«Tricolor TV» First in Russia to Launch the Ultra HD TV Channel Package

The largest Russian pay-TV operator was among the first in the world to broadcast the 4K Ultra HD TV channel package.

On November 15, 2015 «Tricolor TV» has started to broadcast the Ultra HD package, which included two new ultra high-definition TV channels: TRICOLOR ULTRA HD and INSIGHT UHD. Subscribers of «Tricolor TV» will get the access to movies and documentaries, as well as sports and entertainment programs broadcasted in 4K at no extra charge.

The channels of the package are broadcasted at 3840×2160 resolution with the image transmission rate of 50 frames a second. For comparison: SD TV channel resolution is 720×576, and HD TV channel resolution is 1920×1080. The HEVC/H.265 coding standard is used for compression of digital video.

Alexey Kholodov, Chief Communication Officer, Tricolor TV, We have coincidentally launched 4K TV channels in November 2015, in the days of celebration of the 10th anniversary of the company. The start of full-size HDTV broadcasting is a beginning of a new decade of activities of «Tricolor TV» and a new age of the Russian digital TV market. 

TRICOLOR ULTRA HD is a 24/7 4K movie channel launched by «Tricolor TV» for the mixed audience 16+. Full length movies, made both in Russia and abroad, will be primarily shown on this channel. Genre movies will be a major part of the content. 3 original exhibitions a day and repeated exhibitions of the content of two previous days will make the core of the broadcast schedule. Number of hours of the content to be purchased: 100–140 movies a year.

The INSIGHT UHD TV channel (company TERN, the Netherlands) distributed by 1HDTV is targeted at the 18 to 45 audience. Innovative documentaries, reality shows, extreme travels and sports, interactive projects are main trends of its content. INSIGHT UHD took the place of the ULTRA HD 4K pilot TV channel regularly broadcasted by «Tricolor TV» since October 22, 2014. 

Nikolay Orlov, General Director of 1HDTV, One of the main tasks of the television business is to move with the times, to be at the forefront of the worldwide progress in the industry. This project meets the requirements of current users to the maximum extent possible. It is important for us that «Tricolor TV», the largest Russian operator, our long-term partner, is the first to launch the channel. We shall open a new page in the history of pay-TV together.