Ultra-HD

Ultra-HD, or 4K, is no longer a mere talking point. Once far off on the digital horizon, 4K is quickly rising to become the preferred format for watching video. Now, on the precipice of true recognition in several parts of the world, consumers are warming to even higher quality video, and industry is hurrying to provide it.

In a time when trends, fads and “viral” topics take the spotlight, it is easy to wonder if 4K would become more than another buzzword. There was a lot of hype around 3-D, but one would be hard pressed to find a mass of consumers still excited around this technology.

There is something different about Ultra-HD, however. 4K leaves impressions on consumers that last longer than the few minutes they would have been wearing glasses in front of a 3-D TV. Consumers are wondering when a substantive amount of 4K content will be available to view, and this is something pay-TV operators are aware of. This mutual interest is spurring development beyond what many expected as most, if not all pay-TV operators, are actively considering when and how 4K fits into their plans.

Making the Cut

For Sony, capturing content in 4K is an important step to begin immediately so that broadcasters, when they are ready, will have a sufficient amount of content to fill channels. The World Cup was arguably the best place to advertise for it as Sony did, as it was one of the most-watched events in the world. Furthermore, seeing the advances of Ultra-HD may whet the appetite of viewers and thus put further pressure on broadcasters.

“Until there is a good weight of content, it is going to be difficult for broadcasters to really switch to 4K in a large-scale way,” adds Bush. “We are just now starting to see broadcasters take a real practical interest and start to run trials. Our anticipation would be that we will start to see some broadcast services emerging over the next year or so.”

Currently, it is not uncommon for content, once captured in Ultra-HD, to then be down-converted to HD. Though satellite companies are readying to begin delivering 4K, having conducted multiple demonstrations and even hosting full demo channels, distribution opportunities remain limited. National Geographic, for example, says down-converting has become a regular part of the business.

“National Geographic has had many shows shooting in 4K with the workflow having them down-converted to HD for post and delivery to the network,” says Brad Hughes, broadcast engineer, National Geographic Channels. “The cost of an end-to-end 4K workflow is still more than a 4K shoot and post in HD. As these new 4K edit systems and codecs come to the market the costs should even out.”

Down-converting is not all bad news, however. Though it may initially appear retrograde, Bush notes that as a short-term solution, down-converting still builds up 4K content reserves, effectively “future-proofing” the material for a later date. Additionally, HD content that has been down-converted from 4K still yields a high quality broadcast. Broadcasters that chose this as a way to prepare for 4K broadcasts stand poised to make the most of those opportunities when they deem fit.

HD content can also be upscaled to 4K in lieu of native acquisition. Certain 4K televisions have the ability to combine HD content to reach 4K levels. Bush believes this too is a good way for consumers desiring 4K content to access it while channels are scarce. For Hughes, the cost still needs to come down significantly before National Geographic starts broadcasting in 4K, but he is hopeful that the company will have channels by the end of the decade.

“In 3 to 5 years we could have cable and satellite channels in 4K. National Geographic is exploring direct distribution channels via the Internet for specials and current content,” he says.

Hughes points to Sony and Netflix as examples of 4K being effectively distributed when the right distribution paths are available. In addition to the World Cup, Sony also broadcasted the movie War Horse in collaboration with Creative Broadcast Solutions, NEP Visions and Links Broadcast over SES’ Astra 3B satellite. As video becomes an ever larger percentage of global broadband use, Netflix in particular is confident Internet will be the preferred method of watching 4K.

Moving from the Big Screen to the Main Screen

Underpinning all the efforts of producers, broadcasters, distributors and the entire 4K ecosystem, is the interest of consumers and their willingness to purchase 4KTVs. Strategy Analytics charts the number of Ultra-HD television sales rising from 72,000 units in 2012 to 1.7 million in 2013. Most of the 2013 sales were in China, where state-run media operates most if not all broadcasts. But the research group expects a more than 10-fold increase in the number of 4KTV shipments, from 4 percent to 41 percent, as a percentage of the global flat panel TV market between now and 2020.

“We expect North America to be the next largest market [following China] for Ultra-HD TVs on a units-shipped basis followed by Western Europe,” says David Watkins, director of Connected Home Devices at Strategy Analytics. “The U.S. is expected to be a strong market for Ultra-HD TVs thanks to the high proportion of TVs sold in the country that are in excess of 50-inches. By the end of the decade we expect the vast majority if not all TVs with screen sizes above 50-inch to be Ultra-HD.

While 4K content is still trickling along, Watkins notes that 4K TV price tags have fallen significantly from where they stood a year ago. Buying a 4K set from companies such as Sony, LG or Samsung can cost slightly more than $2,000, he said, and competition is driving this number even lower.

“Compared to the pricing evolution of HD, the current pricing and availability of consumer premises equipment are much more cost efficient than HD was at this stage,” notes Takagi. “In addition, TVs and set-top-boxes (STBs) are available and the pricing has been much more affordable than HD in its early stages.”

The general consensus is that 4K needs more time to develop before a wealth of channels is available. In the meantime, signals from consumers, producers, satellite operators and others are encouraging signs the 4K is in fact, the next step in the longterm evolution of television.

“We believe that we will probably see regular 4K channels around late 2015 or 2016 in advance of the Rio Olympics as we are working with partners along the value chain for building an ecosystem ready for this date,” says Cristiano Benzi, director line of business video and broadcasting at Eutelsat. “Of course we don’t expect by 2015/2016 for 4K to be mainstream, but we really believe that it will be a technology that will be available and growing and a differentiating option for pay-TV platforms.”