera hardware is "obsolete" for capturing footage for a 4K channel. If you thought SD video looked bad on a 1080p stream, you ain't seen nothing yet... :)

Offline saturnapollo

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #8 on: 09/12/2015 07:07 am »
I've seen UHD TVs and the quality is amazing, though I would worry about ISPs being able to handle the amount of data required to stream it. Already I get buffering trying to watch an HD broadcast.

Keith

Offline Space Pete

Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #9 on: 09/12/2015 11:32 am »
The ISS' external SD cameras will look awfully pixelated when stretched out across those 60"+ 4K TVs.
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Offline rdale

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #10 on: 09/12/2015 12:35 pm »
While this is great news overall, the lack of NASA content in UHD will probably reduce its effectiveness for a while... And I can't believe people are discussing the list of carriers who will do it -- given the number of carriers that even do NASA TV in HD (any?) there's no reason to think they'll consider UHD. Online it is!

Offline MediumFidelity

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #11 on: 09/13/2015 05:23 am »
Time to dust off the C-Band dish, according to the Harmonic press release they are going to carry it on AMC-18C.

"Like the current NASA TV channels and on the same transponder, NASA TV UHD will be transmitted via the AMC-18C satellite, in the clear, with a North American footprint."

-MF

Offline N45deg

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #12 on: 09/14/2015 01:45 am »
given the number of carriers that even do NASA TV in HD (any?) there's no reason to think they'll consider UHD. Online it is!

Here in Canada, Rogers Cable, our largest cable TV provider, only offers NASA TV in HD.  Never have had to watch a launch on a computer and have to worry about buffering issues or web sites too busy.  Having a PVR, I record what I would want to watch at night and watch it the next day.  Every time I visit the US, I am amazed at how limited your TV channel selection is.  I cannot usually find a non US channel.  Why they would would not carry NASA TV I don't know.  I believe they can get the signal to re-broadcast for free.  Here in Canada we get the Canadian  channels, all the best US channels and the best channels from around the world.  Something is wrong with your TV providers.....

Offline Antilope7724

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #13 on: 09/14/2015 05:32 am »
This is great! I'm going to have to get the old VHS VCR out of the back of the closet and record it.  ;D

Offline the_other_Doug

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #14 on: 09/15/2015 01:19 am »
given the number of carriers that even do NASA TV in HD (any?) there's no reason to think they'll consider UHD. Online it is!

Here in Canada, Rogers Cable, our largest cable TV provider, only offers NASA TV in HD.  Never have had to watch a launch on a computer and have to worry about buffering issues or web sites too busy.  Having a PVR, I record what I would want to watch at night and watch it the next day.  Every time I visit the US, I am amazed at how limited your TV channel selection is.  I cannot usually find a non US channel.  Why they would would not carry NASA TV I don't know.  I believe they can get the signal to re-broadcast for free.  Here in Canada we get the Canadian  channels, all the best US channels and the best channels from around the world.  Something is wrong with your TV providers.....

I have Comcast (and I also work for them).  Here in Minneapolis, we get NASA TV, but only in SD.  It's pulled in via an earth station at one of the local high schools and then shared out to the local Comcast viewing area by them.  Since it comes in through the school's earth station, at this point we don't have much choice as to the format -- and we're doing well if they actually show the 16x9 HD screen proportion.  So I usually do bring up the online streaming version of NASA TV when an event is happening, but I also run it on the TV because the TV won't go buffer, and is usually right on the real-time timing, as opposed to the oft-buffering streaming video and its tendency to run anywhere from 15 to 120 seconds behind real-time.

When it comes to cable systems carrying such channels, I think it has a lot to do with the local interest in such things, and the cable systems base their judgment of that on whether or not there are any major NASA installations or contractors located in the area.  Honeywell and 3M are the only contractors in the area that do much of anything in the aerospace industry, and they are primarily at the subcontractor level -- and no longer in the list of the biggest employers in the Twin Cities area.  There are no major NASA installations nor major military bases nearby, either.  So Comcast isn't all that concerned about NASA TV here.  That's why we get it through the high school.

However, in the Washington D.C. area, you get the NASA TV channel, the DoD channel, and every other governmental channel possible.  In the Cape area of Florida, in Houston and in LA, and places near other major contractor and NASA installations, I'm pretty positive they get NASA TV as one of the regular channel offerings.

It really all depends on where you live and where the NASA installations and contractors are located, I think.

As someone who knows a little about cable TV systems, though, it's going to be a while before you see true UHD offered on most cable systems.  Most of the cable companies are still using mpg2 compression for HD, which doesn't even offer really true HD resolution, and at that level the bandwidth the channels use is large.  As Comcast moves to mpeg4 compression to achieve true HD, I know, the bandwidth used just to stream the video out to the cable boxes is getting really wide.  And that's just to finally achieve full true 1920x1080 HD resolution.

I'd bet you won't see true UHD support in cable systems for another five years at a minimum.  I think UHD is going to be used primarily for blu-ray and other types of hard-stored media for some years to come.  The UHD channels your cable company does decide to offer in the next few years will be compromise-downsampled, I bet, and will be few and far between.
-Doug  (With my shield, not yet upon it)

Offline rdale

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #15 on: 12/09/2015 10:32 pm »
This will not be streamed - you need to get a dish to watch it.



« Last Edit: 12/09/2015 10:33 pm by rdale »

Offline catdlr

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #16 on: 12/09/2015 10:50 pm »
may not be live streamed, but will be available via internet after the fact.
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Offline rdale

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #17 on: 12/09/2015 10:53 pm »
Great news! Where will it be posted?

Offline catdlr

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #18 on: 12/09/2015 10:56 pm »
Great news! Where will it be posted?

Don't know yet.  I have a 4K TV and can't wait to start view NASA produced 4K videos. I'm hoping NASA will provide a portal site or they will just drop it on You Tube.
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Offline rdale

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Re: NASA TV Going Ultra-High Definition
« Reply #19 on: 12/09/2015 11:07 pm »
Ahh. The second video I posted is 4K but uploaded as 1080 so I'm not convinced :)

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