4 TVBEurope Opinion UltraHD:Yes we can!


Going Beyond HD By Fergal Ringrose


WITH LONDON2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games upon us, a real milestone is reached as the EBU bids farewell to standard definition for all major sporting events. Before 2012, the EBU had always provided parallel SD and HD signals — but this is its first HD-only event. Shortly before the Games we


received an EBU release which read, ‘The EBU has made a considerable long-term investment in its Eurovision satellite and fibre network, ensuring that more than 70 EBU Members holding rights can flawlessly access all 12 HD multilateral signals. ‘As part of the network


upgrade, the EBU gave these Members up to eight MPEG-4 decoders each, to give European public service media and the audiences they serve optimal transmission quality. ‘Eurovision Network Director


Graham Warren said the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games marked a milestone in the live sports transmission industry. He added: “This is a turning point for Eurovision, and the beginning of the end of standard definition. Until now we have always provided parallel SD and HD signals, but this is the first big event where we have focused all our energy on HD alone.” ‘Occupying a square kilometre


of the International Broadcasting Centre, in London, the EBU will run 12 simultaneous multilateral transmissions and three unilateral feeds for up to 13 hours a day for the duration of both the


www.tvbeurope.com August 2012


EDITORIAL Editorial Director Fergal Ringrose


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Deputy Editor Melanie Dayasena-Lowe melanie.dayasena-lowe@intentmedia.co.uk


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Editorial Consultant Adrian Pennington Associate Editor David Fox USA Correspondent Carolyn Giardina Contributors Mike Clark, Richard Dean, Chris Forrester, Jonathan Higgins, Mark Hill, Dick Hobbs, John Ive, George Jarrett, Heather McLean, Bob Pank, Nick Radlo, Neal Romanek, Philip Stevens, Reinhard E Wagner


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London 2012: Super Hi-Vision trials at the Games will be watched closely by broadcasters around the world


Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games.’ So, HD really is the new SD.


Well if that’s the case, then what’s beyond HD for broadcasters, equipment vendors and consumer electronics manufacturers? What is going to drive the


European television technology industry into the future? What is the new quality horizon for broadcasters — and what’s the new must-have home viewing experience to drive TV set sales for consumer electronics manufacturers? What is next? At NAB and IBC2012, 4K


beyond HD higher resolution was the new model for the future … as 3D appeared to fade from view. After all, how much sense does a move toward 3D make with ongoing HD costs, the complexity of 3D production, and limited consumer enthusiasm — allied to


confusion over 3D home viewing, with or without glasses? Attention turns instead to


improving the 2D experience; higher resolutions and increasing frame rates, colour space and dynamic range. Developments in image sensors are leading the charge with higher resolutions, lower noise and greater accuracy. Ongoing video compression improvements by MPEG show promise. UltraHD transmissions are being advanced by SMPTE, and tests continue with NHK and European broadcasters. Beyond HD for broadcast is


fast approaching — but what shape will it take? How many pixels are enough? On page 44 this issue, Adrian


Pennington attempts to answer that question, from the knowledge available to us at this time. He quotes ITU Broadcasting Study


Group Chairman Christoph Dosch as saying, “UHDTV promises to bring about one of the greatest changes to audiovisual communications and broadcasting in recent decades. Technology is truly on the cusp of transforming how people experience audio- visual communications.” Let us hope the NHK, BBC and OBS trials in London this month are a huge success — with those massively higher resolutions and frame rates — and do provide impetus towards the next horizon in broadcast quality. Who remembers the early EBU HD trials at University College Dublin in 1992? It has taken the EBU 20 years to go from that point to ‘switching off’ SD TV at London 2012. Can it take another 20 years before we see the full introduction of UltraHD and the subsequent switch-off of HD? Yes, it can …


Sleeping giant dreams of increased Euro market share By David Fox


HITACHI IS showing several new cameras at IBC as part of a renewed focus on the European market. These include the super slow-motion SK-HD1500 and the 16-bit SK-HD1200 1080P/3G production camera. It is also showing models developed for specific broadcast applications from wireless operation to fibre system, PoV and goalmouth cameras. “Since the days of anti- dumping levies, Hitachi has been a sleeping giant within the broadcast system camera market, but at IBC2012 visitors


“A major broadcast camera


research and development initiative is starting to pay rich dividends,” many of which are on show for the first time at IBC, alongside “a development roadmap that will position us in the vanguard of this dynamic technology sector.”


The SK-HD1500 is being shown Hitachi’s new SK-HD2200 – the full studio body version of the SK-HD 1200


will witness the start of a new era in our company’s development,” stated Paddy


Roache, director and general manager of Hitachi Kokusai Electric Europe.


working in combination with LGZ’s just.Replay cost-effective replay server system. LGZ is also showing its new LGZ.usb — an HD-SDI to 8x USB Recording device, designed for recording sequences to USB sticks or disks. IBC Stand: 11.E30


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