The Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE), in its latest ‘Newswatch’ publication, states that the industry’s transition to 4K has “picked up considerable speed” and quoting writer Pete Putman suggests that the production of ‘ordinary’ HD TV screens is likely to cease by the end of 2016-2017. “The trend line is proceeding,” says […]
DirecTV-15, described by its manufacturers as “the most powerful US broadcast satellite” ever built, has left Airbus Defence & Space’s manufacturing facility at Toulouse, France. The giant satellite is ready to be flown to Kourou in French Guiana for launch during May. Ordered back in November 2011 with the (then) EADS Astrium company, and is […]
Last week’s special VIP 50th Anniversary screening of The Sound of Music was shown in a ‘better than original’ version thanks to digital remastering of an earlier 2000 photochemical restoration. But this time around the remastering, which took place at Burbank’s FotoKem post-production house, the technicians used modern colour-grading tools to help cure flicker and […]
System-on-a-Chip manufacturer Broadcom is making a dedicated 4K chipset available for the Chinese market, approved by the country’s SARFT regulator. Broadcom’s Beijing office, in a statement, said it had introduced a complete high-speed coaxial cable solution with new access technology for Chinese subscribers in multi-dwelling units (MDUs). The new BCM63500 and BCM63333 devices integrate the […]
Mance Media, a global film and television distribution company based in Hollywood, has launched its stand alone 4K Ultra HD physical media company, BUY4KUHD. BUY4KUHD is an electronics company that sells 4K Ultra HD entertainment on 8GB 3.0 USB thumb drives. Consumers can select from Mance Media’s 4K Ultra HD library online and a thumb […]
Chicago and London-based equipment facilities house Fletcher Sports is having considerable impact with its I-MOVIX ten-times Ultra-HD slo-mo camera kit. The kit has been used on the current Cricket World Cup 4K coverage to cinema audiences in Australia and New Zealand, as well as on feeds supplied to broadcasters in India. “The images are crisp, […]
According to ABI Research, the worldwide pay-TV market grew at a steady rate of 4 per cent in 2014 to reach 923.5 million subscribers. “Despite the growth in subscriber base, weak currency exchange rates resulted in a slower increase of pay-TV market service revenue. Worldwide the pay-TV market generated $257 billion in 2014 and is […]
BitTorrent’s ‘Bindle’ subscribers can now access 4K programming supplied by movie studio Mance Media. The four shows on offer are: The Toy Soldiers; Dragons: Real Myths And Unreal Creatures; Scarlet’s Witch, and Circles of Life: Iceland. Each show was shot in native 4K. The 90-minute programmes have been compressed from about 300 GB in terms […]
RR Media, a provider of global digital media services to the broadcast industry, has announced the expansion of its 4K capabilities across the entire content lifecycle, from creation through to consumption. This includes the preparation and creation of content and mastering true delivery in an optimised manner. Continuing to support rights holders monetise their content, […]
Japan’s SkyPerfecTV, owned by J-Sat, is broadcasting two 4K/UltraHDTV channels. The broadcaster says it has invested some 200 million Yen (about $1.5m) to start up the channels, having asked Japan’s major production companies to help create unique 4K content for the services. The first channel mainly shows sport and music, along with factual documentaries, travelogues […]