Sky tests 4K at The Emirates

Broadcast

BSkyB has begun testing the technical aspects of ultra-high-definition broadcasts as momentum builds in the industry for a 4K production standard.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/sky-tests-4k-at-the-emirates/5047650.article

The broadcaster conducted its first significant 4K test using cameras from Sony and Canon at The Emirates during Arsenal’s Champions League tie with Olympiakos last week.

Sky director of operations Darren Long said: “We’re constantly working with manufacturers to test new products so that we have a good understanding of their capabilities once they become available.

“It’s too early for us to talk about whether or not 4K may form part of our future roadmap, but we are keen to learn more about its potential ahead of next-generation TV sets coming to market.”

One implication for broadcasters would be the need to build and supply set-top boxes that are capable of receiving the compression scheme HEVC (Higher Efficiency Video Codec), which makes ultra-high-definition possible.

The Emirates tests paired two Sony F65 cameras in a picture stitching application alongside a Canon C500 4K camera.

Long said the pictures looked “stunning” but he wanted to see 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) images captured at higher frame rates.

“The key to us is to ensure quality and when showing footballers running, it was clear that there was too much camera blur; we feel 120 frames a second is the right speed. We’re liaising with standards bodies and working with manufacturers to understand the camera’s capabilities and to improve the technology.”

The entire infrastructure for live production would also have to be upgraded to support 4K, and outside broadcasters are already gearing up for this.

Brian Clark, commercial and technical projects director at NEP Visions, which facilitates Premier League productions for Sky Sports, said: “4K is very much on our radar.

“Manufacturers are moving 4K forward and we speak to companies to see how the timescales could be accelerated.

“In the next three years, I believe there will be live multi-camera acquisition.”

Other broadcasters expressing interest in the format include Brazil’s TV Globo, France Télévisions and Sky Deutschland.

Meanwhile, the BBC and NHK conducted tests of live 8K (Super Hi-Vision) transmissions during the London 2012 Olympics.

4K begins to hit radar screens of OB companies

Sports Video Group
There are contrasting views on the imminence of a 4K live production model from the outside broadcasters running the UK’s largest fleets. 
http://svgeurope.org/blog/top-stories/4k-begins-to-hit-radar-screens-of-ob-companies/

Grass Valley ‘4K and Format Agnostic by 2014’

Sports Video Group
Grass Valley aims to have cameras and production equipment capable of at least 4K resolution production by 2014. However, the company says it remains grounded in the priorities of today’s broadcasters and that 4K broadcasting is not one of them. http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2012/09/grass-valley-4k-and-format-agnostic-by-2014/

Mr Stink is BBC’s first 3D drama

TVB Europe

http://www.tvbeurope.com/mr-stink-is-bbc-s-first-3d-drama/

It’s the move that 3D watchers have been waiting for. Finally it seems there are commissions for 3D TV programming beyond sports, live music and signature wildlife shows. TVBEuropehas learned that both BSkyB and the BBC have 3D drama in the works.

Mr Stink, a drama comedy starring Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville and adapted from David Walliams’ children’s book, will start shooting in 2D HD and in 3D from next month for broadcast on BBC One this Christmas. It will be made in house at the BBC and greenlit by BBC One controller Danny Cohen. The move would be in line with the BBC’s experimental examination of 3D production which has taken in genres including live sports (Wimbledon 3D in 2011 and 2012), live music (recently The Last Night of the Proms) the finale of 2011’s Strictly Come Dancing and an hour long episode of documentary series Planet Dinosaur. A comedy series however would represent a departure from the norm. There has been reluctance among broadcasters to shoot episodic programming in 3D in part because of concerns about the additional cost and knock-on impact to the typically tight shooting schedule.

Meanwhile Sky is understood to be filming at least three of its latest series of 10×15-minute Little Crackers films in 3D, again for a Christmas airing. In 2010 Meera Syal’s Little Cracker for Sky became the UK’s first ever scripted TV comedy broadcast in 3D. The broadcaster is already shooting its largest non-sport series, Masterclass with veteran Sir Michael Parkinson, in 3D. The six-part series simulcasting on Sky Arts 1 in November and Sky 3D, features classical pianist Lang Lang, war photographer Don McCullin, jazz artist Jamie Cullum, principal dancer Carlos Acosta, author Michael Murpurgo and portrait artist Jonathan Yeo. Sky 3D director John Cassy has made a point of broadening the scope of 3D to appeal beyond that of the predominantly male audience for live sports. – Adrian Pennington

3D TV Soldiers on

Digital Studio 

As 3D TV struggles to gain buyers of 3D sets and audiences for 3DTV content, not even the Olympics will boost business with industry exponents forced to play a long game. But it seems that all the negative hype might not be completely true.

http://www.digitalproductionme.com/article-5755-3d-tv-soldiers-on/

Scaling up to HD

Digital Studio 

Whether broadcasters have migrated to HD or are just beginning that transition, the ability to convert content from one standard to another is an essential business requirement.

http://www.digitalproductionme.com/article-5757-scaling-up-to-hd/1/

Lessons from a Digital Olympics

CSI 

BBC and NBC talk Olympic broadcast legacy, and what they learned during the Games about multi-screen and the future of coverage.

http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/Lessons-from-a-Digital-Olympics.php%20.php