Intelsat, BT and Ericsson to Bring Live Rugby to IBC2013 in True 4K Ultra High Definition Format

Demonstration will mark the first-ever live sports event carried via fiber and satellite for international transmission in true 4K UHDTV

13 September 2013

Intelsat S.A. along with partners BT Group Plc, Ericsson, Sony and Newtec, will demonstrate a true 4K Ultra High Definition Television (4K UHDTV), end-to-end video transmission over satellite to the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam during IBC2013. This milestone will mark the first time a full multi-camera production of a sports event has been captured in 4K UHDTV and transmitted live internationally via satellite and fiber. The demo will take place on Sept. 15, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Central European Summer Time) at the Intelsat stand (1.C71).

To make the transmission possible, BT will capture a premier league rugby match in London using three 4K UHDTV Sony cameras and mixers. The Ericsson AVP 2000 Contribution Encoders and RX8200 Advanced Modular Receivers, capable of 4K UHDTV operations as well as standard- and high-definition contribution, will encode and decode the four 3G-SDI feeds in real time.The demo will also take advantage of MPEG-4 AVC compression technology.

After the encoding process, the signal will be transmitted as a 100 Mbps video by BT's outside broadcast unit over the BT Global Media Network to Intelsat, via the Intelsat point of presence at BT Telehouse West in London. The signal will be carried on the IntelsatOne terrestrial network to Intelsat's teleport in Germany, where it will be uplinked to Intelsat 1W, Intelsat's leading cable and DTH video neighborhood in Europe, using Newtec equipment. The resulting 4:2:2, 10-bit, 4K UHDTV signal at 60 frames per second will be displayed in the Intelsat, Ericsson and Sony booths at IBC2013, allowing attendees to view the rugby match live.

"4K UHDTV video programming represents an opportunity for our programmer customers to offer compelling, differentiated content to viewers around the world," said Peter Ostapiuk, Intelsat's vice president of media product management. "The powerful Intelsat 1W satellite is uniquely positioned to bring such attractive content to the millions of cable and DTH viewers served by our leading European video neighborhood. Intelsat's demonstration of this technology emphasizes that satellite is, and will continue to be, a critical part of the global media distribution infrastructure, and underscores the importance of having a fully integrated terrestrial network such as IntelsatOne."

"We are excited to contribute our compression technology to this ground-breaking live demonstration of 4K UHDTV video contribution at IBC2013," said Dr. Giles Wilson, head of TV compression, Ericsson. "Compression solutions will be a critical enabler in the roll-out of 4K UHDTV services, helping to simplify the processes of content acquisition, exchange and distribution necessary to allow operators to deliver the highest possible video quality from remote, live events. Such demonstrations show we can already enable a truly immersive TV experience on today's large sets, including such requirements as p60 frame rates and 4:2:2, 10-bit resolutions."

"The BT Media and Broadcast MPLS/IP Network is traffic-engineered to a superior standard to support high bandwidth, live TV transmission around the world, and is ideal for these challenging 4K UHDTV sports broadcasts," said Mark Wilson-Dunn, vice president of sales and marketing for BT Media and Broadcast. "BT has a wonderful history of supporting the cutting edge of international HD and 3D transmissions, so we are delighted to be involved in this milestone - delivering true, live sport 4K UHDTV to the screens at IBC2013."

"This live transmission of premium sports content will underscore that Newtec's M6100 Broadcast Satellite Modulator can reliably process and transmit any content, ranging from low bit-rate standard definition content up to very high data rates for 4K UHDTV," said Steven Soenens, vice president of  product management at Newtec. "Our Clean Channel Technology(R), which will be used in this demonstration, gives very high transmission efficiency - up to 15 percent better than standard DVB-S2 - while preserving interoperability with professional receivers."

"We are delighted that Sony was invited to participate in this unique event as a technology partner," said Katsunori Yamanouchi, vice president, Sony Professional Solutions for Sony Europe. "Sony is strongly committed to bringing 4K's amazing viewing experience to consumers around the world. This, combined with our unique track record for innovation, makes Sony the natural choice for an event of this kind."