BBC fleshes out Ultra HD and 3D Olympics plans

Fifty-foot Ultra HD TV screens and 3D events will mark the technology highlights for the BBC's coverage of next year's London Olympics.

Three 50ft screens will be delivered from Japan to show the games in the Super Hi-Vision format, which offers 16-times the detail of current HD TV.

Roger Mosey, BBC director of London 2012, said the screens will be sited in public near BBC buildings in London and Glasgow, with a third at the National Media Museum in Bradford.

The BBC's 3D coverage will be restricted to special events like the 100m final as part of a limited experiment.

Mosey said: 'When you sit and watch it you really get the experience of being in seat D5 in the stadium.

'Super Hi-Vision might be a better long-term prospect than 3D in some ways as it gives you the feel of being in the stadium. People are knocked out by it.'

Super Hi-Vision, or Ultra HD, has been pioneered by Japanese state broadcaster NHK and approaches the resolution of an unaided human eye, although the BBC has collaborated in several experiements.

With 4,000 horizontal pixels, only a small number of projectors have been built which can display SHV images, and TVs aren't expected until the end of this decade.

Current world record holder Usain Bolt has already been filmed running the 100m in 3D by Sky.

The BBC announced more than a year ago that the 2012 Olympics would include both 3D and Super Hi-V ision coverage.