Fremont, CA – September 10th, 2024 – With many Ultra HD technologies now pervasive, the Ultra HD Forum diligently documents emerging delivery technologies to foster efficiencies, knowledge, sustainability, and innovation that enhance Ultra HD services and create impactful experiences for viewers in professional, prosumer and consumer.
In 2024, the Forum continues to explore Ultra HD technology advancements and the resulting improved experience, notably with AI integration, personalized content, network deployment and innovations, automated content management, and academic alliances.
New Members
The Forum proudly announces three new members: Disney Streaming Services, Hexaglobe, and a third who is filling out paperwork. They join our community to help make Ultra HD experiences more pervasive and memorable.
Member’s meeting
Yasser Syed, PhD, Comcast Distinguished Engineer, and new President of the Ultra HD Forum, will lead a members’ breakfast session and discussion as part of its regular updates to members during the IBC and NAB shows on the Forum’s mission and 2024 focus areas, where Forum members and past presidents will also take part. France will present its outstanding Ultra HD coverage of the Paris Olympics.
Updates to the Guidelines:
The updated Forum Guidelines, launched at IBC, now encompass new information in three of our rainbow books.
The blue book (Production) is updated on still image signaling in UHD, single master workflow for HDR-SDR, and mapping between SDR and HDR (PQ10 and HLG10). It has new live HDR pre-production information, reference monitor requirements, HDR and SDR constraints in close monitoring proximity, and immersive audio updates.
The indigo book (UHD technologies) has been updated with the NBCU single-master, dual-focused HDR-SDR workflow, updates to the Brazil 3.0 section, including the ATSC Physical layer, and a description of the Brazil 2.5 demo broadcast of the Paris Olympics.
The violet book (real-world ultra-HD) clarifies “UHD” vs. “Ultra HD,” codec support, and STB implementations (including Android), smart TV, smartphone, tablet, and PC support (including web browser support). It refines display policies for edge devices, including user playback controls, and clarifies the backward compatibility of newer Ultra-HD technologies with foundational technologies.
In addition, we have published a set of Executive Briefs that provide concise information on popular topics in UHD. The Single Master Workflow brief was published for NAB this year, and for IBC, we have added Video Codecs and Immersive Audio.
All guidelines publications are available at https://ultrahdforum.org/guidelines/.
Service Tracker update
This year, the service tracker will see a significant update. Beyond a deep data refresh leading to almost 300 tracked Ultra HD Services, the web interface will offer a richer interactive experience with dynamic charts reflecting the current subset of services selected through enhanced filters. Temporary services are now tracked as part of the primary data set, input forms make it easier to send us corrections or updates, and other backend changes will make it much easier to keep the data up to date going forward.
Seven Demos
- TV 3.0 – Full Stack Demonstration of Brazil’s DTV+ with MPEG-H Audio, Advanced HDR by Technicolor® and VVC
- Pervasive Ultra HD Technologies – Consumer and Prosumer Ultra HD technology adoption
- CAE Evolution Inc. HEVC, VVC and AV1 – using next-generation codecs and methodologies for reducing bit rates and increasing quality
- pVMAF and Video Quality – using quality estimation methodologies for video delivery and monitoring.
Many member companies are involved in these demos, and the Forum would particularly like to thank ATEME, Brightcove, Fairmile West, Fraunhofer IIS, InterDigital, and Synamedia.
We are also proud to have MC-IF showcase several exciting VVC-focused demos at our booth. These demos will give visitors an even broader view of the state-of-the-art Ultra HD technology. They will include:
- 4K 120fps VVC Playback with Ali266 on Snapdragon X Elite PC
- VVC and WebRTC Low Latency Streaming for Cloud Gaming
- Real-time AI-enhanced VVC
Quote
Yasser Syed said, “For my first IBC as President, I’m excited to lead the organization as Ultra HD becomes more mainstream while live production still poses lingering challenges. As the industry becomes more concerned with sustainability, we ensure that better content experiences don’t come at the expense of our need to address climate issues.”
To learn more about the Ultra HD Forum’s ongoing work, visit booth 3.B21 in Hall 3 during IBC 2024, 13-16 September 2024.
About Ultra HD Forum:
Founded in 2015, the Ultra HD Forum accelerates Ultra HD adoption by establishing best practices for the future of television. The Forum is a crucible for interoperability testing and standard synchronization. For more information, please visit https://ultrahdforum.org or follow us on LinkedIn @UltraHDForum.
Media Contact:
Marta Twardowska-Rienks
Ultra HD Forum
Email: marta@marta_twardowska
Mobile: +31 621184585
Don’t hesitate to contact us for briefings at IBC, including an in-depth look at our demos and to engage in sustainability discussions.
