1. Will Law, Chief Architect, Media Division, Akamai
4K and UHD
Will Law, Chief Architect, Media Division, Akamai

2. 4K ≠ UHD

3. “UHD is the art and science of reproducing reality”
Eric Grab - Neulion

4. Ultra High Definition video represents an improvement in quality in 7 different areas
Size
Color
HDR
FPS
COD
ART
Sound
UHD
Spatial resolution
Dynamic range
Component coding
Sound Systems
Color
Range
Temporal resolution
Compression
artifacts

5. Size

6. The NHK STRL results – how far do you sit from your TV ?
10ft back from your TV, you need a
116 inch TV to appreciate UHD resolution

7. Wider Color Gamut

8. Componment Coding – Color Depth
10-bit color
1,024 shades of primary 1,073,741,824 total colors
8-bit color
256 shades of primary 16,777,216 total colors

9. Dynamic Range

10. HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE
Dynamic range in MPEG is defined as the ratio between the minimum and maximum luminance of the video signal
HDR video intents to offer a wider dynamic range, closer to the capacities of the human vision

11. Frame rate
Higher frame rate increases perceived quality

12. Higher frame rate has other quality benefits
Large displays – viewers susceptible to flicker in wide FOV The balance between sharpness and judder – a higher frame rate allows greater production shot freedom.
OPEN
motion blur
OPEN
strobing
Solution – higher fps
OPEN

13. Compression Artifacts
HEVC makes UHD transmission possible at internet rates
Coding tree blocks – Credit: Fabio Sonnati

14. Sound – nothing makes a picture look better than good sound!
A movement towards interactive, scene-based, spatial and object based encoding

15. DVB released UHD-1 Phase 1 specs
THE DVB UHD ROADMAP
DVB released UHD-1 Phase 1 specs
Source : Thierry Fautier (Harmonic)

16. THE UHD ECOSYSTEM COMPLEXITY
Five different working groups for HDR » EBU / DVB » ITU / DOLBY / BBC / PHILIPS / TECHNICOLOR » SMPTE » MPEG » BLU-RAY
UHD Alliance vs UltraHD Forum
Five different working groups for HDR :
EBU and DVB working on recommendations for live broadcast
ITU collaboration with Dolby, BBC, Philips and Technicolor
SMPTE specifications for production
MPEG works on HEVC evolution for HDR, expected results in June
Blu-Ray finalizing HDR specs
Netflix and Warner annonced plans to leverage HDR

17. 4K TVS Second generation TVs start to ship Eight major actors
U.S. market situation & forecast » 2014: 1% of U.S. homes in 4K* » 2015: 4** to 6* millions shipments » 2016: 10% of U.S. homes in 4K* » 2020: 50% of U.S. homes in 4K*
Europe’s year-end 2014 UHD ownership situation*** » Germany 1%, France & Spain 3%, UK 4% Sources : * Strategy Analytics 4K TVs Report 2015 ** CEA’s U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast 2015 *** SES 2014 Satellite Monitor research
Unit shipments of 4K UHD displays are projected to reach four million in 2015 (a 208% increase) in the US Source : CEA’s U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast
Samsung UN65HU Inch 4K Ultra HD TV

18. Can you stream UHD over the internet?
Akamai MediaClient
Hybrid TCP/UDP demo

19. QUESTIONS? THANK YOU Content credit to Nicolas Weil – Akamai
David Wood - Deputy Technical Director, EBU.
QUESTIONS?