SMPTE Symposium to Feature 4K/UHD Demo
By | October 16, 2013
The verdict is still out on whether consumers will adopt 4K/Ultra HD, but that doesn’t stop anyone from dabbling in it. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) will showcase 4K/UHD equipment in collaboration with consulting firm Insight Media during the SMPTE 2013 Symposium Oct 22 -24.
The demo features various image processing and scaling engines and their ability to produce 4K/UHD content from lower-resolution sources, as well as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) codec demos to showcase the quality possible at various bit rates for delivery of 4K content. Participants will include vendors like Altera, Canon, Cisco, Colorfront, Elemental Technologies, Quantel, Rovi, Samsung, Sony, and Video Clarity.
The demo is designed to help address the concern that the current dearth of 4K native content might prevent the rollout of 4K products and services. A demonstration of the HEVC codec — and its ability to offer high quality at low bit rates — will offer a possible solution for the delivery of 4K content not only within production facilities, but also to the home. In addition, a team from Canon, Colorfront, and Quantel will showcase live and file-based 4K production workflows.
"The SMPTE Symposium’s 4K/UHD demo area offers visitors a unique opportunity to see just how well the latest scaling and encoding technologies deliver 4K content, and to assess the quality of native 4K and processed content side by side on a variety of the latest 4K displays," said Barbara Lange, executive director at SMPTE. "With this valuable perspective on the maturity of 4K-focused technology, content providers will be much better positioned to make strategic decisions about their own approach to 4K implementation and service offerings," said Chris Chinnock, president of Insight Media.
