BBC to trial ultra-HD live broadcasts during World Cup

BBC Research and Development has announced that it will trial ultra-HD broadcasts during this year’s FIFA World Cup.

The closed trials will cover all of the three World Cup matches being produced in UHD by FIFA TV from the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro – one from the last 16, a quarter final and the final – marking the first time live UHD coverage will have been delivered simultaneously over digital terrestrial television (DTT) and Internet Protocol technologies to the home.

The live UHD streams will be tranmitted from Brazil by satellite to the UK where they will be decoded and distributed, via existing broadcast and super-fast broadband infrastructure, to a number of compatible consumer UHD TV sets in selected research and development facilities.

BBC R&D will work closely with strategic research partners, major consumer electronics vendors and technology providers to explore key areas of research in the delivery of live UHD content over broadcast and broadband networks.