IBC 2016: Eutelsat unveils High Dynamic Range Ultra HD channel

Ultra HD elevated to new heights with channel revealing brighter brights, deeper shadows, more saturated colours

Amsterdam, Paris, 8 September 2016 - Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) announces the launch from the HOTBIRD video neighbourhood of an Ultra HD channel showing HDR (High Dynamic Range) content using HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) technology, the new HDR standard developed by the BBC and NHK. Eutelsat has teamed up with 4EVER-2, the French collaborative project on Ultra HD, ATEME and Samsung to show the spectacular appeal of HDR Ultra HD at IBC.

Brighter brights, deeper shadows, more saturated colours

High Dynamic Range (HDR) television creates richer and more dynamic images by increasing the contrast ratio between the lightest and darkest areas of the screen and increasing the volume of colours a screen can display. The result is a picture that is rich in detail, with colours that surge from the screen, generating a strong feeling of realism.

Visitors to Eutelsat’s booth at IBC will be invited to watch Ultra HD images encoded using HLG, with HEVC encoding by ATEME. HLG, that was recently adopted by the ITU as an international standard uses a single distribution bitstream which can be decoded by HDR receivers and also by legacy Standard Dynamic (SDR) displays, providing broadcasters with a way to accelerate time-to-market of their Ultra HD content.

Called “HOTBIRD 4k2 HDR”, the new channel is broadcasting across Europe from Eutelsat’s flagship HOTBIRD neighbourhood. It is showing sports, cultural and wildlife content from the 4EVER-2 consortium, dBW Communication, The Explorers Network and RAICom. The channel is broadcast at 50 frames per second, with 10 bits of colour depth (one billion colours) in the BT2020 environment. Content will be shown on Samsung’s newest Quantum dot SUHD TV that is capable of producing up to one billion colours and offering more than 1000-nit brightness.

Elevating Ultra HD to new heights

Michel Chabrol, Eutelsat’s Senior Vice President New TV Formats, said: “This new channel will benefit players in the broadcasting chain who are seeking to acquire expertise in HDR Ultra HD broadcasts. Since Ultra HD blazed a trail three years ago Eutelsat’s strategy has been to support our customers as they embrace the race to the highest image quality. HDR is the newest step in this adventure and one that gives new meaning to the industry ambition to deliver a spectacular and immersive viewing experience.”

How to watch HOTBIRD 4k2 HDR:

HOTBIRD (13° East)
Frequency: 12015 MHz
Horizontal polarization
Symbol rate: 30000
DVB-S2, 8PSK, FEC 5/6
HEVC encoding at 30 Mbit/s

Where to meet Eutelsat at IBC, from September 9 to 13: Hall 1D.59