BT will seek to tempt Sky subscribers by unveiling a new set-top box capable of delivering ultra-high-definition pictures, to those few who have so far invested in a screen that is capable of showing them.
News to me. Saw the link to the Telegraph article posted on the YouView forum.
Also from the Telegraph - citing "sources":
[quote]In contrast to Sky’s wait-and-see attitude to 4K, it is understood that BT aims to introduce the technology on BT Sport within months. It is also poised to launch a new set-top box and mount a major marketing push in spring.
BT will begin trials of ultra-high definition streaming via the internet by May so the system is ready to carry high-profile Champions League clashes in the autumn, sources said. The pictures will require a superfast connection so BT will use its launch to encourage customers to upgrade their broadband contract.
Now there's a surprise.
August, allegedly:
[BT] has announced that in August it will ... launch the first Ultra HD (4K) channel in Europe, BT Sport Ultra HD, and will also introduce a new BT TV Ultra HD set top box.
https://community.youview.com/youview/topics/bt-announces-european-football-in-ultra-hd
And it will be a Humax YouView box, says YouView.
Uh oh...
BT is describing the kit as its “best ever” Youview+ box, promising 250 HD hours of storage on the built-in 1TB hard drive. Of course, you’ll need a 4K TV to watch UHD content.Unfortunately, a standard 4K TV still might not be enough. Yesterday, Sky’s chief engineer revealed many UHD TVs would not be able to handle 4K sports content.
That’s because many 4K TVs are only powerful enough to transmit UHD content at 25fps, while sports content needs to be broadcast at much higher frame rates – possibly up to 100fps.
It’s not clear which TV sets will be compatible with BT’s new 4K channel just yet.
Worth checking the spec carefully if considering the purchase of a new UHD TV.
So apparently the new channel is going to use 50 fps, and doubts are indeed being expressed.
BT Sport has conducted a raft of UHD trials over the past 18 months, including Aston Villa’s FA Cup semi-final with Liverpool and culminating in a test broadcast of Southampton’s 6-1 victory over Villa to a group of homes kitted out with the new G5 set-top box from Humax, which will be available from next month.BT Sport’s facilities partner Timeline has built the UHD scanner truck that will be used by the broadcaster (see box below) to deliver some of the 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, 50 frames per second content.
Some senior industry figures have raised concerns that greater resolution alone will not provide enough of a ‘wow factor’ for viewers and that a mixture of increased frame rates, higher dynamic range (HDR) and a wider colour gamut are needed for viewers to notice a significant difference to HD.
Some of those elements will be included in the next iteration of UHD which is being agreed by various standards bodies at the moment and is expected to be finalised mid-way through next year.
But BT Sport chief operating officer Jamie Hindhaugh said he was confident there was a big enough difference in the quality between HD and the first phase of UHD.
“We have done trials with HDR, but at the moment the broadcast equipment just isn’t there and TVs are still not there. We are looking at working with HDR to help with our journey in 4K,” he said.
“At the moment [higher frame rate] is not possible. If you look at every other broadcaster’s trials, they are all 50fps; that’s where we are.
“We think there will be a natural evolution [of UHD] over the next two or three years and we are already on that journey now so we can migrate. When you are at the head of the pack, you can help to set standards. That is important.”
James do you know if HDCP 2.2 is required ?
I haven't seen it mentioned. As I understand it, BT IP programmes can be recorded, but cease to be accessible if the subscription lapses. So apparently playback must trigger the box to call home for a quick sub check. If so, maybe this obviates any need for HDCP2.2?
Anandtech says:
HDCP 2.2
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) has been used (most commonly, over HDMI links) to protect the path between the player and display from unauthorized access. Unfortunately, the version of HDCP used to protect HD content was compromised quite some time back. Content owners decided that 4K content would require an updated protection mechanism, and this prompted the creation of HDCP 2.2. This requires updated hardware support, and things are made quite messy for consumers since HDMI 2.0 sources and sinks (commonly associated with 4K) are not required to support HDCP 2.2. Early 4K adopters (even those with HDMI 2.0 capabilities) will probably need to upgrade their hardware again, as HDCP 2.2 can't be enabled via firmware updates.UHD Netflix-capable smart TVs don't need to worry about HDCP 2.2 for playback of 4K Netflix titles. Consumers just need to remember that whenever 'premium' 4K content travels across a HDMI link, both the source and sink must support HDCP 2.2. Otherwise, the source will automatically downgrade the transmission to 1080p (assuming that an earlier HDCP version is available on the sink side). If an AV receiver is present in the display chain, it needs to support HDCP 2.2 also.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9152/futureproofing-htpcs-for-the-4k-era-hdmi-hdcp-and-hevc
Interesting piece.
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