There are numerous offerings from the vendor community on the market today that can ease the transition to Ultra HD 4K video. The proof is in the pudding, so the saying goes, and here are some real-world examples of service providers on the front edge of high def video.
Videocon d2h, a fast-growing direct-to-home video provider in India, recently selected Cisco’s AnyRes Live UHD Encoders to launch its 4K-enabled Ultra High Definition viewing experience. This encoder solution from Cisco is capable of SD, HD, Full HD or Multi format ABR encoding using H.264 as well as H.265.
“Videocon d2h is bringing path breaking technology into the Indian homes through this wholesome experience of 4K Ultra HD using its 4K Ultra HD set top box and 4K Ultra HD Multi Genre Channel,” said Mr. Saurabh Dhoot, Director, Videocon Group. “We are the first in the country to provide this experience. The futuristic user experience will be eons ahead compared to anywhere else in the world. Keeping pace with the global market trends, we will continue to redefine the television viewing experience of our customers in India.”
Videocon was first to the plate in India, but not alone. Tata Sky has also launched 4K video service in India, with help from Ericsson. The compression technology integrated by Ericsson’s solution enables Tata Sky to achieve cost-effective and crucial bandwidth efficiencies while deploying new video services to meet ever increasing network and consumer demands.
In China, Huawei has teamed up with China Telecom Sichuan to debut the first Ultra HD 4K video service in the country. The service combines fiber broadband, a 4K ultra-HD intelligent smart set top box, 4K ultra-HD video capabilities, and a 4K ultra-HD network construction, and represents three years of collaborative development.
Ultra HD can also be streamed from the sky. Two service providers, Astra and DirecTV are already in the game. DirecTV has achieved notably innovation because it also offers 4K video-on-demand (VOD) from satellite transmission. DirecTV is the first multi-channel video provider to offer 4K VOD to its customer base.
Netflix, always at the forefront of video delivery, has been streaming Ultra HD 4K since February, 2014. To stream content at this resolution, customers need to have some fat, reliable pipes. Here is what Netflix recommends:
“To get the highest quality Netflix experience in Ultra HD 4K, we recommend available bandwidth of at least 20Mbps. This provides enough throughput for the stream, which is about 16Mbps, plus headroom for service variability.”
According to the most recent “Measuring Broadband America” report from the FCC, the average subscribed speed for broadband customers in the U.S. is 21.2Mbps. In other words, most customers in the U.S. have barely the bandwidth to support Ultra HD.
Romulo Pontual, Executive Vice President and CTO, DirecTV, believes that the 4K experience is compelling. “The picture quality and depth of detail that 4K provides is nothing short of remarkable,” says Pontual.
Some video providers and OTT players are already offering 4K, but adoption has been slow and will most likely continue at this pace in the near future.
“It will still be a few years before Ultra HD 4K TV is mainstream,” wrote Stephane Bourque, President and CEO, Incognito Software. “Although Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube have announced plans to stream Ultra HD 4K content, so far, 4K TV is off to a slow start.”
To deliver Ultra HD requires a combination of efficient encoding, compatible devices, and fat network pipes. The bulk of deployed technology in Ultra HD is in device, compression, and encoding. Encoding solutions help service providers achieve cost-effective and crucial bandwidth efficiencies while deploying Ultra HD 4K, and devices must support the format. Ultra HD devices are readily available. The reality is that bandwidth is the main limiting factor in 4K.
What does this mean for service providers? Investments in network infrastructure and capacity management now will likely pay huge dividends in the future, as delivering a superior Quality of Experience at a lower price will create true differentiation in the video market.