Photo: SES

SES revealed that an 8K demo signal was broadcast directly to a flat screen TV with a built-in satellite receiver. The 8K content broadcast was done via ASTRA 28.2 degrees East orbital slot. Spin Digital provided the expertise to encode 8K signals, SES the bandwidth to broadcast the signal, and Samsung the 8K flat screen TV to receive and decode the broadcast signal directly.

The 8K content, with 7680×4320 pixels at 50 frames/s, was encoded by Spin Digital using its High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) encoder at a bit rate of 70 Megabits Per Second (Mbps), while the transmission was carried out by SES on a single 33 Megahertz (MHz) transponder using Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcast parameters. The 82 inch Samsung 8K Q950RB QLED production model TV received this signal directly, and used DVB-S2 transmission parameters specifically for this demo. Transmitting broadcast-quality 8K content across multiple video formats calls for both efficient video coding and reliable infrastructure technology. While compression technology will become more efficient in the next few years, the demo underlines how satellite is already capable of reliably providing the transmission bitrates necessary to distribute 8K signals across continents.

“Audiences today want richer video experiences that can be best fulfilled by immersive Ultra High Definition (UHD) content, hence a lot of our broadcast and video customers are migrating their channels to High Definition (HD) and Ultra HD. As their trusted partner, our vast TV audience reach and ability to deliver truly engaging video experiences via satellite mean we are well placed to differentiate their offerings and deliver customer success,” said Thomas Wrede, Vice-President of New Technology & Standards at SES Video. “It will be years before large 8K flat screens or video walls become a common sight in our living rooms. Nonetheless, we are anticipating the future by working with our industry partners to further improve the consumer’s video quality experience and to define an 8K satellite broadcasting standard.”