South America to get 4K World Cup
June 12, 2014
By Chris Forrester
South American viewers lucky enough to own a suitable 4K-enabled display can receive some of FIFA World Cup games in Ultra-HD, thanks to the pairing of Broadcom-supplied BCM7445 SoC chipsets using HEVC with Elemental’s encoding system. The signals will go out on Globosat’s SPORTV channel over Brazil and beyond.
Moreover, the transmissions will be captured at the grounds in 60 frames/second and 10-bit colour depth, now considered to be the minimum for generating a true “wow” experience for home viewing.
Three games will be captured (the final three games of the tournament) including the final.
“Our collaboration with Globosat and Elemental to bring a live Ultra HD broadcast of the World Cup to viewers validates the demand for Ultra HD in 2014 and beyond,” said Rich Nelson, SVP/Marketing, Broadband Communications Group. “This underscores the value of Broadcom’s innovative silicon to deliver the highest picture quality and ultimate viewing experience to home viewers globally.”
Technically, the special broadcasts are the first to deliver 4K display resolution speeds of 60 frames per second (4Kp60), which provides 2x the speeds of current displays for fluid, life-like movement and includes a 10-bit Rec 2020 colour standard to deliver deeper, richer colour gradation. The combination of improved picture quality and colour clarity is ideal for live-action viewing such as major sporting events and in-home theatrical content.
“Globosat leads the Brazilian pay-TV segment with high quality programming, including live action sporting events, and we are excited to deliver a live Ultra HD broadcast of the World Cup games,” said Roberto Primo, CTO of Globosat. “Broadcasting the World Cup in 4K resolution is an important part of our effort to contribute to the evolution of the TV viewing experience in Brazil. Partnering with Pay-TV operators that share this goal also allows us to deliver Ultra HD to an even wider viewer audience in the future.”
“We are proud to support Globosat and to work with Broadcom in supporting the World Cup with a whole new level of sports fan experiences, thanks to this historic 4k HEVC satellite transmission,” said Keith Wymbs, Chief Marketing Officer for Elemental Technologies. “Globosat is setting the pace with 4k and its innovative OTT and TV Everywhere services. The reliability and video quality available with Elemental video processing and Broadcom decoding will be there every step of the way.”
FIFA is also making these signals available to wider audiences around the world, and it is understood that broadcasters in Japan, South Korea and the Middle East will also be transmitting the final 3 games in 4K. Test demonstrations are also being made at other locations.