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
tvbeurope@mediateam.ie Media House, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, Ireland +3531 294 7783 Fax: +3531 294 7799
Deputy Editor Melanie Dayasena-Lowe
melanie.dayasena-lowe@intentmedia.co.uk
Staff Writer Jake Young
jake.young@intentmedia.co.uk
Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England +44 207 354 6002
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
Digital Content ManagerTim Frost Office Manager Lianne Davey
Head of Design & Production Adam Butler
Editorial Production Manager Dawn Boultwood
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
Senior Production Executive Alistair Taylor
Publisher Steve Connolly
steve.connolly@
intentmedia.co.uk +44 207 354 6000
Sales Manager Ben Ewles
ben.ewles@intentmedia.co.uk +44 207 354 6000
Managing Director Stuart Dinsey US SALES
Michael Mitchell
Broadcast Media International, PO Box 44, Greenlawn, New York, NY 11740
mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv +1 (631) 673 0072
JAPAN AND KOREA SALES Sho Harihara Sales & Project,
Yukari Media Incorporated
sho@yukarimedia.com +81 6 4790 2222 Fax: +81 6 4793 0800
CIRCULATION
Intent Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 9EF, UK
FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS
www.subscription.co.uk/cc/tvbe/mag1 Subscriptions Tel +44 1858 438786
TVBEurope is published 12 times a year by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London, N1 8LN, England
Intent Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association
© Intent Media 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior permission of the copyright owner. TVB Europe is mailed to qualified persons residing on the European continent. Subscription rates £64/€96/$120.
Allow 8 weeks for new subscriptions and change of address delivery. Send subscription inquiries to: Subscription Dept, Intent Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 7BR, England. ISSN 1461-4197
Printing by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68