“It was evident at NAB 2015 that several European broadcasters have already committed to the early introduction of 4K UHD channels," said Mark Capstick, General Manager of Ikegami Electronics UK. "Major television productions have a project lead time of anything up to three years so there is good reason to plan ahead for advances in transmission standards.”

He added: "Increasing affordability of 4K UHD consumer television displays is encouraging broadcasters in practically every country to adopt this resolution for new high-budget studio productions. This helps to ensure that new programmes and series retain their value well into the future.”

For its part, the Japanese manufacturer is bringing out a new 4K UHD camera with three 8 megapixel 2/3 inch CMOS sensors (R,G and B) and traditional prism optics.

It is one of a number of vendors to do so. Others include Sony and Grass Valley.

This configuration, says the firm, delivers the long depth-of-field capability which is particularly important when televising outdoor events such as sports. The camera head has a low profile form factor and employs full end-to-end digital processing. It connects to a newly designed 4K UHD base station. The full specification is yet to be announced.

Ikegami has also developed a 8K Super Hi-Vision camera in-conjunction with Japanese broadcaster NHK. Preparations are under way in Japan to introduce a Super Hi-Vision television service in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“This has a horizontal screen resolution of nearly 8K and will make television viewing a highly immersive experience, potentially comparable with a front seat at a live stage event or in a cinema,” said Michael Lätzsch, Broadcast & Professional Video Division Manager.

Designed both for outdoor and studio production, the SHK-810 camera head is compact and weighs less than 9 kg. It has the same control layout and ergonomic style as existing Ikegami broadcast camera systems. This is Ikegami's fourth generation 8K SHV camera, one tenth the size of the first generation model.

The unit employs a dual-green colour filter to deliver the wide dynamic range of Super Hi-Vision. Resolution limit is 4,000 TV lines horizontal and vertical. Output from camera head to the control unit is 40 gigabits per second via standard SMPTE hybrid fibre, allowing long-distance links for live broadcasting. 8K SHV, 4K UHD and 2K HD feeds are available from the CCU.

An optional system expander for the SHK-810 camera head enables the use of large viewfinders and full studio lenses, converting the portable version into a studio or field camera.

The SHK-810 has a PL-Lens mount which allows the operator to use 8K lenses, cine lenses, 4K lenses and custom-designed zoom lenses for single-chip Super Hi-Vision cameras. A flange-back adjustment system is built-in, enabling back focus adjustment of PL-mount lenses without shims.

The Ikegami SHK-810 camera head has a single 33 million-pixel Super 35 CMOS sensor, achieving 4,000 TVL horizontal and vertical resolution. This is designed to deliver the tight-focus close-ups required in studio applications such as drama production.