October 2013
www.tvbeurope.com
“We at Sky see 4K as the new viewing experience”
IBC Round Table: Eutelsat’s invited panel discuss 4K for TV issues “They are of key importance
one part of this ‘next generation’ and we see it providing greater immersion, with which our Surround Sound products have always helped. But it might also encourage more interactivity via second screens and tablets, and content flowing from one device to another.
“It is definitely not just about
more pixels, but better pixels and better sound. One of Ray Dolby’s [who passed away the day before this meeting] repeated messages to all of us was ‘no nonsense between
content creation and content consumption’. This still makes total sense. These new technologies will allow content creators and broadcasters to re-visit the art and craft of their work. This includes games and other audiovisual entertainment.” Michel Chabrol, who looks after Eutelsat’s digital cinema activity as well as its 3D and UHD projects, says that 4K is of “strategic importance” to Eutelsat. In January 2013 they created their first 4K demo
channel showing not only that satellite was the natural home for UHD “but that it would work on satellite.” Chabrol said Eutelsat was in the centre of a virtuous circle with producers clearly wanting to see UHD on air as soon as possible. “Production companies making 4K programming would progressively be looking to see their material broadcast, and they will look to the pay-TV bouquet operators to help monetise their investments in UHD.
in the value chain, and we sit in the middle of this. We totally believe in the process. Initially we are transmitting in MPEG-4, but very soon we see the switch happening with HEVC taking over and broadcasters getting the benefit from the new compression technology. We think it is a great moment in time, where a new transmission system comes about with obvious benefits and is enabled by the new HEVC encoding format.” Sky Italia head of engineering and innovation Massimo Bertolotti stressed that its 3D transmissions were far from over, and there remained a good revenue stream. “Our approach is to continue to invest in technology and innovation.” Nevertheless, Sky-I was looking ahead to 4K, and test transmissions. However, he cautioned the potential for confusion with the different terms (4K, Ultra HDTV) which, he said, might not be good for the consumer. “We need to stress all the key elements, including higher frame rates, higher dynamic range and so forth but none of this means much to the customer. So, for us, we want to start targeting what UHD really offers. “We at Sky see 4K as the new
viewing experience. Starting from this point, we decided to start concentrating on shooting and the contribution side of live events. The second area we looked at was the management
The 4K experts
l Chris Forrester, TVBEurope contributor and moderator
l Oleg Kolesnikov, CTO at Russian pay-TV broadcaster NTV+
l Jerome Vieron, Advanced Research manager, Ateme
l John Adam, head of business development at Samsung
l Ludovic Noblet, senior director Technology, Strategy & Planning, Dolby Labs
l Michel Chabrol, director 3D & Ultra HD, Eutelsat
l Massimo Bertolotti, head of Engineering and Innovation, Sky Italia
of that content and delivery to the customer. “Today the system isn’t stable, because all of us are cutting and pasting existing technology and we have yet to see a complete 4K eco-system. We will continue to test and experiment. We are thinking of doing some tests during the FIFA World Cup with Sony for next year, but I am not sure the full chain will be in place for the soccer.” Bertolotti told colleagues to
remember the launch of HDTV and that happened when 95% of the technology was in place. “Now we have a great deal to do, and it also comes down to things we thought we understood, such as the positioning of the camera and how the cameras are used and perhaps different standards for
TVBEurope 17 Round Table
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