Advanced Television

Ultra-HD/4K

Portugal: NOS launches 4K channels

Just a day after Vodafone Portugal added its first 4K TV channel, rival Portuguese operator NOS has also launched its 4K offering with two new channels. NOS subscribers can now access Hispasat 4K which features content about animal life, nature and documentaries, and NOS Ultra-HD 4K, an exclusive channel that airs content from the NOS […]

July 2, 2015From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Pond5: “4K is having its day”

According to Pond5, a marketplace for royalty-free video footage, 4K resolution video is finally having its day. As 2015 passes the midway point, 4K televisions, cameras, and computer monitors are filling shelves, with lower prices than ever. Pond5 analysts looked at more than three years of internal data from the company’s network of 40,000 contributing […]

July 1, 2015

Sony and Panasonic commit to TV sector

Reuters is reporting that Japan’s two TV electronic giants Sony and Panasonic are staying firmly committed to their TV businesses, despite in both cases having lost serious amounts of cash over the past few years. The report says that both parties see benefits coming from a wider range of related products, audio systems, for example, […]

June 29, 2015By Chris Forrester

Analyst: STB market contracts for first time in 12 years

Pay-TV operators purchased $15.3 billion worth of set-top boxes (STBs) in 2014, down from $15.9 billion in 2013. This decline represents the first contraction in the market since 2002, according analysis and insight firm IHS. Shipments of pay-TV STBs grew slightly in 2014 to 204.7 million units, an increase of just under 1 per cent […]

June 29, 2015

Amazon embraces HDR for UHD offerings

Higher Dynamic Range (HDR) is key to fully enjoying Ultra HD transmissions. However, few UHD displays can currently manage to resolve HDR with its better picture quality, richer colours, and significantly improved detail in shadows and black and white contrast ratios. Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service says it will supply HDR-enabled content – initially to […]

June 25, 2015By Chris Forrester

Ericsson for BT Sport 4K channel

Ericsson has signed a multi-year broadcast and media services deal with BT Sport to help launch three new television channels and an interactive red button service in the UK. Ericsson will be responsible for designing, building and running BT Sport Europe, free-to-air service BT Sport Showcase, and BT Sport UHD. BT Sport UHD will be […]

June 23, 2015

SSL to provide B-SAT DTH craft

Commercial satellite provider Space Systems/Loral (SSL) has been selected to provide a broadcasting satellite for Japan’s Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT). The satellite will be used for Direct-to-Home (DTH) television service in Japan. “The BSAT-4a satellite represents our fourth satellite contract award for the Japanese market in the last two years,” said John Celli, president […]

June 22, 2015

4K Today and Tomorrow

Ultra HD 4k is very much the next step for broadcasters and pay-TV providers everywhere. But it is about so much more than just more bits, and it is only the first step on the UHD road. Chris Forrester talked to four UHD insiders from Edgeware, Harmonic, Irdeto, Qarva about current abilities and future developments. […]

June 19, 2015

Samsung boosts next-gen US UHDTV standards

Samsung Electronics America has agreed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pearl TV, a partnership of nine leading TV broadcast companies, and Sinclair Broadcast Group with combined reach over 88 million TV households throughout the US. The companies will work collaboratively to support the development and the implementation of the new Advanced Television Systems […]

June 18, 2015

SES UHD demo channel for North America

Satellite operator SES is continuing to set up demonstration 4K/Ultra-HD channels over its key transmission neighbourhoods. The latest offering will appear later this year from SES-3 over North America and provide an easy test for the hundreds of cable systems that use SES-3 for their programming supplies. SES-3 operates at 103 degrees West. “With three […]

June 17, 2015By Chris Forrester