NHK STRL to be Honoured by IBC

IBC has announced that the highest honour it bestows, the International Honour for Excellence, will this year be presented to NHK Science and Technology Research Laboratories (STRL). Japanese public service broadcaster NHK has been foremost in developing new techniques and technology for broadcasting since its formation in 1930.

The IBC International Honour for Excellence is presented each year to an outstanding individual or organisation who has fostered or contributed to the relationship between technology and creativity in the broadcast, movie or media industries.

Having recently celebrated its 80th anniversary, NHK Science and Technology Research Laboratories has been at the forefront of research in broadcasting technology, working on both practical solutions to current issues and visionary future technologies which transform the way professionals create content and audiences enjoy it. NHK STRL pioneered high definition television as we know it today, including the development of plasma displays. It has recently been awarded an IEEE Milestone Award for the world’s first direct to home satellite broadcast service in 1984.
Among its many current strands of research is Super Hi-Vision, its implementation of high resolution broadcasting which offers a screen resolution 16 times greater than today’s HD, together with 22.2 channel immersive surround sound. NHK STRL engineers are working on the complete chain, from high resolution high speed CMOS cameras through recording and transmission equipment to screens and projection displays.
It is also addressing the second screen, helping a consortium of broadcasters launch an experimental service, Hybridcast, which synchronises content on a tablet with the programme on television.

The IBC2012 International Honour for Excellence will be presented to NHK STRL during the Awards Ceremony, to be held at 18:30 on Sunday 9 September and open to all IBC attendees.

(IBC Press Release)