eutelsat uhd2808_4k 01/09/2015 12:00 Page 1
“We have
learned a lot
in the last
two years.”
Eutelsat 4K UHD
champion
Some of that
research has
been carried
out in
collaboration
with major TV
manufacturers
such as
Samsung, LG and Panasonic, who, of course,
use 4K1 to test and calibrate their 4K
products. “We are doing research with them
to establish what are the price-points for
certain screen sizes where different parts of
the market will ‘join in’,” advises Fritz.
From consumer focus groups in
Germany, UK, France, Italy and Poland,
Eutelsat have learned that in the UK and
Germany, existing HD subscribers are
prepared to invest in new televisions with
4K because they believe it will be worth it
from a picture quality point of view, even
when there is relatively little 4K content
Global satellite operator Eutelsat is leading the
charge on 4K UHD making valuable capacity
available for demonstrations and sharing its
unrivalled experience with broadcasters, platform
operators and content producers.
very time there is a major step
forward in broadcast
technology – digital, MPEG-4,
and now UHD - Eutelsat sees it as vital
to be leading from the front and
helping its partners and customers
exploit the benefits as effectively as
possible.
Central to the programme for 4K UHD is
the 4K1 demonstration channel on HOT
BIRD with High Efficiency Video Coding
(HEVC), 50 frames per second and 10-bit
colour depth, first launched in May 2014.
“We want to show off the full potential of 4K
UHD,” says Markus Fritz, Director
Commercial Development & Marketing, for
Eutelsat, “our philosophy is we want to
create a sustainable 4K ecosystem – from
the studio to the home.”
Putting this philosophy into practice
means Eutelsat maintains an open invitation
to broadcasters to bring content to the
channel and
learn from
the
experience.
French
public
broadcasters,
E
“We want to
show off the
full potential of
4K UHD.”
16 EUROMEDIA UHD Special
RAI, BBC and Red Bull channel are
participating and recent additions include
SPI International and Anixe HD Television.
SPI is previewing some of the content that
will be shown on its ‘4K Fun Box UHD’,
launching later this year. German
broadcaster Anixe HD is providing content
from documentaries, cooking shows and a
cinema magazine.
A major aim is for Eutelsat to share their
experience and that of their partners with
the industry in order to help remove any
bottlenecks in the transition to 4K UHD.
“The idea is everyone can make sure they’ve
optimised their processes in pre-production
and post- production – we have learned a lot
in the last two years and we are happy to
share it with customers,” says Fritz. Central
to this knowledge transfer is the Ultra HD
Guidebook that Eutelsat has published to
pass along what it has learned from
operating 4K1 and from its market research.
“An open
invitation to
broadcasters.”
currently
available, so
they will ‘preinvest.’ “In
Poland, France
and Italy the
reaction is more ‘show us the content and
then we will buy.’ In terms of content, sport
is clearly where the greatest value is
perceived, and we are happy we at least have
more content now than we had in the early
days of the launch of HD.”
Of course, as well as building experience,
4K1 is for platforms, broadcasters and
retailers to demonstrate the sheer quality of
4K UHD to their subscribers and potential
subscribers and customers. Whether it is pay
DTH providers or cable operators, they need
to gauge customer reaction and feedback to
forecast demand and make decisions about
investments in set top swap-outs and the like.
“We’ve had a very positive reaction from
cable operators, for instance,” says Fritz,
“international
OTT providers
are making 4K
an option now
and they want
to prove cable
is 4K ready and
“Broadcasters
are creating
UHD
content.”