Digitürk and Eutelsat partner on Turkey's first Ultra HD (4K) demonstration channel

18 April 2013

Digitürk, Turkey's leading pay-TV platform has launched a dedicated demonstration 4K channel in partnership with Eutelsat Communications, one of the world's leading satellite operators. The ground-breaking broadcast, the first time 4K has been shown in Turkey, helps Digitürk lay the foundations for the next step change in television broadcasting.

The first broadcasts in Turkey took place on 2 April at Digitürk's headquarters in Besiktas, using content aired for the first time and transmitted via the EUTELSAT 7A satellite, home to Digitürk's pay-TV platform. Delivering a resolution of eight million pixels, four times the resolution of HDTV, Ultra HD (4K) is poised to mark the next big leap forward in the immersive viewing experience.

"Eutelsat is proud to be Digitürk's chosen digital satellite partner for almost 15 years and to embark on this new venture in 4K broadcasting," said Ali Korur, Eutelsat's Turkey, Middle East and Africa Manager. "Supporting the broadcast industry along its continuing path of innovation is a core part of our DNA. It was in this spirit that we launched demonstration HD and 3D channels as these formats and ecosystems took shape, and the same spirit is driving this new initiative."

Emre Uysal, Digitürk's Product Development and Broadcasting Systems Operations Manager, says that the establishment of the standards and infrastructure for 4K are now actively underway, underlining that Digiturk has the infrastructure and service capabilities required for 4K. "We have 4K capability as of now and aim to be ready for commercial broadcasts once standards of this ecosystem are finalised and consumer equipment is available in the market. This demonstration channel gives us a powerful platform to show the vivid experience afforded by Ultra HD and will enable us to build the broadcasting chain from content production to home viewing."