Nine hundred thousand Sky+ Pro Ultra HD receivers had already been deployed as of the end of last year in Germany, according to Stephan Heimbecher, Director Innovations & Standards – Technology, Sky Deutschland.
In a wide-ranging presentation of where the company now stands 18 months after its Ultra HD launch in autumn 2016, he said that the roadmap had started with the first test in December 2012.
He added that although the 2016 launch was satellite-only, the Ultra HD service was also made available on Deutsche Telekom’s IPTV network last year and more recently on all major cable networks this January.
Since then, there has also been an Ultra HD HDR end-to-end test showing the Europa League in February.
Yet despite this, Heimbecher spoke of the consumer confusion on Ultra HD that still exists in Germany. He was also sceptical about the prospects for Higher Frame Rate (HFR) despite it being, in his opinion, a step forward.
Heimbecher in addition said although Sky Deutschland is behind with Sky Q compared to other Sky markets, launching it is “an important step we will next take”.
Expanding on HDR, Heimbecher said that there are 6 million Ultra HD displays in the German market, 50% of which were sold last year. Almost all those sold last year (90%) were HDR ready.