Panasonic Develops Single Cable and Connector Solution for Transmission of Full-spec 8K Video Signals*1

Panasonic Corporation today announced that it has developed single cable and connector solution that enable the transmission of uncompressed full-spec 8K video signals*1.

Currently, to transmit video signal via connector-equipped cables from an 8K signal source or other devices to an 8K display, 4K-equivalent images are transmitted using four HDMI cables, and then they are combined to show in 8K resolution by using image processing. Panasonic’s newly-developed connector-equipped cable, which uses plastic optical fiber technology, can achieve the transmission of full-spec 8K video via a single cable, with improved bandwidth and length.

High-speed transmission over optical fiber connector can be achieved when the optical axes are completely aligned. However, when the equipment and the cable’s connection portions are detachable, it is difficult to precisely align optical axes at the connection, leading to poor connectivity and other defects. That has hampered the deployment of optical fiber cables in video transmission cables with detachable connectors.

Working with KAI Photonics Co., Ltd., a venture from Japan’s Keio University, Panasonic developed connector-equipped cables that adopt “plastic optical fiber and its connection technology using ballpoint-pen type interconnect*2.” Further, by applying Panasonic’s technology for the multi-level modulation of broadband signals, a transmission bandwidth exceeding 100 Gbps was achieved with a single cable.

Professor Yasuhiro Koike of the Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, commented: “I am delighted that Panasonic successfully developed a prototype cable for transmitting 8K images based on ‘plastic optical fiber and its connection technology using ballpoint-pen type interconnect,’ which was developed by Keio University. We would like to further cooperate with Panasonic to respond to the variety of needs for audiovisual transmission.”

Anticipating the spread of the corporate use of 8K devices in the B2B market, Panasonic aims to make this innovative connector cable technology an international standard.

Technologies related to this proto model will be exhibited at the Panasonic booth at CES 2016 to be held in January in Las Vegas, U.S.A.

Notes:

*1 The term denotes an image of approx. 33 million pixels (7,680 × 4,320) and 120 frames/sec. A full HD image is composed of approx. 2 million pixels (1,920 × 1,080) and 60 frames/sec. and a 4K image approx. 8 million pixels (3,840 × 2,160) and 60 frames/sec.

*2 The ballpoint-pen type interconnect technology for plastic optical fiber connection has been developed jointly by Mitsubishi Pencil Co, Ltd. and Keio University’s Professor Yasuhiro Koike.

Liat

Recent Posts

Bites Raises $40M Series A to Turn Frontline Training into a Business Performance Engine

PeakSpan Capital leads, joined by Vertex Ventures and Horizon Capital, as commercial and operations leaders…

3 days ago

Siemens introduces next generation of Sinamics G drives

New Sinamics G series creates a seamless platform for continuous-motion applications Security by Design helps…

4 days ago

Samtec to Exhibit Defense, Aerospace, and Robotics Solutions at electronica 2026

See Samtec’s solutions in Hall B2, Booth 107 Samtec, Inc., the service leader in the…

4 days ago

Unconventional AI to Acquire NeuReality, Accelerating Its Path to 1,000x AI Compute Efficiency

Acquisition adds NeuReality's AI inference technology and world-class systems and silicon engineering team, compressing the…

4 days ago

DigiKey Accelerates Access to TDK SensEI’s edgeRX Starter Solution for Industrial AI and Predictive Maintenance

The edgeRX Starter predictive maintenance (PdM) solution is now available at DigiKey.com DigiKey, the global…

3 weeks ago

DigiKey to Highlight New Technology and Exciting Builds at Maker Faire Rome 2026

The global distributor will also demo top products from Arduino, DFRobot, SparkFun and more DigiKey,…

3 weeks ago