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BBC and Sky to co-helm UK UHD Forum, setting standards for 4K Ultra HD

The BBC and Sky have announced plans to collaborate on the UK UHD Forum, a group that will coordinate developments and set standards for 4K Ultra HD broadcasts. 

The UK UHD Forum will work on ensuring compatibility and interoperability of Ultra HD devices and equipment so that we don’t end up with mass graves of redundant 4K TV sets in the future. 

But it’s not just about pixels on TV sets. Efforts to ensure that things like frame rate and dynamic ranges, are compliant across devices, the UK UHD Forum has been set up, using recommendations outlined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). 

BBC and Sky to co-helm UK UHD Forum, setting standards for 4K Ultra HD
Once 4K Ultra HD has been properly defined for the UK we’ll get to see action accountant Daniel Craig strutting his stuff in an even higher resolution

Read Recombu Digital’s guide to Super Hi-Vision, Ultra HD, 4K and 8KThe UK is the first country to have set up a forum for the entire TV industry to talk about how 4K Ultra HD can work. This will be of benefit not only manufacturers of 4K TVs but also programme makers, producers and broadcasters. 

The Forum will be co-helmed by Andy Quested, the BBC’s head of technology for BBC HD and UHDTV and Sky’s chief engineer, broadcast strategy Chris Johns. 

4K Ultra HD is in its infancy in the UK, with just one major event filmed at the new resolution and a handful of expensive TV sets. There’s no timetable or date when the first 4K broadcasts will hit British screens. Sky has hinted that we’ll be ready within the next couple of years but hasn’t committed to any solid dates yet. 

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