Sky Deutschland is to broadcast test transmissions in 4K, aka Ultra HD, at this year’s IFA trade show.
The transmission will feature a mixture of sports, movies and documentary footage which will hopefully help in defining 4K production techniques and determine how ready the market is for 4K TV.
The HEVC/H.265 codec which compresses 4K signals will be used, giving Sky Deutschland an idea on how this will shape up in the real world.
4K broadcasts 3840 x 2160 resolution images, four times as many pixels as 1080p Full HD. As 4K transmissions are bigger, broadcasters will naturally want want to experiment with ways to make them more efficient.
Read Recombu Digital’s guide to Super Hi-Vision, Ultra HD, 4K and 8KWhile news of continental test transmissions, as reported by Digital TV Europe, are encouraging, there’s still no set date for when we’ll see 4K on these shores.
Here in the UK, the UK UHD Forum has been set up so that broadcasters and industry bods can iron out these very issues and work on defining a standard for 4K. As well as squeezing a greater number of pixels into people’s TV sets, getting 4K right depends on a number of other factors.
Sky has been keen to lead the way with tests, announcing that its producing all of its 3D nature documentaries in 4K for cinemas and filming Arsenal games at the Emirates Stadium in 4K to boot. The BBC, along with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) filmed this year’s Wimbledon tournament using Sony’s NEX-FS700 and F55 35mm cameras, although the event wasn’t broadcast live in 4K.
Image: LGEPR/Flickr
Leave a Reply