While 4K displays have already made it to mobile phones, the content side of the 4K is yet to catch up. Clearly out here in India, delivery of 4K content is a distant dream. But for the US and the rest of the world, it still is a possibility thanks to high speed networks and delivery channels.
Come the 1st of November, and NASA will launch its first non-commercial Ultra High Definition (UHD) or 4K TV channel called NASA TV UHD. To be available in the Americas first, the channel will allow viewers to enjoy a 4K view of the stars and NASA’s past missions on television and internet connected devices.
Delivery of 4K content as usual is the common problem. Harmonic is the company that NASA will be working with for delivery, that will pull off linear 2160p60 video content.
While delivery to televisions will happen via satellites, its the internet delivery that poses a problem especially for countries like India.
NASA has made things clear that viewers will need to have a 13 Mbps internet access in place to enjoy the UHD experience as intended.
This is indeed not the first time NASA has delivered 4K content. It began delivering 4K on its YouTube channel sometime back. Accessible or not, this is certainly one area where 4K delivery matters, due to the intricacy of the content that NASA deals with.