A collaboration between satellite company SES and video codec specialists Spin Digital, sees an 8K TV signal being broadcast directly to a Samsung TV, without resorting to a separate external receiver or decoder.
Using its annual ‘Industry Days’ event at its Luxembourg HQ as a platform, satellite operator SES - who provide video and data connectivity to broadcasters, governments and institutions worldwide - demoed the first 8K transmission via satellite to the built-in satellite receiver in a consumer-ready (albeit, top of the range) 82-inch 8K Q950RB QLED TV.The 8K content, with 7680 x 4320 pixels at 50 frames per second, was encoded by Spin Digital using their HEVC encoder at a bit rate of 70Mbps to ensure broadcast quality. The signal was sent by one of SES’s 70 satellites and received by the Samsung TV using its 8K compatible HEVC 50/60 fps video decoder and DVB-S2 transmission parameters specifically for the demo.
SES stated this was a world-first since current 8K satellite transmissions by Japan’s NHK broadcasting company receive the signal in studio-based receivers before distribution to viewers’ television sets, rather than relying solely on satellite receivers in the TVs themselves.
The successful demo indicates that current satellite infrastructure is capable of transmitting the bit rates necessary to successfully distribute 8K signals across the globe.
SES does admit, however, that reliable and cost effective transmissions of 8K content across multiple video formats will improve as compression technology become more efficient - and given the expected slow take-up of 8K by consumers already struggling with adapting to 4K, there will be plenty time for those technologies to develop.
John Adam, Head of Business Development and Industrial Affairs at Samsung Research UK, confirmed, “Samsung is fully committed to the development of a future 8K TV market and this demonstration of the viability of the SES satellite platform is an important step towards that goal.”
Meanwhile, Mauricio Alvarez-Mesa, CEO of Spin Digital, explained, “The collaboration with SES is helping to define the compression and quality settings for the new 8K format exploiting all the potential of the HEVC coding technology. Our next step is to enable similar quality and compression for live 8K HEVC.”
Finally, Thomas Wrede, VP/New Technology & Standards at SES Video stated, “It will be years before large 8K flat screens or video walls become a common sight in our living rooms. Nonetheless, we are anticipating the future by working with our industry partners to further improve the consumer’s video quality experience and to define an 8K satellite broadcasting standard.”
Source: www.ses.com, www.advanced-television.com, www.hdtvtest.co.uk
Image Source: livex.tv
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