4k_4k 21/05/2015 18:38 Page 1
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 in London.
situation,” admits Trow, “there are very few
genuine UHD services being delivered. There
are two camps of
broadcasters; those who are
committed to UHD in the
near term and will have to
have proprietary solutions
for HDR etc, and those who will wait for
common solutions and don’t want to deliver
until there is a ready and proven
differentiation to HD.... it is messy at the
moment.”
Will there be common standards for
UHD and what do they mean for
broadcasters and users?
“Standards for picture quality and delivery
4K today and tomorrow
So, 4K and UHD – some definitions;
are they the same thing, does the
viewer care?
“There is a difference between 4K and
UHD,” states Ian Trow, senior director,
emerging technologies at Harmonic, “4k is a
cinematic format whereas UHD is its TV
counterpart.... but from a branding
perspective, while 4k strictly refers to
cinematic content at 24 frames per second, I
totally understand them being clumped
together because the industries are genuinely
moving together.”
“We always say Ultra HD 4k,” says George
Mikeladze , CEO and founder of Qarva, “so
people can easily understand what we are
talking about. For end users it is the same and
they are buying ‘4K’ TVs so this is what they
know...”
“We use both, even though we are not
selling to end users, we feel we need to use the
same labels as are used by the consumer
industry – we also normally add HEVC
because that’s the codec we have to deal with
in the network distribution,” adds Johan
Bolin, VP products and product marketing at
Edgeware.
“We do differentiate,” comments Godert
Burghard, Global VP Marketing, Irdeto,
“because 4k is really kind of empty for us,
whereas the complexity really is in the UHD
and all the components that comprise it – but
I’m a consumer as well and it is there as 4K or
4K UHD everywhere.”
“I think it is for the industry to come with a
unified branding that makes sure consumers
are not misled, at the mo Y[