Martin Ornass-Kubacki, VP and chief regional officer of SES in CEE, looks at the prospects for Ultra HD services in CEE.
Ultra HD is not just the “wishful thinking” of manufacturers and satellite operators. Rather, it is a trend that animates an entire ecosystem of content producers, equipment manufacturers and indeed satellite operators and its popularity will definitely grow.
However, this ecosystem is always struggling to present the end consumer with the best quality picture and if one of its elements were to fail – as was in the case with 3D, where the wearing of glasses made the technology user-unfriendly – it will not work.
Some people may ask why do we need a new Ultra HD format? Surely, what we now have on the market is good enough.
Yet once someone has seen 4k content they will not entertain the idea of going back to SD or even HD. I remember around 2004 when we, at SES Astra, put the first HD demo channels on our European prime orbital position at 19.2 degrees East. I was faced with some sceptical opinions from colleague broadcasters in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia but over time it became clear that HD was a must have. Now, we even have operators like Orange Romania launching their DTH platforms with 42 HD channels (and 74 SD) from day one.
I am absolutely convinced that Ultra HD has a similar future. At SES Astra we already have eight Ultra HD channels, four of which are available FTA in Europe. They are regular broadcast channels, not just demo ones with programming running in a loop.
Everybody in the CEE region can now watch a fashion, a general entertainment and a shopping channel in Ultra HD quality if they have an Ultra HD screen and antenna pointed to Astra 19.2 degrees East.
It also now looks like satellite is the only infrastructure which is prepared for the Ultra HD experience: it has nearly unlimited bandwidth, no problems with the last mile and covers an entire territory irrespective of whether it encompasses big cities, high mountains or remote areas.
So, what are the prospects for Ultra HD specifically in CEE? As was the case with the transition from SD to HD, it is a process that will take time.
Nevertheless, reception devices are already available and the first commercial channels, including the eight from SES Astra, up and running, with the number likely to multiply in the next 2-3 years.
Ultra HD will certainly succeed more quickly in some markets than others, with many broadcasters in Western Europe, especially France, Germany and Spain, already leading the way.
However, there are already three commercial Ultra HD channels – pearl.tv, Insight UHD and Fashion 4k – available on Astra satellites and in the CEE region we have conducted tests with the Czech and Slovak public broadcasters, along with members of the UHD Forum.
Put simply, if an ecosystem has been created, end consumers will ask for Ultra HD. Moreover, DTH operators need to differentiate from each other and other infrastructures, and Ultra HD channels provide them with the perfect answer.
