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Better, sharper, clearer

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If you think high-definition and 3-D televisions are impressive, you ain't seen nothing yet. With help from Japan's national broadcaster, NHK, the BBC is to film the London 2012 summer Olympics in Super Hi-Vision, a brand new system that's 16 times more detailed than standard high-definition television.

Only three cameras exist, and just one permanent cinema - all in Japan - but that's not stopped two of the world's most popular and innovative state broadcasters from hatching an ambitious plan to film not only the sporting event in Super Hi-Vision, but to show it live in seven makeshift cinemas around the world.

It's going to be some spectacle for lucky ticket holders, who are promised live broadcasts in Super Hi-Vision of the opening and closing ceremonies. The BBC's outside broadcast trucks will be doing the rounds of other Olympic venues, too, for daily edited packages of content including swimming, cycling and basketball.

'This is the closest thing to being there,' says Tim Plyming, project executive, digital & editor live sites, BBC London 2012. 'It will be a great experience to see it live, but we will also have it captured in perpetuity in Super Hi-Vision.'

Currently under construction, three 100-seat cinemas in Glasgow, Bradford and London are being fitted with 15-metre-wide screens, each with a remarkable 22.2 surround sound system. The images will also be piped to Washington, Tokyo and Osaka as well as a private VIP viewing room - complete with 152-inch plasma screen - at London 2012's International Broadcast Centre.

I watched an American football game in Super Hi-Vision on a recent trip to NHK's headquarters in Tokyo. The image is so detailed, so immersive and fills a viewer's field of vision so completely that it's almost too real. The shot is so wide the cameras don't need to move. For some events the camera won't be moved at all, giving viewers a real sense of being at the actual event; viewers see exactly what they would have if they were there.

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