NASA starts its own 4k channel

NASA will start on November 1 with its own video channel that will broadcast images with a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. A download speed of at least 13Mbit/s is required for the reception of the UHD stream via the Internet.

For the channel, NASA will draw on high-resolution images from, among others, the International Space Station and other NASA missions. In addition, the organization reports to be remastering images of old missions. In the US, the channel will be delivered to consumers via satellite and cable pay TV providers. According to NASA, this is the first non-commercial UHD channel for consumers.

The channel will also be available via the internet and it is not clear whether a geoblock will then apply. If so, viewers outside of the US will need to watch via a VPN, for example. It would be one of the few 4k streams that UHDTV owners could receive, although YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Video are trying to quickly expand their offerings with new 4k videos.

NASA TV, of which the channel will become part, is a pre-existing TV service of the space agency. In 1972, NASA started its first TV channel. That was privatized, after which it continued as The Learning Channel, which developed into the current TLC, known from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, among others.