International. The broadcast of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Ultra High Definition (UHD) through La 1 UHD has marked a milestone in the history of free-to-air television in Spain.
This commitment by RTVE has been a great step forward in the quality of television broadcasts in Spain, as it has been the first time that an international sporting event has been offered in UHD on a free-to-air channel over DTT.
RTVE will present at the tenth edition of the 4K HDR Summit all the details about its UHD-4K deployment free-to-air through DTT. The public channel will be represented by José Luis Muñiz, Director of Production and Media; Víctor Sánchez, Director of Media and Operations of RTVE and Ángel García Castillejo, Director of Audiovisual Policies, Public Service and International of RTVE.
It will be at this annual meeting, "Where technology and content have time to talk", which will be held in a hybrid format with two face-to-face days (Monday 11 and Tuesday 12) at the Nissan Cartuja Auditorium and two virtual days (13 and 14), where RTVE will break down in detail everything that the coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in UHD-4K quality with High Range gave of itself at a technical and production level Dynamic (known as HDR, High Dynamic Range) and with immersive audio in Dolby Atmos through La1 UHD.
New era of DTT in UHD quality
It was precisely the broadcast of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Ultra High Definition through La1 UHD that served RTVE to "demonstrate that free-to-air television operators, and specifically public broadcasters such as Radio Televisión Española, are capable of making efficient use of the UHF band (its viability has been questioned by some who aspire to its management), to offer not only a better service, but the best Ultra High Definition television service, with surround sound," says Ángel García Castillejo, one of the representatives of the public corporation at the 4K HDR Summit.
"We are starting a new era in digital terrestrial television, in the open television of our country, with Ultra High Definition broadcasts and 4K quality of a live event", advances García Castillejo, who is proud that Spain has been "the first country in the world capable of offering a signal in Ultra High Definition in free DTT and with a coverage of 99% in regular broadcasts".
This television milestone will allow other operators such as Mediaset or Atresmedia to join in 2025 so that citizens can access audiovisual content with UHD quality, openly, freely, free of charge and without restrictions. "That is the challenge", says Ángel García Castillejo in view of the new Technical Plan for DTT, who anticipates that in the not too distant future "100% of the television offer in Spain in open will be available entirely in Ultra High Definition".
RTVE's commitment to UHD
Since the beginning of regular broadcasts of La1 UHD in February 2024, the public broadcaster has managed to ensure that Spanish viewers enjoy sharper images, with more details and more vibrant colors, significantly improving the visual experience through its screens. And most importantly: with coverage of more than 99% of the Spanish population, free-to-air, without subscriptions, free of charge and for all citizens, RTVE has established itself as a corporation that is at the forefront of the audiovisual industry.
The broadcast of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in UHD-4K quality has managed to put Spain on the world map of 4K and demonstrate its international leadership in terms of Ultra High Definition transmission through DTT.
In this way, the use of DTT channels, the operation of the mobile unit and continuity management, as well as the broadcasting of UHD content are some of the key aspects of the ambitious project that RTVE will present at the 4K HDR Summit, a benchmark event on Ultra High Definition (UHD) technology and content.
The conferences of the 4K HDR Summit 2024 can be followed on 'El Observatorio', by Medina Media Events and will be available 24/365. On this platform, attendees can also schedule video meetings with other participants and speakers, in addition to having 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, Axión, Mediakind, Ateme, AJA, Hispasat, Quantum, Cellnex, Eutelsat, Rohde & Schwarz, Canon, Sapec, AEQ and UHD Spain, among others.
