In Broadcast - January 2015 - 78

78

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 1 | January 2015

InForm

Ultra HDTV Forum
Views Perfection
By Martin Junek,
President, ABEX Society

F

ollowing
the
Ultra
HDTV
Forum initiative to launch test
broadcasting of Ultra HD content
via ASTRA 23.5°E position, ABEX
(Associated Broadcast EXperts) Society
will join and support the Ultra HD
activities of Czech and Slovak national
television broadcasters.
The tests were launched on the
recommendation of Ultra HDTV
Forum, a platform created to address
technological development in the
broadcasting industry in Central
Europe.
The Ultra HDTV Forum was
established in 2013 by Czech
Television,
RTVS
(Slovakia),
Czech Technical University, Ceske
Radiokomunikace, Sony Europe, Cisco,
Cesnet, T-Systems and Rozsnyo.

Recently, SES Astra and ABEX
Society joined the platform. SES Astra
believes that this initiative is crucial
in further development of the ecosystem for Ultra HD with the ultimate
goal to allow TV viewers in Central
Europe to enjoy the best possible Ultra
HD experience via satellite. Martin
Junek, President of ABEX Society,
suggests that it is very important
now to anticipate these predictable
broadcasting developments, be it
satellite or terrestrial.
Ivo Ferkl, Chief Technical Officer
of Czech Television, said: "Recently
we can observe a significant rise in
demand for high quality content, and
the broadcasting industry continues
to move from SD to HD. In the satellite
platform, Czech Television wants to

HEVC Conference held in the 21st Century Projection Hall at Czech Television

abandon SD broadcasting in June
2016 and to keep on subsequently
the broadcasting only in HD. Similar
plans are expected at RTVS. Ultra
HD seems to be the next logical step.
Furthermore, it is developed in much
faster pace than Full HD. And we want
to be ready for the upcoming Ultra HD
revolution."
On December 12, 2014, the leading
European
broadcasting
experts
gathered together in the 21st Century
Projection Hall at the headquarters of
Czech Television to discuss the future
of the digital broadcasting.
The discussions at this event centred
around High Efficiency Video Codec
(HEVC) in DVB-T2.
In the first speech, Ivo Ferkl
explained the goals and activities of
Ultra HDTV Forum, which are primarily
focused on testing and experimental

broadcasting
using
terrestrial
networks, and optimisation of the endto-end Ultra HDTV process, including
production, distribution, reception,
and reproduction of the Ultra HD
content. He stressed the highlight of
the Forum's foundation memorandum:
"Even though the horizon of the full
quality changeover is predicted to
happen around 2020, all gathered
parties are convinced that it is
necessary to define the distribution
network strategy now, to avoid any
irreversible changes, which could
jeopardise the future TV broadcasting
developments and the demand for
quality.
The Ultra HDTV Forum was
established on principles of similar
international bodies, such as EBU, ITU,
SMPTE, etc. It is open to all interested
professional organisations to join.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.abex.cz/ http://www.blueshape.net/ http://www.bvexpo.com/page.cfm/Action=Exhib/ExhibID=936/loadSearch=506018_4936 http://www.blueshape.net/
In Broadcast - January 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - January 2015
