The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and public broadcaster NHK have succeeded in capturing their first high-definition video of Earth from the Kaguya lunar explorer, a.k.a. SELENE (SELenological and ENgineering Explorer), an orbiter launched in mid-September on a mission to study the moon. (Click for full-sized image.)
Using a high-definition camera NHK developed specifically for use in space, the video was taken at a distance of 110,000 kilometers (68,000 miles) from Earth, making it the most distant HDTV footage of the planet ever taken. Previous HDTV video from the Space Shuttle and International Space Station was taken from a distance of 340 kilometers (210 miles).
More HDTV space footage -- including a money-shot of the Earth rising over the lunar horizon -- is expected this month as Kaguya continues its journey toward the moon. Viewers with HDTV-compatible television sets will get to experience the full quality of the high-definition video whenever NHK decides to air it.
[Link: JAXA]
Martijn
HDTV doesn't mean quality.. it just specifies a certain resolution. In this case the 1080p example has the right size but lack's a lot in detail, colour and produces to much noise (esp. green).
TV-stations often talk about broadcasting in HD too. People think "That's better!", but the truth is that for broadcasting the bandwidth needs to be reduced so much that the result is often worst then PAL/NTSC. Try compressing a 720x576 JPG to 400kb and a 1920x1080 JPG to 400kb.. view both full screen (if you can on a TV) and see for yourself that you're wasting money.
It's way to easy to make the simple people mad about some 'new' technology by giving it a suggestive name and throw in 2 or 3 facts. Badly enough I'm in commerce and broadcasting, making me one of those sinners that make money out of that make-believe!
[ ]Will
Then again, my first thought was, "look at that beautiful world."
-W-
[ ]Will
Then again, my first thought was, "look at that beautiful world with all the nasty parasites crawling all over it."
[ ]-W-
nove
what an amazing world and picture out there, thanks japan kaguya.
[ ]Shoovi
Martijn: That's true mate. That's why I do not have HD TV :)
[ ]David
The gut who is saying HD is not superior to SD has apparently never seen an HD signal or television-- the difference, of course is more than striking...
[ ]Gary
I work in an electronics super store where we have dozens of HUGE LCD's & Plasma's on display. From a normal viewing distance on top end products it would take someone with extremely sharp eyesight to tell the difference between SD & HDTV. Only when you get up closer than a comfortable viewing distance does it become apparent there is a slight difference in quality. Certainly not worth the money difference in my book!
[ ]Jeff
For the guy who says HD is inferior to SD. Where do you get your info. The fact of the matter is that most companies are not recording in 1080P resolution. If however something is recorded in 1080P (1920 x 1080) and displayed on a 1080P TV then you are indeed seeing over Two Million pixels. With that in mind...on the same size TV with less then one million pixels you will absolutely see less detail. Simple Math my friend. 2 Million pixels on a 42" 16x9 1080P TV has a far greater detailing capability than a 42" 16x9 TV with One million or less pixels. Again, I realize that if you are viewing a 1080i signal on a 1080P TV you might as well own a 1080i because it is displaying 100% of the information it is supposed to.
[ ]Jeff
Also on this same topic. The CRT to this day still produces the most accurate colours on the market. Unfortunately they are all being filed under G. Colour quality has absolutely nothing to do with RESOLUTION. Criticize the lens not the resolution.
[ ]Gary, How can you say this if you are an educated associate. The difference is night and day. Perhaps the Component Video modulators or distribution blocks you are using are sub par and I would almost gaurantee that the cables that are being used are certainly not even close to the best cables you sell.
mark0
you all suck with this space crap
[ ]alex
martijn its right in what is saying
so does its true that its too much nice to view an image in a format like 1080
we cannot allow us to get caught by the ignorance
remember that there in the space are staying the sattelites that allow us to see the television but they cannot bring to many channels cause of its limit of capacity so if we charge them with tv shows that are more bigger than they used to be then we go to lose so many channels and shows due to capacity limits
[ ]its something complicated but its simple its like wen you take a picture whit your digital camera with all the functions activated the picture then becomes bigger and nicer but then the capacity of the camera becomes limited so there are to options make the picture nice and small or make the picture big and ugly which one would you chose