Ultra-HD TV systems may be years away from homes, but ITU (International Telecommunication Union — basically, the FCC of Europe) secretary general Hamadoun Touré is already describing UHDTV as “an earth-shaking development in the world of television.” A new ITU-R recommendation addresses specs for both 4K and 8K.

While HDTV today has between 1 megapixel and 2 megapixels, the first level of UHDTV picture levels will have the equivalent of about 8 megapixels based on a 3840×2160 image system. The ITU recommendation also deals with an even higher level that has the equivalent of about 32 megapixels using a 7680×4320 image system.

David Wood, chairman of ITU-R Working Party 6C (WP 6C), which developed the draft new recommendation, noted in a statement that “some years will pass before we see these systems in our homes” but that the move towards a standard is “a historic moment.”

The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) want to add ultra-HD standards into their next generation for digital broadcasting, ATSC 3.0. The ITU standard would help them and other groups around the world begin to incorporate ultra-HD features into their standards for digital broadcasts.

Here’s a video that explains what they’re doing.