2020 IASA - FIAT/IFTA Joint Conference

I would like to introduce our latest method which transforms old footage into UHD content. This magic may be applicable in any archival institutions that store old films.

In 1963, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) started to produce a TV series entitled "Traveling around Japan”. It depicts lifestyle, economic activities, culture, and religious rituals of local people throughout the archipelago. We have renewed the original 16mm film using the latest technology including UHD scanning, digital restoration and HDR (High Dynamic Range technology). We additionally shoot the venue of today for each program with 4K equipment and combined the new with the past program.

We have started to up-convert another documentary series entitled “Silk Road” aired in the 1980s. It describes large-scale cultural exchanges between the East and the West. It includes the scene of Palmyra in Syria. This ancient city of the Roman Empire was destroyed by ISIS in 2015. We successfully reproduced 4K video of the lost heritage.

It was considered that only 32mm film can be converted into 4K resolution. However, I would like to demonstrate that well-preserved 16mm films have potential of 4K quality. In addition, I will introduce “Ultra Scaler” technology which converts 2K content into 4K content as well as the AI colorization technology which converts black-and-white film into fully colored version.