Live from EURO 2016: Eight tournament matches produced in 4K UHD

For the first time in EURO history, eight matches – the opening, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final – are being offered as full 4K UHD productions. Fourteen 4K UHD cameras at each venue capture the match action in UHD, supplied by Telegenic, AMP Visual, ACS (4K helicopter), and TV Skyline (4K internal ‘beauty’ shot and Spidercam).

Telegenic and AMP Visual also provide the 4K OB trucks at the eight matches on behalf of UEFA HB, with Telegenic delivering six matches — three at St Denis, one at Lille & two at Marseille – and AMP Visual two matches in Bordeaux and Lyon respectively.

The 4K signal is distributed to the IBC through a redundant fibre network, and the signal is also distributed via satellite directly from the venues to Europe, with the fibre network backup to the satellite distribution. The European satellite will carry the ‘dirty’ feed and the clean feed is brought back to the IBC through the 70,000km fibre network delivered by Orange, on behalf of UEFA.

The live 4K UHD match feed starts at KO-15’ and ends at FW+5’. This feed is delivered as a quad HD-SDI 1080p 50 (3G) signal and there are ten takers worldwide for the UHD production. The clean feed brought back to the IBC also provides broadcast partners located there with the opportunity to embed own-language graphics onto the feed, in 4K UHD. These graphics are keyed synchronously with the multilateral graphics at the venue.

“This EURO is the first time we’re doing 4K, for eight matches,” said André Nel, UEFA’s Senior Broadcast Engineering Manager. “Here we have a double production, with both 46 HD cameras and 14 dedicated 4K cameras positioned at each stadium for the relevant matches. At the final UEFA will last further enhance our coverage with the addition of a fifteen 4K camera — a 4K high-speed camera delivering 500 frames per second.

“At EURO 2016 Eurovision are able to distribute the feed to our ten 4K broadcast partners, including Chinese, Indian and Brazilian broadcasters,” said Nel.

“Of course it means four times more satellite capacity, and four times the bandwidth from the venue to the IBC,” he continued. “It’s a double production, so is more complex to produce and distribute. But, as UEFA continues to drive broadcast and technological innovation, we have to deliver 4K at the EURO. It’s a must-have for us. And with the 4K signal we are also going to implement Dolby Immersive Audio, delivering an incredible sound experience to the listener as well.

“At UEFA we continually evaluate the latest technologies available to enhance our viewer experience and 4K UHD at the UERO 2016 provides us with the ideal opportunity to achieve these new exciting technological developments. Across the tournament we will also do remote 4K production, stitching, HDR and HFR tests for evaluation of these future technologies as part of our roadmap towards EURO 2020,” said Nel.