NEWS
Branislav Pekic
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248
TELE-audiovision International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine
— 1 -12/2013
—
Ultra High Definition HDTV
EUROPE
EBU TESTS HIGHER FRAME
RATES FOR UHDTV
The EBU is conducting a series of tests on the
impact of higher frame-rates for UHDTV services.
The tests are being conducted by the EBU’s
Broadcast Technology Futures group, make up of
the heads of research labs of the BBC, IRT, Rai and
NHK. The tests are designed to address questions
including whether the current UHDTV standard,
which includes only the 120Hz higher frame rate,
needs to be revised to incorporate other rates.
BBC, SKY LAUNCH UK UHD FORUM
The UK industry association for digital TV, the
Digital TV Group, has launched the UK UHD
Forum, which will work closely with Forum for
Advanced Media in Europe (FAME), an initiative led
by the EBU and the Digital Interoperability Forum
and supported by the European Commission. The
group will co-ordinate national requirements to
enable interoperability and examine whether there
is a requirement for an Ultra HD profile for the UK.
HISPASAT PLANS 4K CHANNEL
Spanish satellite operator Hispasat plans to
launch a 4K channel that will allow the industry
to broadcast in the Ultra High Definition stand-
ard. It has already launched a trial demonstra-
tion of Ultra HD content delivery using the HEVC
compression capabilities of the ViBE VS7000
multi-screen encoding platform powered by
Thomson Video Networks, via the Hispasat 1E
satellite platform. Hispasat has also partnered
with RTVE, Abertis Telecom and Apuntolapospo
for the production of a 50-minute documentary
on the history of the Prado Museum in UHD/4K.
CZECH OPERATOR TO RUN UHDTV TESTS
Czech Radiokomunikace has received approval
from the regulating body to continue DVB-T2 tests
from a transmitter in Prague. The operator will use
the license for testing pay-TV and Ultra HDTV,
with Czech TV being the main content supplier.
BSKYB AIRS 4K FOR FIRST TIME IN UK
BSkyB has conducted the first ultra HD broad-
cast in the UK, by airing the football match Stoke
City v West Ham on August 31. It has no plans to
launch a commercial service for the moment.
EUTELSAT AND SAMSUNG
AIR ULTRA HD AT IFA
On occasion of the IFA in Berlin, Eutelsat Commu-
nications and Samsung Electronics have partnered
to demonstrate a consumer-ready Ultra HD satellite
broadcast on a Samsung UHD TV. A DVB-S2 Ultra
HD signal transmitted by the Eutelsat 10 A satellite
was received on a commercially available UHD TV.
NORTH AMERICA
CEA PUBLISHES 4K ULTRA HD REPORT
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has
released a new report—“Ultra High-Definition:
State of the Industry” that projects shipments of
Ultra HD sets to reach 57,000 units, worth US$ 314
million, by the end of this year. It forecasts Ultra
HD shipments to surpass the one million-unit mark
in 2015. The CEA’s study finds 4K production is
increasing, thanks in part to the development of
4K-capable cameras and post-production tools.
SONY SHOOTS ESPN X-GAMES IN 4K
Sony has been shooting ESPN’s Summer X-Games
in 4K, with a goal of creating entertainment content
and drive demand for 4K “Ultra HD” TV sets. A
20-minutes story reel will be available for the Sony
Media Player, created to deliver 4K movies and
other content to owners of Sony’s Ultra HD TVs.
LATIN AMERICA
NET SERVICOS TO SWITCH TO 4K
Brazilian cable TV operator Net Servicos plans
to switch its HD broadcasts from 720p and
1080i directly to 4K, without going through
1080p. This is because transmission in 1080p
would require a new decoder, as the current
one only reads the 720p and 1080i formats.
ASIA
KCTA LAUNCHES 4K PILOT
CHANNEL IN SOUTH KOREA
Korea Cable Television & Telecommunica-
tions Association (KCTA) has just launched its
pilot 4K channel in South Korea, six months
ahead of its original schedule. Only limited
households are currently involved in the pilot
run, but the plan is to launch commercial broad-
casts as early as next year. Meanwhile, satel-
lite broadcaster KT Skylife announced plans to
offer pilot UHD contents starting next year.
CHUNGWHA TELECOM STARTS
SALES OF 4K TV SETS
Taiwanese operator Chunghwa Telecom began
selling UHD 4K television sets as part of an
effort to drive up local demand for UHD content.
Chunghwa Telecom aims to sell 40,000 50-inch
branded Chimei TVs by the end of this year,
including the 4K model, available on a three-year
subscription to the multimedia-on-demand (MOD)
service. The company aims for a total of 100,000
TV sales by year-end. Taiwan’s 4K TV market is
forecast to hit 30,000 units in 2013, with Chimei
products expected to take an 18 per cent share.
WORLD
MIRANDA, SONY COOPERATE ON
4K/UHDTV LIVE SOLUTIONS
Miranda Technologies has teamed up with Sony
to realize 4K/UHDTV live production solutions,
specifically targeting high profile sports. A seamless
4K technology solution involving both companies
will be used in UK outside broadcast company
Telegenic’s 4K-equipped OB truck expected
to go into service later this year. Miranda and
Sony held demonstrations of the integrated 4K/
UHDTV production scenarios at the NAB 2013.
SONY TO LAUNCH 4K MOVIE DOWNLOADS
Sony will offer 4K movies for download via Video
Unlimited 4K service from the autumn 2013,
featuring movies from Sony Pictures and independ-
ent producers. It will allow 4K TV owners to view
native 4K content from Sony’s 4K media server.
SONY LEADS 4K TV SHIPMENTS
Sony emerges as the leader in 4K TV shipments,
with a 37.8% share of the global market in the 1H
2013, according to NPD DisplaySearch. LG is
in second place with 14.2%, followed by Sam-
sung with 4%. NPD DisplaySearch says that the
key reason for Sony’s dominance is its sales of
smaller 55-inch and 65-inch Bravia X9 models.
Powered by these sales, Sony has achieved
revenues of $185 million from its Ultra HD TVs
out of an industry-wide total of $490 million.
Edited by
Learn more about UHDTV in our Feature article:
TELE-audiovision.com/TELE-satellite-1309/eng/feature-uhdtv.pdf
