TeamCast contributes to UHDTV Phase 2 within the 4EVER-2 Project

DTT and satellite application digital modulation technologies specialist TeamCast has significantly contributed to the progress of definition and validation of UHDTV-Phase 2 through the 4EVER-2 project.

As a follow-on from the collaborative 4EVER Project, which worked on UHDTV Phase 1 – i.e. 4K ultra high definition images, HEVC encoding and end-to-end production, from 2012 to 2015 – the 4EVER-2 Project has aimed to explore further components relating to UHDTV Phase 2 – namely High Dynamic Range (HDR), High Frame Rate (HFR) and advanced Audio.

The nine 4EVER-2 partners have worked not only in the laboratory with subjective testing, but also on real-life applications, including end-to-end production of live experimental programmes. The results from the project have formed significant contributions to the international UHDTV ecosystem: standardisation bodies, industrial forums, consumer and professional equipment manufacturers.

The achievements of 4EVER-2 include: World Premiere live production of a hockey match, using UHD-TV HFR at 100 frames per second and Dolby AC-4 audio, in April 2017; a NAB Technology Award, received at the NAB Show 2016 for UHDTV HDR and HFR demonstrations over ATSC3.0; several live UHDTV Phase 2 retransmissions of opera performances; and the shooting of a short movie in UHDTV Phase 2.

Most of these UHDTV programmes have been locally or widely broadcast over satellite links or terrestrial transmitters using TeamCast’s DVB-S2X or DVB-T2 modulators.

“Among the nine French partners involved in the project, we were most honoured to support the project on the broadcast side, leading the work on satellite content contribution, plus satellite and terrestrial content distribution, thus demonstrating the feasibility of UHDTV broadcasting with the latest HEVC encoding and S2 or T2 modulation techniques,” says Eric Pinson, Business Unit Manager at TeamCast.