Advanced Television

Ultra-HD/4K

MEASAT builds Asian UHD neighbourhood

Satellite services provider MEASAT Satellite Systems has agreed a deal with broadcaster Television Entertainment Reality Network International (TERN International) for the distribution of the INSIGHT UHD channel via the MEASAT-3a satellite. INSIGHT UHD is the second UHD channel distributed via the 91.5°E video neighbourhood. Marketed in Asia by Thema, Insight UHD is Asia’s first UHD […]

April 1, 2016

Japan: 7m UHD sets in 2017

Japan is buying 4K/Ultra HD televisions at an impressive rate. Last year saw some 1.17 million sets bought, while 2016 is expected to see around 3.3 million UHD sets installed. But adoption is forecast (by Mitsubishi Research) to grow rapidly from 2017 onwards. Next year the data suggests that 6.8 million sets will be installed. […]

March 31, 2016By Chris Forrester

Sony ‘ULTRA’ 4K launching April 4

OTT platforms are ramping up the battle with pay-TV providers to offer 4K UHD content with the confirmation from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment that the studio’s new 4K Ultra HD movie streaming service, ULTRA, will debut April 4, 2016 on Sony 4K Ultra HD TVs with Android TV in the United States. “Consumers are rapidly […]

March 30, 2016

UHD 2016 Roundtable: 4K UHD, good to go?

UHD is part of every broadcaster conversation but is it ready for the market – there are plenty of TVs being sold but what about standards, content capture, workflow and transmission? Chris Forrester chaired a discussion with senior representatives from BT Sport, Harmonic, Harmonic, Snell Advanced Media and Sony. [bitsontherun xioz1Mru-hLYU43gg]

March 30, 2016

Satellite UHD to top 785 channels

2016 will be a key inflection point for the rollout of Ultra HD via satellite, according to NSR’s UltraHD via Satellite, 3rd Edition report. NSR forecasts over 785 Ultra HD channels by 2025, and satellite capacity required to carry bandwidth intensive Ultra HD channels will drive an added $280 million in annual leasing revenues. The […]

March 29, 2016

TCL announces 4K Roku TV availability

Suggesting that “the time is right”, TCL, the world’s third largest television manufacturer, has announced pricing and availability of its 4K Ultra HD TCL Roku TV models for the US, bringing UHD 4K picture quality to its Smart TVs that integrate the Roku OS. Originally announced at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, the new 4K […]

March 29, 2016

SES, Arte to broadcast ballet in UHD

SES, in collaboration with European Culture Channel ARTE, will be broadcasting the Le Corsaire ballet live in Ultra HD from the Vienna State Opera via the orbital position Astra 19.2 degrees East. The Ultra HD live broadcast will begin on April 2nd. The ballet will be broadcast free-to-air on UHD1 by Astra/HD+. The Ultra HD […]

March 29, 2016

F1 signs exclusive Sky deal; UHD next season

UK fans of Formula One will not be able to see live coverage of the sport free-to-air after 2018 following a new broadcast partnership between Sky and Formula One Management, save for the home British Grand Prix and at least two others. Sky also confirmed that coverage would be available in Ultra HD from next […]

March 24, 2016By Colin Mann

Virgin Media: “More VoD exclusives”

UK quad-play operator Virgin Media is to ramp up the amount of exclusive video-on-demand programming available to its Virgin Media TV XL customers to watch through its TV on demand service. David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, revealed the operator’s intentions at a preview screening of Kingdom, a raw, emotional family drama […]

March 24, 2016By Colin Mann

Vodafone launches 4K STB and channels

Vodafone Spain is to launch the first 4K STB in the market and four ultra-HD TV channels. The box is aimed at ADSL and VDSL customers and functions like the existing Vodafone TV box, including search and recommendation, seven-day catch-up and access to online TV services including Netflix. Vodafone is also launching  four 4K channels: […]

March 23, 2016From David Del Valle in Madrid