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David Katzmaier/CNET
The BBC will broadcast three World Cup matches in Ultra HD, but sadly the public won’t be able to get in on the action.
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The trial is designed to help the Beeb figure out how it will approach the advent of 4K definition, which offers roughly four times as many pixels as standard 1080p. TVs capable of handling 4K footage are already on sale, but as yet there’s next to nothing to watch on them in that high resolution.
The 4K matches will be viewed at a number of BBC research and development locales, in a dry run that’s been organised with BT and infrastructure company Arqiva.
The live 4k footage will be beamed to the UK from Brazil, then decoded and sent — via broadcast and broadband infrastructure — to a number of normal 4K TVs sets in BBC facilities.
BBC research and development controller Matthew Postgate said in a statement, “The trials will prove hugely valuable in furthering our understanding of UHD technology, and potential distribution models for the future, as well as providing real benefits for licence fee payers in the near-term.”
