High-resolution format Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV) - also known as Super Hi Vision - was last week approved by United Nations body the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The ITU recommendation lays out the quality standards for UHDTV in two steps, with each advance described as roughly similar to the step from standard definition to high definition.

The first level of UHDTV picture levels has the equivalent of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels and the next has 7,680 x 4,320.

Speaking about the standard when it was initially proposed in May, ITU secretary general Hamadoun Touré described UHDTV as “an earth-shaking development in the world of television”.

The BBC and NHK trialled the Japanese broadcaster’s Super Hi Vision technology during the London 2012 Olympics.

(Pictured: NHK Super Hi-Vision camera)

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