NAB Show made it clear this year that high-definition imaging technology already has its replacement. Also, that there are still a few years of definitions on the technology and cost reduction so that it can be massified.
By Annette Denys
Without a doubt, the protagonist of this year's NAB Show was 4K technology. Most of the companies presented developments in this regard, but the doubt was also present if the broadcast industry is prepared to assume this natural evolution of the image in its production schemes.
The main conclusion is that there is not a company that has currently developed an entire workflow in 4K under the same brand. To achieve all the work in 4K today, it would be necessary to bring together technologies from different companies and it would be necessary to solve the issue of transmission to consumers and televisions for them, because today they have a very high cost.
In this regard, the representative of the company For A, Pedro Silvestre, said that we are at a critical moment in which the broadcast industry will be able to take advantage of useful applications of 4K that cinema has been using for some years.
Another company that stood out for the developments in this area was Canon. At its stand, in addition to presenting its cameras, the company dedicated itself to explaining in a technical and didactic way how 4K technology works and how it can begin to be recorded with 4K cameras and sending to HD workflows.
Available technology
The question that many asked themselves during the fair is whether today there is a complete workflow for broadcast companies that want to produce in 4K. Various opinions for and against.
Genaro Arroyo, one of Canon's representatives, explained to TV Y VIDEO that the company's intention at its stand was for broadcast companies to understand what the benefits of starting to incorporate 4K equipment into their production and how to successfully combine them with their current systems.
"The workflow for 4K is now available. The problem is that it requires a very high investment to be able to count on the equipment that can receive this technology, because they cost a lot of money. We are also developing monitors in 4K, today we have a prototype of professional monitors for production. We want to bet on the camera, lens and monitor for 4K," he added.
For his part, Pedro Silvestre said that today some minimum aspects are missing for an optimal functioning of a system based on 4K technology for television, although it is expected that in a year the industry will have solved it. For A was introducing its cameras and switches for this technology.
Panasonic has a different view on the subject. According to Bruno Velotti, the company's marketing coordinator for Latin America, there is no complete workflow for 4K in broadcast, which is why his company's efforts are concentrated.
"The other brands are developing 4K technology in terms of cameras, but once they have the video taken, they don't consider the workflow to be able to use this video. Therefore, Panasonic is focused on the development of this point and then continue with a 4K camera. We are also betting on the 2/3 segment, which many are leaving aside," he said.
Its list of products presented at the fair was focused on the development of codecs for 4K and cameras that allow working with these codecs, as well as professional monitors based on the latest technology.
Bruno Velotti mentioned, that they are also working on a prototype of a 4K capture camera that is in the development stage, as well as storage media, because this format requires a greater capacity that is not yet offered in the market.
Obviously all new technologies have a high cost and 4K is no exception, but as their systems are developed and massified, costs will fall, both for producers and consumers.
Sports, the first
For the next World Cup to be held in 2014 in Brazil, rumors are insistent about the Globo network, which would be planning to make the production of some of the matches based on this technology.
In addition, Sony recently announced that for the next Confederations Cup, which will also be played in Brazil in June this year, it will test production and broadcast in 4K live format of three of the matches of the tournament in partnership with Fifa. Although unfortunately this production will not be open to the public.
To achieve this purpose, they will have the first mobile production unit exclusively for 4K technology in the world that will be facilitated by Telegenic, a production company based in the United Kingdom. Testing across the entire workflow will allow Sony to determine the resources, personnel and technical requirements to ensure the best possible experience for viewers and obviously track its developments in this field.
The representatives of Canon and For A, agree that some of the most benefited with 4K technology for broadcast will be those who are dedicated to the production of sports. Although there are still no transmissions, recording the video in this format will allow you to make digital zoom and have details of the games with very good quality images.
"Today they can not send 4K to homes, but those who record sports in this format can make a digital zoom of 600 and up to 800%, obtaining images of very good quality, compared to HD that could not exceed 300% because it begins to look blurry. And all that can be done by recording in 4K but using the current equipment for HD while changing the entire system, "said Genaro Arroyo.
Other benefits
Canon also showed at its NAB booth how its 4K cameras are favoring the work of print media. Genaro Arroyo explained that with HD the images were two megapixels and printing a detail was blurred. Now with 4K the images are recorded images of 24 frames per second at eight megapixels.
This takes on a more important value if one takes into account that many print media for their digital version also publish videos of the news. With 4K, they would no longer have to send a photographer and a cameraman to cover a news story, as the video could cover the work of the two.
Leave your comment