Antarctic research team pumps out real-time 8K video from Antarctica using Starlink

The world's first real-time 8K video has been broadcast from Antarctica using SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet connectivity. Check it out:

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Video quality comparison with 8K on the left, 2K on the right (source: KDDI)

KDDI Corporation and KDDI Research, along with the Inter-university Research Institute Corporation Research Organization of Information and Systems and the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), successfully conducted a verification experiment in which 8K video was transmitted in real-time using Starlink. This test was completed between Syowa Station in Antarctica and KDDI Research's head office in Japan.

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Expedition member sending 8K video (left) with Starlink antenna (right) (source: KDDI)

KDDI and KDDI Research will use Starlink to help out with the operational environment for expedition members in Antarctica, with KDDI explaining: "NIPR's research and observation work, and the building of a communication environment in Antarctica as well as the advancement of its educational services in order to play a part in solving worldwide issues such as global warming."

The teams will verify the effectiveness of the smartphone-based real-time 8K video transmission system, as well as help identify and improve issues so that the system can be used from anywhere on the planet, no matter what communication line speed there is.

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The press release adds that NIPR will use Starlink's broad bandwidth and low-latency communication to further sophisticate observation at the Syowa Station. The lines will be used for observation of the North and South Poles and global observation to reduce the workloads of expedition members in Antarctica.