[Satellite TODAY 04-19-13] SES and Eutelsat Communications have both made key Ultra-HD (4K) announcements in the last 24 hours. Eutelsat revealed it was teaming up with leading Turkish pay-TV provider, DigiTurk to for a demonstration Ultra-HD channel, and today SES announced that, together with its partners Harmonic and Broadcom Corporation, it has pioneered an Ultra-HD transmission in the new HEVC standard live from an Astra satellite at 19.2 degrees east.

    Thomas Wrede, VP reception systems, SES recently told Via Satellite that the company believes DTH operators are very committed to the potential of Ultra-HD. “We have had discussions for quite a while with some of our operator customers. It is clear, as with 3-D and HD, these pay-TV operators will be the first ones that provide a business case. We have spoken about time frames and a broadcast standard. The operators are very committed regarding an introduction of Ultra-HD services,” he said.

    While there are now many forecasts as to the impact that Ultra-HD may have in the market, Wrede is confident that ultimately the technology can impact the mass market. “They [SES customers] are motivated to look into Ultra-HD. I think anyone who has seen Ultra-HD demos has seen that this provides a similar jump in improvement that HD did compared to good quality SD. What we observe is that consumers like the larger screen sizes,” he said. “It has gone from 28 and 32 inches, now up to over 40 inches. A lot of people including myself have a 55-inch screen. This is clearly boosting the market. Screens are becoming more affordable … I think ultimately Ultra-HD has the potential for the mass market.”

    Both operators are firm believers in the prospects for Ultra-HD. Earlier this year, Eutelsat announced its was launching a dedicated demonstration Ultra-HD channel for Europe on the Eutelsat 10A satellite. The first transmissions of content filmed in 4K started in January.

    For broadcasters and DTH players, Ultra-HD could represent an exciting new opportunity to gain an audience. “I can’t really tell you what our strategy will be regarding 4K. But, we had a presentation at our last board meeting about it. It is something we will look at it,” said Mark Hollinger, president and CEO, Discovery Networks International. “If history is any guide, and the way in which we look at new technologies, we have been on the forefront of digital cable in the United States, HD in the United States. Internationally, we have the biggest portfolio of HD channels of any broadcaster in the world. We are at the forefront of 3D. It is in our DNA to look at those things. This has been based on two things. We have realised, that whether getting into new technologies, new markets or new business models, there is often an advantage of being an early entrant. But, we also know that our content looks terrific in these new technologies. We will look long and hard at 4K.”

    DTH players will also look long and hard at the technology. Viasat Broadcasting, which runs many DTH platforms in the Nordic and Eastern European regions, could be one company that might implement this technology, but its CTO Bartek Gudowski thinks it will probably take at least three to four years before 4K will reach any market proliferation.