IBC 2017: SES shows 30 4K channels, HDR10+, VR, HDR Tech Talks by Dolby and BBC

[DCI forum]

At its large booth SES and industry partners showcase the acceleration of delivery and commercial availability of Ultra HD channels. So here we can see over 30 live 4K channels, with four times the detail compared to HD, sharper and clearer pictures, and deeper and richer colors.

In collaboration with LG SES will also showcase live HFR (High Frame Rate) Ultra HD signal received from satellite. And together with Samsung it will compare standard HDR (10) vs HDR10+ Dynamic HDR. With an HDR10+ signal from satellite.



SES will also broadcast a live VR360 signal from the centre of Luxembourg to its IBC booth via satellite. Booth visitors will be able to watch the city live in 360 degrees through VR headsets and via a remote controlled Ultra HD TV. According to SES this is the first time that a live VR signal is carried over satellite.

On the Friday and Monday SES offers a schedule of techtalks, the focus of which is 4K and HDR and their delivery. Two sessions stand out, updates on HDR by two key players, Dolby on the Friday, and BBC R&D on Monday.

Dolby's Arnd Paulsen, Senior Manager Broadcast Eco-System, will provide an "Technology update on HDR and NGA", with Dolby that means Atmos. Andrew Cotton, Principal Technologist, BBC Research & Development, will provide: "Hybrid Log-Gamma – latest update", on the HDR Ecosystem.


Arn paulsen                                                          Andrew Cotton

The Tech Talks sessions are free to attend, but require pre-registration as seats in the double balcony suites are limited.

SES has a tradition of showing some of the coolest demo's, like these for wich it comissioned ist own HDR demoreel: LG HDR, Dolby Vision, but generally the most cool ones are hard to get to as they are in the two meeting rooms that tend to be occupied with sales meetings. Still the open booth has plenty to see.

https://vimeo.com/183479069

[DCI forum]

Global satellite operator SES has announced a few more details to its IBC exhibits as the show opens tomorrow.

The High Frame Rate concerns 100 FPS, instead of the regular 25/50P. And is produced together with LG, ATEME, France Televisions and 4-Ever. SES and its partners will broadcast 100Hz High Frame Rate 4K content via satellite at Astra 19.2 degrees East. SES promises the content will feature fast action scenes and show the benefits of 100 frames per second compared to the 50 frames per second, which is today's standard in TV broadcasting in Europe. It will be received and displayed on LG's OLED TV using a prototype HFR firmware.

The 360 VR demonstration in collaboration with Fraunhofer HHI will offer visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in Luxembourg City, thanks to a live satellite transmission of 10K x 2K panoramic video content to the IBC venue in Amsterdam. The latest version of the Fraunhofer HHI Omnicam-360 camera will capture live scenes from the centre of Luxembourg, which will then be transmitted by ASTRA 2E at 28.2 degrees East directly to the SES booth. Visitors will be able to watch the scenes live with VR headsets, and experience being in the middle of the city while being at the show. Visitors will also be able to watch the scenes on a large flat screen which allows zooming in and out via a remote control through a 360 degree panoramic image.

The third demonstration, together with Samsung, will showcase the world's first live Ultra HD transmission of HDR10+ content via satellite. HDR10+ is Samsung's new royalty free open standard for High Dynamic Range (HDR), which uses dynamic metadata to offer the best possible HDR effect for every scene by further reducing dimming and saturation in comparison with conventional HDR, which uses static metadata with a constant HDR effect.

[DCI forum]

Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI has the following to say about its involvement in broadcasting a 10K x 2K panorama video signal live via satellite, for interactive presentation on Ultra HD televisions. They will be setting up Fraunhofer HHI’s panorama camera OmniCam-360 at popular places in Luxembourg. The panoramic images will be sent to the satellite by a broadcast trailer.

The panorama signal will be received at the SES booth at the fair and shown on a UHD screen. Using a remote control, viewers will be able to navigate within the 360-degree panorama and zoom in and out. Thanks to Fraunhofer HHI’s highly efficient HEVC encoder, it will be possible to compress the large amount of data of the panorama videos so that it can be broadcast via satellite.

Dr. Ralf Schäfer, Division Director Video at Fraunhofer HHI, explains: "We intend for this demonstration to show that 360-degree video can consumed by TV viewers even without VR glasses. We also want our camera and HEVC encoding technologies to show that 360-degree video can also be broadcast to the consumer in high quality."

Last year SES and Fraunhofer showed a similar demo, so this will be a good example of how quickly Virtual Reality is advancing.