Advanced Television

Ultra-HD/4K

4KUNIVERSE launches in Switzerland

General entertainment channel 4KUNIVERSE – currently at the heart of satellite operator SES’s North American Ultra HD platform – is expanding its reach to Switzerland as SES begins distribution of the fast-growing channel to Swisscom, Switzerland’s leading telco, with 1.45 million television customers across the country. Swisscom is adding 4KUNIVERSE to its expanding Ultra HD […]

December 11, 2017

UHD HDR iPlayer for Blue Planet II

Wildlife fans can watch Blue Planet II in the best quality ever shown on the BBC iPlayer from December 10th. The full, seven-part series will be available on iPlayer in Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) – the first time the BBC has streamed an episode or series in such high quality – on […]

December 5, 2017

Love Nature launches on Vodafone TV in NZ

Love Nature, a joint venture between Blue Ant Media and Smithsonian Networks, has announced that its premium wildlife and nature streaming video service, available in 65+ countries, has launched on Vodafone TV in 4K and HD in New Zealand. All Vodafone TV subscribers in New Zealand have Love Nature’s premium natural history SVoD service bundled […]

December 4, 2017

DVB Oks latest UHD specs

At the 87th meeting of the DVB Steering Board (SB) important revisions and updates for three DVB specifications were approved. This development marks the completion of the current generation of specifications for Ultra High Definition Television – DVB UHD-1. DVB UHD-1 covers elements for the improvement of video and audio quality for broadcast TV services.  […]

November 20, 2017

FCC approves Next Gen TV plan

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved (in a 3:2 vote) voluntary use by broadcasters of the new ATSC 3.0 advanced TV transmission scheme for the USA. The FCC, in its decision, has opened the starting gate for the USA’s next broadcasting standard for FTA terrestrial stations. In essence, the FCC ruling permits TV stations in […]

November 17, 2017By Chris Forrester

Vimeo adds HDR support

Vimeo, the video sharing website, has added support for the HDR format. In a blog post the company said: “We aim to deliver creators, their videos, and their fans the highest quality video experience possible. That’s why today, we’re very excited to announce support for HDR videos on Vimeo. That means we can now bring […]

November 17, 2017

Layer3 launches Smithsonian Channel 4K VoD

After officially launching documentary-focused Smithsonian Channel in October 2017, cable network operator Layer3 TV is now the first MVPD (Multichannel video programming distributor) to carry the channel’s full 4K On Demand library. As the first US network to adopt a regularly-refreshed 4K On Demand model, Smithsonian Channel’s offering includes 10 hours of dedicated 4K content […]

November 17, 2017

Analyst: 4K not reaching devices

The UHD device market continues to excel with media streamers, set-top boxes, games consoles and UHD TVs all demonstrating significant growth, according to analyst firm Futuresource Consulting. The quantity of 4K content that is being created is also growing, but there is limited delivery of it to consumers, the company finds in its latest 4K […]

November 14, 2017

DOCOMO 5G connected car trial

A trial of 5G technologies for automobiles, conducted jointly by Japanese mobile telco NTT DOCOMO with Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), Ericsson and Intel Corporation (Intel), has achieved data speeds of up to 1 Gbps for 4K-resolution video communications with a vehicle traveling at 30 km/h. This initial multi-party trial conducted along Tokyo’s Odaiba waterfront on […]

November 7, 2017By Colin Mann

Analyst: HDR TV shipments to reach 47.9m

High dynamic range (HDR) is the strongest-developing feature in television sets, according to a new report from critical information, analytics and solutions source IHS Markit. In its TV Design and Features Tracker – Q3 2017, IHS Markit forecasts that HDR TV shipments will grow from 12.2 million in 2017 to 47.9 million in 2021, with […]

November 6, 2017