There's been plenty of discussion over the last couple of years of NHK Japan's's plans to develop a 7680 x 4320 high definition video system called Super Hi-Vision, but most reports I've seen tend to gloss over the associated Hamasaki 22.2 channel audio system.

With nine speakers around the perimeter of the room near the ceiling, ten more at ear level, and three more below the screen in addition to a pair of subwoofers, it's clear that Hamasaki is geared more towards commercial theaters than the home user. I'm pretty sure however that it will only be a matter of time before some obsessed audio freak tries to assemble a 22.2 rig at home. While any moderately sane person attempting this would use little satellite speakers, I'll be waiting to hear a 22.2 rig with at least four of the Lenard Opals I wrote about earlier.

It took over 20 years for standard HDTV to go from a working NHK prototype to US broadcasts, so don't hold your breath for Super Hi-Vision to arrive very soon.