Switzerland’s national telco Swisscom will introduce an Ultra HD service on April 14, 2016.
Customers of IPTV platform Swisscom TV will be the first in Switzerland to be able to watch selected live games of the Euro 2016 European Football Cup on public TV channel SF zwei in UHD quality including the opening game and all matches from the quarter final onwards.
In collaboration with Swiss pay-TV broadcaster Teleclub, Swisscom TV will also show two games of domestic Swiss first-division football league Super League per week in UHD quality from the 2016/17 season starting in July 2016.
For reception, viewers need a new UHD TV box that can be ordered from Swisscom from April 14, 2016. The box also grants access to a video-on-demand (VOD) section with movies and documentaries in UHD quality. From the end of May 2016, the first live TV channels will be available in the new picture format.
The owners of the box will also soon be able to stream YouTube content in UHD. Through the integrated VLC media player, they can watch their self-produced videos, for example smartphone recordings, in ultra-high resolution.
New customers will receive the box when signing up for a Vivo package with Swisscom TV 2.0. Existing TV 2.0 customers can purchase the hardware for CHF119 (€109).
The box supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) which enables a more natural and better picture quality through higher contrasts and more colour depth. Customers also require an Ultra HD TV set and a minimum internet bandwidth of 40Mbps.
With the Ultra HD move announced in September 2015 Swisscom gets ahead of its arch rival UPC Cablecom which doesn’t offer such a service.
