China beefs up efforts in ultra HD video sector

Number of users of 4K channels in Guangdong soared to 15 million in 2018

China will push forward development of an ultra HD video (4K/8K) industry by building more ultra video industrial innovation and application centers and strengthening cooperation between Chinese ultra HD video-related companies and their overseas counterparts, a senior official said.

"We will introduce more policies to encourage overseas ultra HD video-related companies to work closely with Chinese enterprises in developing the ultra video (4k/8k) industry," said Miao Wei, the minister of industry and information technology, during the 2019 World Conference on the Ultra HD Video (4K/8K) Industry in Guangzhou.

During the one-day event, a number of domestic and overseas players including Huawei Technologies Co and Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp displayed their latest technologies in the ultra HD video industry.

The provinces of Guangdong, Anhui, Hunan and Sichuan, municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, as well as the city of Qingdao in Shandong province also released policies for the industry.

Nine projects in ultra HD video (8K) industrial demonstration and ultra video studio experimental platform were signed on Thursday and Guangdong was named by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Radio and Television Administration as a national-level ultra HD video industrial development experimental area.

Guangdong, which opened the nation's first 4K TV channel, has now introduced more than 200 ultra HD video-related companies, creating three ultra HD video industrial clusters in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Huizhou, said Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui.

The number of users of 4K channels in Guangdong increased 53 percent year-on-year to 15 million and the output of 4K television sets in the province rose 31 percent year-on-year in 2018, Ma added.

"We will facilitate international cooperation in the ultra HD video industry and invest more in research and development of the sector, pushing forward the 4K/8K technologies into use in the areas of culture, education, entertainment, security and transportation, medical treatment and healthcare and industrial manufacturing," said Ma.

A national-level development plan for ultra HD video (4K/8K) industry released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Radio and Television Administration and China Media Group in 2017 showed China's users of 4K set-top boxes have reached 150 million.

Nemoto Shoji, executive chief engineer of Sony Corporation, said the company's ultra HD video technologies used in electronics display, entertainment and finance, had boosted its business in the Chinese market.