RTVE-UPM Cátedra will shortly make history when for the first time it broadcasts live 8K content via DVB-T2 DTT.
The broadcast will be a first for RTVE-UPM Cátedra, the joint research project run by the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and the Polytechnic University of Madrid. In 2021, the organisation became the for first to broadcast 8K content on DVB-T2.
The live broadcast will be based on full UHD 8K, Phase-2 content, captured at high quality, and then distributed on an 8 MHz bandwidth UHF multiplex. This means that not only will a 7,680 x 4,320 pixel resolution signal be transmitted. All the benefits of UHD will also be implemented: High Dynamic Range (HDR), Wide Colour Gamut (WCG), High Frame Rate Refresh Rate (HFR) and next-generation NGA audio.
Spanish technology company SAPEC is developing an 8K encoder built on equipment developed by Cisco. The initiative stems from a collaboration agreement between RTVE-UPM Cátedra and the US company signed at the Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona.
“The 8K live broadcast will be a new milestone for the Spanish broadcast industry, which will once again demonstrate that it is not afraid to continue exploring the path of innovation,” said Miguel Ángel Cristóbal, CEO of SAPEC.
The live DTT 8K broadcast will take at the Official RTVE Institute, where the technical description of the pilot and the live demonstration of the initiative will be held.
