New camera is a similar size and weight to current HD cameras.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK has announced a new prototype Super Hi-Vision (SHV) camera. NHK began development of Super Hi-Vision in 1995. The format has a resolution of  8.3 megapixels and features 22.2 channel sound system. NHK has been steadily working to reduce the size of Super Hi-Vision cameras, from 80kg in 2002 to 20kg in 2010.

The new camera weighs in at 4kg with a 33 megapixel camera head using a single-plate colour imaging mechanism, making it a similar size and weight to current HD cameras.

Keiichi Kubota [pictured], NHK Executive Director-General for Engineering said: “We are delighted with the incredible rate of progress made in the development of SHV technology in recent years. The launch of this innovative, compact and practical new camera design represents a significant step forward towards our aim of marking SHV a viable television format.”

The new camera’s single-plate colour image mechanism has a Bayer filter array, meaning each pixel is filtered to only one of the three red-green-blue colour intensities, while the missing colours must be interpolated to provide the full colour image. An up-converter has been provided to produce high-resolution images. A signal processing control unit is currently under development, which will allow for improved resolution.

Super Hi-Vision has been employed prominently in the London 2012 Olympics. Big screen Super Hi-Vision broadcasts of some Olympic events have been exhibited at several locations around the UK, in the US, and in Japan.

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