Journalist Adrian Pennington forwarded us news that NHK is expected to be at Wimbledon in June for behind closed doors testing of 8K Super Hi-Vision. The tests will be conducted with IMG and the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Wimbledon host broadcaster BBC worked previously with NHK on Super Hi-Vision, including transmissions to Washington and Japan during the London 2012 Summer Olympics. “8K broadcasting is on the verge of becoming a reality, and it will undoubtedly become the mainstream past 2020,” predicts Hitachi COO Sean Moran.

Hitachi, working with NHK, is one of several companies developing 8K cameras.

“Led by Japan’s ambition, several camera manufacturers are prepping 8K kits,” writes Pennington for SVG Europe. “Among them is Ikegami, which has worked with NHK over a decade to develop an 8K studio camera. The latest version is a tenth the size of the 2002 debut model. Meanwhile, RED is lining up a 8K sensor for Weapon by the end of 2016.”

“Clearly 8K is in the experimentation stage and the Japanese are pushing it with 2020 in mind,” said Alan Bright, director of engineering at IMG. “While the rest of the industry is looking for simpler solutions to 4K, none of us are really saying let’s future proof for 8K. But it looks stunning and it opens up creative options in terms of how you view TV, for example, possibly replacing a wall or window in your living room.”