uhd2808_news 01/09/2015 11:58 Page 2
BDA débuts UHD Blu-ray licensing
he Blu-ray Disc
Association (BDA)
will commence
licensing the Ultra HD Bluray format starting August
2015. The format represents
the work of global leaders
from the consumer
electronics, IT and content
creation industries and will
enable consistent and
T
reliable delivery of Ultra HD
content to the rapidly
growing number of Ultra HD
households, expected to
grow from 11.7m Ultra HD
TVs in 2014 to 95.6m in
2019, according to figures
Netflix predicts UHD
boost
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
has suggested the
Internet entertainment
streaming
service will
benefit from
the growth of
4K/Ultra-HD
television.
Speaking
during Netflix’s
Q2 2015
Results Earnings
Call, Hastings
noted that with
the service’s
top plan – the Ultra-HD
four-stream plan – there
were two drivers. “There’s
people who have big
families and want to watch
more than two different
screens at a time; and then
the driver that we’re really
optimistic on is Ultra-HD.
So as more and more UltraHD TVs gets sold at major
electronics outlets over the
next five years, more and
more people will want
from research firm IHS
Technology.
Ultra HD Blu-ray is a critical
component of the expanding
Ultra HD ecosystem that
redefines in-home entertainment
through advances in resolution,
contrast, colour and audio.
“Ultra HD is expected to ramp
up quickly over the next few years
as it grows in popularity,
availability, and affordability
within the market for TV
sets,” noted Paul Erickson,
senior analyst at IHS
Technology. “The ability to
consume Ultra HD content
during this time, however, is a
question mark due to variables
such as Ultra HD broadcast
offerings and household
bandwidth for Ultra HD
streaming. Ultra HD Blu-ray aids
consumer adoption of Ultra HD
by providing an immediate,
tangible way to watch Ultra HD
content that completely bypasses
service provider and bandwidthbased variables.”
The Ultra HD Blu-ray format
will deliver high dynamic range
content that significantly expands
the range between the brightest
and darkest elements and gives
the consumer a more life-like
viewing experience. Additionally,
the format provides expanded
colour range, high frame rate (up
to 60fps) and up-to 3840x2160
resolution. The Ultra HD Blu-ray
format will also deliver nextgeneration immersive, objectbased sound formats. And, with
the optional 'digital bridge'
feature, the specification
enhances the value of content
ownership by embracing the
notion that a content purchase
can enable the consumer to view
their content across a wide range
Ultra-HD,” he said.
“Each stream is about 15
megabits per second. So it
takes a good quality
Internet connection. Of
course that’s getting more
and more
reliable. So when
we see those
coming together,
we see over time
a significant
percentage of
our membership
upgrading to get
the Ultra-HD
service again
over the next
couple of years.”
headquarters cable lab in
Butler, Pennsylvania. SES’s
Ultra HD offering, first
unveiled in April at NAB,
combines broadcast and IP
technologies in a fullymanaged, scalable service.
The solution leverages
satellite’s inherent
broadcast advantages and
the multicasting
capabilities of DOCSIS 3.0,
the advanced transmission
standard in use by
Armstrong and other
leading cable systems
today.
“We have a
great long-term
partnership
with SES that
enables us to
innovate with
satellitedelivered
con ѕ