Advanced Television

Ultra-HD/4K

US 4K set sales up 494% in Q3

Driven by double digit growth in key digital categories, US consumer spending on home entertainment remained stable in the third quarter of 2015, according to the initial findings from the Digital Entertainment Group’s Third Quarter 2015 Home Entertainment Report. Consumers continued to embrace the convenience and accessibility of purchasing and collecting digital content, with studios […]

November 9, 2015

SkyPerfect offers UHD-HDR by DTH

Japan’s SkyPerfect JSAT pay-TV operator is to offer Ultra-HD transmissions in High Dynamic Range to its DTH subscribers. SkyPerfect is already transmitting UHD signals via its JCSAT-3A satellite. The broadcaster will demo the new signals at the Tokyo InterBee Broadcast Equipment event on November 18th – 20th. For the 4K HDR transmission, an uplink using […]

November 4, 2015By Chris Forrester

Movistar Plus starts 4K transmissions

Responding to recently-launched Netflix’s 4K capabilities, Telefónica’s IPTV platform Movistar Plus is launching 4K transmissions, with the first Ultra HD broadcasts of football matches from La Liga and Formula One races on the channels Canal + Liga and Canal Moto GP. Telefónica is using a bitrate three times more than in HD, with 30 Mbps […]

November 3, 2015From David Del Valle in Madrid

SES: 6 UHD channels contracted

Satellite operator SES says it now has secured contracts for six Ultra-HD channels, five of which are already on air. CEO Karim Michel Sabbagh said: “SES has continued to be productive in Q3.  SES has been first out of the starting gate in the commercial introduction of Ultra HD, building on the milestone of Europe’s […]

October 30, 2015By Chris Forrester

Sky to unveil 4K STB next month?

Sky is set to unveil its next generation Sky STB on November 18th. A cryptic invite to a product launch invites journalists to “see how we’re changing TV again”, and introduces the hashtag #SetTVFree. Tentatively dubbed “SkyQ”, the STB is reported to offer multi-screen viewing so family members can each watch different shows on varying […]

October 30, 2015

Insight 4K expanding to Russia, and beyond

Netherland’s-based 4K newcomer Insight will launch its all-UHD service in the next few days on Russia’s Tricolor DTH platform.  The channel is already broadcasting from SES Astra’s 19.2 degree orbital slot, and will shortly start transmissions over India. Insight is firmly set on an expansion curve and while CEO Mariam Zamaray says she wants the […]

October 30, 2015By Chris Forrester

SMPTE: ‘Interest in HDR exploding’

Movie industry professional membership association SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) used its Annual Technical Conference (SMPTE 2015) to publish its High Dynamic Range report which encompasses the work of some 170 top experts in the field. “HDR is a rapidly emerging and much-debated technology with the capacity to make a greater impact […]

October 27, 2015By Chris Forrester

Star India commits to 4K for movies

Last week, India’s Star Gold broadcast a Hindi movie, Bajrangi Bhaijaan,  in Ultra-HD. The telecast was carried by the 4K channels on offer from DTH platforms Videocon d2h, TataSky and Airtel Digital TV. Star India’s EVP and GM of its Hindi movie services, Hemal Jhaveri, says the broadcaster will now air every new Hindi movie […]

October 27, 2015By Chris Forrester

AsiaSat 4 delivers channel bouquet for GPS

PT. Graha Pratama Sejahtera (GPS), a leading system integrator based in Indonesia, has launched a bouquet of 14 television channels on AsiaSat 4 at 122ºE. The services, uplinked by GPS’s facilities in Jakarta, are distributed via AsiaSat 4 in C-band to satellite TV operators in Indonesia. With these new services, AsiaSat 4 has significantly expanded […]

October 27, 2015

Broadcasters hail Turkish UHD football first

Further details of the first Ultra High Definition (4K) broadcast in Turkey available to the end consumer have been revealed by partners involved in the exercise – TRT 4K – Mediapro Turkey-Turksat and Samsung. Seven Ultra HD cameras were used during the production of UEFA Europa League A Group Fenerbahçe- Ajax match on October 22. […]

October 26, 2015By Colin Mann