UHD SPAIN “SHINES” AT 4K HDR SUMMIT 2023

• The association officially presented its pioneering test of UHD broadcasting with 5G technology at the event.
  
  
• The Board of Directors of UHD Spain presented an award to RTVE after announcing that they will be broadcasting in UHD on DTT on 7 February.
  
  
• In addition to holding its General Assembly, synergies were established with other international associations such as Ultra HD Forum.  

UHD Spain, the association that promotes Ultra High Definition in Spain, has played a leading role in the world’s leading event on UHD, the 4K HDR Summit 2023.

In addition to holding its General Assembly in this framework, UHD Spain presented the results of its proof of concept with 5G and UHD technology, pioneer in Europe.

Last October, UHD Spain carried out a pilot test at the Real Observatorio de Madrid in which it managed to broadcast a concert by the singer Israel Fernández in UHD streaming with 5G technology. This is a pioneering test in Europe that developed a whole workflow from capture to broadcast

Miguel Ángel Cristóbal, project coordinator and CEO of SAPEC, was in charge of presenting the results to the accredited professionals at the event. In his words, the successful completion of this test highlighted the association’s year-long work: “This year’s acronyms should be UHD and 5G,” he said, “from this combination came this experiment.

The test aimed to assemble a UHD workflow with HDR-HLG from the camera to the user’s device, using 5G communications, edge and cloud processing, and all available broadcast media: DTT (DVB-T2), satellite (DVB-S2), Internet (OTT, HbbTV) and the new 5G Broadcast system, simultaneously.

Attendees were able to enjoy a ‘making-of’ of the process in the exclusive demonstrations area of the 4K HDR Summit and see the details first-hand. According to Cristóbal, “despite the difficulties, the workflow is possible to work in UHD with 5G“, a milestone that was one of the highlights of the event.

A key role in the development of this broadcast has been played by the member companies of the association, led by SAPEC, which has acted as coordinator and manager of the project and specialist in encoding. In addition, RTVE, Cellnex, Grup Mediapro, Canon and TVU Networks have actively participated in all phases. UHD Spain members Ateme, CCMA, Dolby, Gsertel, Fraunhofer IIS, Rohde & Schwarz, Televés, Vestel, Video-MOS, among others, have also collaborated. The broadcast was made possible thanks to the networks of Axion, Cellnex, Hispasat and Telecom CLM. Other companies such as Acromove, Qualcomm, Spiner and Transparent Edge have also collaborated in this test. The trial has also been made possible thanks to the support of the Secretary of State for Telecommunications of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, who has approved the use of the spectrum for the trial.

“A meeting point for companies and professionals”.

For his part, the president of the association, Pere Vila, participated as a speaker and took the opportunity to highlight “the uniqueness of UHD Spain”, which has taken on the challenges surrounding Ultra High Definition since its creation and has become “a meeting point for companies and professionals so that the experience acquired can be shared with the rest of society”.

Vila also gave a positive assessment of another of the most important new developments announced at the event: the date on which RTVE will start broadcasting in UHD on DTT, 7 February. Another breakthrough that indicates that “we are going in the right direction and that the work that has been done has not been in vain”.

Precisely for its tenacity in taking the definitive step towards UHD broadcasts, the association wanted to reward the work of the public broadcaster with an award that was collected by Ángel García Castillejo, Director of Audiovisual Policies, Public Service and International at RTVE, on behalf of the Board of Directors of UHD Spain. Víctor Sánchez, Director of Media and Operations at TVE, also took part as a speaker, explaining the technical details of this important milestone.

The work of the association throughout the year was also represented by the coordinators of the different working groups (Capture, Post-production, Broadcast, Receivers and Audio) who had the opportunity to present their progress and what they have been working on during the season.

International projection

UHD Spain is clearly committed to establishing synergies with international analogue associations. Within this framework, the Board of Directors of UHD Spain met with the president of Ultra HD Forum Italy, Tonio Di Stefano and the Chair of the Interop Working Group of Ultra HD Forum, Ian Nock.

Thanks to these meetings, a common objective is established, to promote Ultra High Definition, and on the other hand, we learn from the work developed by other associations It is precisely this learning and spirit of collaboration that has been the essence of the association since its inception, which aims to continue to grow on an international level.

About UHD Spain

UHD Spain is a non-profit association created on 26 January 2021 to promote Ultra High Definition (UHD) in Spain. There are currently 39 associate members: ADM, Agile Content, Ametic, Ateme, Atresmedia, Axión, Canal Sur, Canon, CCMA, Cellnex, Cires21, COITT, Dolby, Egatel, Fenitel, Forta, Fraunhofer, Gradiant, Gsertel, Henneo, Hispasat, Hurí, Lavinia, Mediapro, Medina Media, Optiva Media, Rohde & Schwarz, RTVE, Sapec, Synamedia, Tedial, Telecom CLM, Televés, TRedess, TVU Networks, UPM, Uteca, Vestel and Video-MOS.

Among the founding partners is the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, in particular with professors and researchers from the E.T.S. de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación who have been working on UHD issues since 2015 through the RTVE Chair at the UPM. It should be noted that only five countries in Europe have professional associations on Ultra High Definition: Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain.