Some Ultra HD data from the 2020/2021 Olympics

The Ultra HD Forum’s Service Tracker lists Ultra HD services available directly to consumers as well as channels that are offered as a B2B service to IPTV and cable operators for distribution to their subscribers. The B2B channels may be delivered in various ways, and are often done by satellite, but because they use multiple […]

This document provides an API for integrating watermarking technologies in content creation workflow: It is the first of its kind resulting from a collaboration between the major watermarking technology vendors It allows interoperable integration of watermarking technologies in a transcoder While initially targeting integration in workflows for ABR content preparation, it is also extendable to […]

The DVB’s annual conference DVB World is taking place in Sevilla this year and addresses UHD within a dedicated session on formats and codecs. We are happy the Ultra HD Forum is the program partner for UHD content this year.  We have put together a 90-minute session with two 20-minutes keynotes and a 50-minute interactive […]

Ultra HD Forum comes to IBC 2019 with new release of their Guidelines, demonstrations of differences between 8K and 4K and High Frame Rate and produces a deployment focused UHD Masterclass. The Ultra HD Forum, will use IBC to release the latest version 2.1 of its Guidelines, bringing plugfest-studied refinements and standards-based enhancements such as […]

At NAB 2019 we showcase key demonstrations of the Foundation and Additional layers of UHD Technology combined in the new Guidelines, with more than a nod to the future of the development of UHD in the NAB Pilot Futures Park at N1531, North Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center. We have produced a video overview of […]

8K buzz took the industry by surprise in 2018. This blog describes the Ultra HD Forum’s initial response.

The Ultra HD Forum brings together 50 market leaders from every part of the industry; broadcasters, service providers, consumer electronics, and technology vendors to collaborate on solving the real-world challenges of UHD and accelerating its deployment. The Ultra HD Forum scope connects and covers the entire glass to glass ecosystem use cases of live, real-time, […]

In this newsletter, we bring you three pieces on the Ultra HD coverage of the Olimpic games planned for 2020 but held in the following years because of the pandemic-induced restrictions. In the first one, you will see some of the raw data from the events together with top-level analysis. In the other two pieces, […]

One-third UHD production The chart below represents the amount hours of content produced by OBS during the Tokyo Olympics. By comparison, all productions by HBS at the 2022 FIFA World Cup were Ultra HD; as a reference, our service tracker currently shows that 57% of tracked (Ultra HD services offer HDR, note that the service tracker […]

As with previous newsletters, in this article, we explore the experience of one of our members. We talk to Dolby about their learnings from using their technology during the Tokyo and Beijing Olympics. The Covid-induced lockdowns have plagued our industry, but there was a beneficial side effect for once. The extra year allowed NBCU to […]

Early live Ultra HD transmissions, including HDR, have been at the bleeding edge for over five years. One unfortunate side effect has often resulted in subpar SDR for consumers that didn’t have access to an HDR-capable set. With global events that include dozens of cameras and complex workflows, it is not commercially viable to maintain […]

By Thierry Fautier, Past President of the Ultra HD Forum, VP Strategy at Harmonic. I will provide in this blog some personal insights and observations on the Ultra HD OTT market, looking at it from different perspectives: services worldwide, special events, characteristics of production and distribution, devices, interop, and challenges remaining. Version 3 (major updates […]