Travelxp 4k, the world’s first 4K HDR channel, will launch on Astra (19.2° East) on December 13, 2017, targeting the customers of German DTH platform HD+.
The pay-TV channel offers a 24-hour schedule with Ultra HD programmes in HDR comprising, for example, documentaries about different cultures and exotic locations from more than 40 countries.
Travelxp 4k will initially broadcast in English language with German-language content to be added from early 2018.
HD+ customers can receive the channel without extra charge. Besides Astra satellite reception, the precondition is an Ultra HD TV set supporting the HDR format Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) used by Travelxp 4k. Viewers also need an HD+ reception device with an HD+ subscription.
Travelxp 4k will also be available to Sky Deutschland subscribers signed up for HD+. The channel will broadcast on the frequency 10.994 GHz H (SR 22,000, FEC 5/6). MX1, the technical services subsidiary of Astra satellite operator SES, will manage the playout and satellite uplink for the channel.
“The launch of Travelxp 4k in Germany via satellite shows that Ultra HD is gaining ground in the country. Travelxp 4k is the eighth UHD channel to be transmitted by Astra satellite in this market,” said Christoph Mühleib, managing director of Astra Deutschland and responsible for marketing Astra and MX1 services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “MX1 has been part of the development process from the very beginning, contributing its broad expertise. We are extremely pleased to be launching the first UHD HDR channel in Germany and managing the HDR rollout of Travelxp 4k.”
After UHD1 by HD+, Travelxp 4k will be the second Ultra HD channel on HD+, the German DTH platform operated by SES. Currently, almost half of the TV sets sold in Germany are Ultra HD models.
Travelxp 4k first became available in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa on Hot Bird (13° East). The channel commenced test transmissions on the Eutelsat satellite system in January 2017. On October 1, 2017, the regular, encrypted serviced launched on Hot Bird.
[UPDATE] March 1, 2018 Travelxp 4k has launched its German-language soundtrack today, available exclusively to HD+ customers.
