coverstory2808_cover story 29/08/2015 09:14 Page 3
able to capture a return
on their investment.”
“It’s an exciting
technological
development, but at this
time caution is required
as it is not known if the
pace of uptake and the
cost will enable the
broadcast owners to be
able to monetise the
proposition, and get the
money back from the end-user at scale, to
make 4K/UHD a compelling opportunity.
But, we are beginning to see the
development of satellite and broadband
delivered models, which BT has announced
they will be doing.”
BT’s Wilson-Dunn says that 4K/UHD will
require an increase in transponder bit rate
per channel, meaning that platform
operators will only be able to launch a
limited number of such channels, almost
certainly limited to live sports in the early
years. “Most channel operators have no
plans to launch thematic UHD channels at
present, but are acquiring / creating content
in UHD for future library sales. BT Media &
Broadcast is at the forefront of UHD sports
capture, having already provided UHD
production and transmission for several
global sports events, including the ICC
World Cup in Australia in February 2015. In
terms of industry readiness, platform
operators are already providing UHD ready
set-top boxes, and UHD-ready TVs are
already available, and so the penetration of
UHD services will be predicated on the
availability of UHD content to the
consumer,” he suggests.
HYPE. Globecast’s Riera says that satellite
is still an easy way to distribute content
anywhere, with high bit-rate availability and
high quality of service. “Consequently,
satellite perfectly suits new video formats
such as UHD TV. In spite of all the hype
around new platforms such as mobile, it’s
i