Sky is not the limit anymore – nor is space. But while astronauts explore the mind-numbing vastness of space, we, the ordinary people, are stuck on Earth, waiting breathlessly for more stunning images from outer space.
NASA has decided to light up your life, however, announcing that a new 4K television channel is set to be launched in November 1st this year. Get ready for impressive ultra-high-definition that will blow your mind away.
The channel is the result of a recent partnership with a company called Harmonic, which specializes in video delivery infrastructure. And when NASA calls the new channel “the first ever non-commercial consumer UHD channel in North America,” you know things are about to get seriously entertaining.
After the preliminary tests are passed, NASA Television will be all set to use Harmonic’s technology to provide 4K – an impressive 2160p at 60 frames per second – video content. Accessing it won’t be very difficult, either.
Using the existent setup for NASA Television, the new channel will broadcast on the internet, making it accessible by users on most devices. All you need is access to a connection of 13 Mbps or higher, and the content will also be provided to certain television providers.
There’s a catch though, as far as television is concerned. Although NASA has announced that Harmonic is currently discussing with paid TV operators so they would carry the channel on “satellite, cable and optical networks for consumer access,” there are no confirmed deals yet.
We must also bear in mind that NASA TV’s present HD iteration isn’t that widely available – Time Warner and Comcast, for example, do not carry it across the nation.
As far as the content is concerned, NASA’s new 4K channel will focus on the UHD footage filmed by the agency on the International Space Station (ISS) during the past several months, which would definitely be interesting to watch.
Moreover, the agency revealed that 4K time-lapses that have been created from images taken aboard the ISS will also be featured on the channel, similar to those uploaded on NASA’s YouTube channel back in June.
Perhaps the most-awaited content, however, is NASA’s crowning piece: remastered footage from historical missions, a deep portfolio that’s enough to keep the viewers interested for a long time, to say the least.
Just think about it: a channel where you can see slow motion footage of shuttle launches, astronauts eating lettuce aboard the ISS, and Neil Armstrong’s taking the first steps on the Moon all over again – it doesn’t get better than that.
Image Source: Debunking Skeptics