Is Europe really betting on 4K? The answer, at the 4K HDR Summit in Seville

• Spain and France are leading the implementation of Ultra High Definition (UHD) in Europe, deploying terrestrial channels to bring it free to homes, while Germany and Italy have slowed down its deployment
• Spain already has a national channel, La1 4K, which broadcasts the programming of La1 in Ultra High Definition, and in 2025 other public and private channels may be added to consolidate Spanish leadership in this new technology in Europe
• The French public broadcaster France TV, with the collaboration of the multinational Ateme, launched the first UHD DTT channel in France broadcasting the France International Tennis Tournament and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for the whole country
• Seville, from November 11 to 14, will bring together the world’s UHD experts on the occasion of the X edition of the 4K HDR Summit, which this year also coincides with the 21st edition of the Seville European Film Festival

The future of UHD in Europe, according to experts, is bright, but its speed of deployment will depend on a combination of several factors such as advances in telecommunications infrastructure, the development of more content in resolutions generated in 4K and 8K, as well as decreasing costs, both for devices and access to streaming services.

The deployment of Ultra High Definition (UHD) by Europe and all that is to come around this evolution in the audiovisual experience of consumers, will be central themes to be addressed in the 4K HDR Summit, “Where technology and content have time to talk. All the answers about Europe’s commitment to 4K will be given in Seville, which will once again become the annual epicenter of the international audiovisual industry from November 11 to 14 during two days in person (Monday 11 and Tuesday 12) at the Nissan Cartuja Auditorium and two virtual ones (13 and 14), coinciding with the 21st edition of the European Film Festival of Seville.

The present, the future and the applications of the most advanced technology (UHD/4K, HDR, 8K) will become the central themes of this summit that annually brings together the main companies, institutions, associations and personalities of the global audiovisual industry.

Speakers include European experts such as the Director of France TV, Jacques Donat-Bouillud, and Mickaël Raulet, CTO of Ateme, the French global leader  specialized in the development of technological solutions for the compression, transmission and distribution of high quality video, as well as the ARD (consortium of public broadcasters in Germany) and RAI (Italian public broadcaster), also representing the UltraHD Forum Italia association, among others.

France TV and Ateme, at the forefront of UHD in France

Mickaël Raulet, Ateme’s CTO, will explain at the 4K HDR Summit all the work being carried out by this company, which together with France TV launched in February 2024 the first UHD DTT channel in France. Two of the major sporting events developed in France such as the France International Tennis Tournament and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were broadcast for the whole country in 4K quality, including all the audio capabilities of the next generation.

One of the most benefited actors in the promotion of UHD is the viewer, who sees his experience improved thanks to the automation of content, the implementation of virtual assistants or the analysis of consumption patterns offered by Artificial Intelligence, one of the main axes on which the X edition of the 4K HDR Summit will revolve.

This launch became an important milestone in the evolution of terrestrial television in the country, as French viewers were able to enjoy significantly improved picture quality, with greater sharpness and more vibrant colors thanks to 4K resolution and the use of advanced technologies such as HDR (High Dynamic Range).

However, Ateme’s work does not stop there, as it is already working on “the next generation of video services beyond UHD”, as Mickaël Raulet says that “UHD continues to be a trend in the EU market and more and more countries are adopting UHD for DTT distribution”.

This is the example of Spain, the leading European country in the deployment of UHD, which has already launched channels in this higher quality format both in its national public television, which already broadcasts La 1 in 4K, to which other public channels and private television channels such as Antena 3 and Telecinco are expected to join in 2025.

In this context, Ateme will take advantage of its presence in Seville to exhibit immersive experiences of video consumption through the Apple Vision Pro with which it intends to “attract new generations of audience and new consumption habits”. It is an immersive experience that combines Extended Reality (XR) capabilities that enable new experiences combining data and video for live and recorded events.

Is there UHD momentum in Germany and Italy?

Countries such as Germany and Italy continue with their development of Ultra High Definition, although still without significant progress due to a “slowdown of work in this area because of the coronavirus”. This is the opinion of Stephan Heimbecher, head of production and infrastructure of the ARD Competence Center and chairman of the EBU‘s ‘Intelligent Media Production’ Strategic Program, who says that the development of UHD in Germany “has been a little parked”, although for some time now “efforts have been made to revitalize the subject”.

For its part, Italy will be attended by Tonio di Stefano, director of networks and platforms at RAI and president of the UltraHD Forum Italy. Italy’s leading public broadcaster has been investing in the adoption of Ultra High Definition as part of its strategy to improve the quality of its broadcasts and stay at the forefront of audiovisual technology, although it has not yet been able to launch a channel in UHD quality with DTT content broadcasts.

It has carried out several experimental transmissions in UHD in recent years, particularly during major sporting and cultural events, but the transalpine country still has work to do in this area. For the time being, RAI has exclusively UHD demo channels to give the public access to high-quality content, both on terrestrial TV and satellite platforms.

The conferences of the 4K HDR Summit 2024 can be followed on Medina Media Events’ ‘The Observatory’ and will be available 24/365. On this platform, attendees can also schedule video meetings with other participants and speakers, in addition to exclusive virtual demonstrations.

The tenth edition of the 4K HDR Summit is organized by Medina Media Events and has the support of the Digital Agency of Andalusia (ADA), Dolby, MOME, Vicomtech, Canal Sur Radio and Television, EVS, Synamedia, Fraunhofer IIS, Axion, Mediakind, Ateme, AJA, Hispasat, Quantum, Cellnex, Eutelsat, Rohde & Schwarz, Canon, Sapec and UHD Spain, among others.