As you probably already know, DTT is in full evolution. And, if we look to the future, we can expect to find a 4K DTT signal that will be broadcast through 5G connections. The good news is that a test has already been carried out in Spain and the results have been excellent.
Spain is much more at the technological forefront than you can imagine. This is something that UHD Spain has shown us on numerous occasions. The last one was just this week with the presentation of the results of a test in which they retransmitted television with a UHD-HDR signal in combination with NGA audio. To achieve this, they have taken advantage of 5G networks.
A year of hard work
This test, of which they presented results this week, was carried out in October 2023. It was the result of investing all year in research and work with 5G technology. Once all the possibilities had been explored and the pertinent studies and analyzes had been carried out, the objective set was ambitious. They wanted that, using any type of broadcast media, from DTT (DVB-T2) to Internet (OTT, HbbTV), satellite (DVB-S2) or 5G Broadcast, they could establish a UHD HDR-HLG broadcast.
The intention was for the signal to come out of the camera and be sent to the user device being used on the other side. This signal transmission would be carried out not only with the 5G network, but also with other options, such as the use of the cloud or through Edge processing. In addition, not only would a maximum quality signal be sent, but it would be accompanied by a sound that would be on par, given that it was a Dolby Atmos track. Therefore, it was not exactly a simple project. However, the long preparation that UHD Spain had carried out throughout the year, as well as the efforts of its specialists in a test as important as this, ended up giving positive results.
Pushing the limits
This is one of the first practical studies that have covered, within the sector, so many different components and elements. They say from UHD Spain that their mission was to verify the results that combining two advanced technologies such as UHD and 5G would have, since it is obvious that they are destined to have an increasingly greater presence in the lives of users. To do this, they chose a concert by Israel Fernández, which was broadcast live in an experience that, at the time, was also shared with users who wanted to participate live in this milestone.
At the same time, if this successful test has also demonstrated something, it has been the importance of networking and collaborations between specialized entities from different sectors. After all, more than 20 companies collaborated in making this UHD experiment through 5G successful and putting Spain, once again, on the front pages of international news. They declare that they recognize that they have “moved at the limit of technology, on the edge of the precipice”, as indicated by Carmen Pérez, from RTVE.
RTVE
@rtve
Israel Fernández with @radio3_rne
Radio 3 Extra and UHD Spain carried out a pilot test at the Royal Observatory of Madrid in which a concert by singer Israel Fernández was broadcast in streaming in UHD with 5G technology
https://t.co/n5RB4jETyNJanuary 25, 2024 • 1:31 p.m.
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Among the companies that have participated in this initiative are Canon, whose cameras have been used, Dolby, in charge of sound, or TVU Networks, which has provided its cloud technology. They all agree that the most important thing about this test is to have demonstrated that the retransmission of the 4K DTT signal through a 5G connection or using technology such as the cloud is possible. That puts this system in the foreground so that it can be considered as a reality to be adopted in the near future. In the case of 5G Broadcast receivers, the forecast is that they will be available between 2025 and 2026.
However, the system is not yet completely ready. It has already been confirmed that the retransmission process is viable in public IP networks, although the focus is on the use of the cloud so that it improves in order to provide fully efficient support for the use of UHD-HDR. But, in general, we look to the future with great optimism and knowing that it is already a proven technology that has been seen to work and that it can provide very high-level results.
