Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

BT Sport Shows Live 8K Rugby Demo at IBC

21/09/2019

BT Sport shows live 8K rugby demo at IBC By David Fox

Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - 14:11

Print This Story

BT Sport staged a demonstration at IBC of a live 8K broadcast to showcase what we think is coming next, said Jamie Hindhaugh, BT Sport's chief operating officer.

They had actually wanted a multi-camera production (with perhaps three or four cameras), but could only get one, an Ikegami SHK-810, as they are in such short supply and needed for testing in Japan ahead of the Olympics.

But, even getting a single camera transmission together was difficult, as there is a dearth of 8K equipment. For example, they couldn't find a suitable live graphics system anywhere, so Moov, which is the main graphics provider for BT Sport, had to build a graphics system especially for the demonstration.

The production, Premiership Rugby 7s from Franklin's Gardens, Northampton, was a normal UHD event, with 14-16 cameras, being broadcast by BT Sport, so they could also intercut with other cameras during the demonstration. The 8K camera was placed beside camera one, to give a great view of the rugby.

Fujinon provided the 8K PL-mount lens, Blackmagic Design its Atem Constellation 8K vision mixer, Appear TV the encoding and decoding, and Leader the 8K scope, with the signal carried over BT's broadcast network to the Rai in Amsterdam. There were also Blackmagic DeckLink 8K Pro cards in the graphics engine.

BT Sport used a conversion system from Astro Design to take the contribution signal from four 4K SDI quadrants through to the HDMI 2.1 input required by the 85-inch Samsung screen. The only thing that let us down was that last box in the chain, which couldn't switch on the HDR signalling [in the Samsung], but you can't force the TV into HDR mode, said Andy Beale, BT Sport chief engineer. The signal was at a 59.94 frame rate.

The single-sensor (Super35mm size) camera outputs Ikegami's own Dual Green SHV format using 3:1:1 sampling, going via SMPTE to the CCU. It comes out octo-3G, to allow the use of 3G infrastructure. It then went in to the Atem using quad 12G.

Hindhaugh thinks BT Sport can roll out some 8K production without actually launching 8K TV.

BT Sport COO Jamie Hindhaugh (left) and chief engineer Andy Beale at IBC this week

It will just be available generally under the BT Sport Ultimate banner. Indeed, that is one reason it rebranded its 4K service as Ultimate, because it's the ultimate viewing experience on whatever device you are viewing on, he said. It is now aiming to deliver whatever the best that a set or device (handheld or otherwise) can handle, so that consumers aren't faced with confusing resolution choices. Ultimate is available on a lot of different platforms already, from PlayStation and Xbox to OTT.

We master in the best format you can have and it's only constrained by your connectivity, added Beale.

He feels that 8K as a consumer format is currently further away than 4K was when we first looked at it in 2014, so the demonstration at IBC was more about what is currently possible and next they will look for opportunities to take it further. They also wanted to see what people thought of the results, and we wanted to push the envelope, he added.

BT has already started working on virtual reality in 8K, which Hindhaugh hopes to be able to offer next year, replacing its current 4K 360 service. In reality, 4K VR gives sub-HD images on the phone, added Beale, but an 8K sphere means it can actually deliver much higher resolution at less than half the bitrate, thanks to tile media encoding. This sends just what people are looking at and the immediate surrounding tiles in high resolution. It's a really compelling use case for the encoding, he said.

BT Sport is also looking at using a single 8K camera to replace a few key cameras at an event, and then taking various 4K images as crops, but it is also thinking about offering some pubs or clubs a big screen experience with the full 8K image - even if replays have to be upscaled.
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/bt-sport-shows-live-8k-rugby-...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

16/07/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Kaden Sherman, Albany State University

This recent graduate and Georgia native has turned an early fascination with live production into a growing passion for camera work In the live-sports-video in...

16/07/2026

TNDV Marks First Year of Aspiration 35 Cinematic Production Truck

TNDV is marking the first anniversary of Aspiration 35, a mobile production truck built around ARRI Alexa 35 Live camera systems. Over its first year, the truck...

16/07/2026

ATSC Releases First Major Revision to A/85 Audio Loudness Recommended Practice Since 2013

ATSC has completed a major revision to its A/85 Recommended Practice: Techniques...

16/07/2026

FloSports Named Exclusive Global Media Partner for 2026 CrossFit Games

FloSports has announced an exclusive global media partnership with CrossFit for the 2026 CrossFit Games, presented by Air National Guard, beginning July 21 in S...

16/07/2026

Sennheiser Releases Spectera Firmware 1.4 and Command Button

Sennheiser has released firmware version 1.4 for its Spectera wireless system and announced the Spectera Command Button (Cat. No. 701014). The update adds comma...

16/07/2026

ESPN and Southwestern Athletic Conference Announce Multi-Year Media Rights Agreement Through 2030-31

ESPN and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) have announced a multi-year...

16/07/2026

Audio-Technica Releases 20 Series Control Application for Elgato Stream Deck

Audio-Technica has announced the 20 Series Control Application, a Stream Deck plug-in for compatible Audio-Technica USB microphones. The application is compatib...

16/07/2026

SSL Live L550 Plus Consoles Power Audio Production for The Voice France Season 15

The fifteenth season of The Voice - La plus belle voix on TF1 used four Solid St...

16/07/2026

Gray Media and Atlanta Hawks Announce Georgia-Wide Broadcast Partnership for 2026-27 NBA Season

Gray Media and the Atlanta Hawks have announced a broadcast partnership that wil...

16/07/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Quarterback Showrunner Joe Zucco on Cinematography, Building Trust, Carrying On the NFL Films Legacy

Season 3 of Netflix's docuseries, which dropped this week, follows Jayden Da...

16/07/2026

Texas Rangers Switch Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Partner to BZZR

The Texas Rangers and Rangers Sports Network presented by Progressive (RSN) have announced BZZR as the new direct-to-consumer distributor for Rangers game broad...

16/07/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026: BBC Sport on Moving Across the Pond to Bring the Atmosphere of the Final Matches to Fans

With England's FIFA World Cup 2026 team getting ready to fly home after losi...

16/07/2026

With 36 Unilateral Cameras, NBC Sports Shapes 154th Open Championship Coverage for U.S. Viewers

In a return to Royal Birkdale, the team enjoys partnering with ETP and Gravity M...

16/07/2026

Altitude Sports & Entertainment's Tim De Lay on New SkyCam Digital Feed, Upgraded Studio Space

Along with a new studio at Ball Arena, the Colorado-based RSN is working with XR...

16/07/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026: Inside ORF's Austria-Based Production to Bring All the Emotions of the Tournament to Fans

Austria was back at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, and the team d...

16/07/2026

Inside Gravity Media's Effort To Power the 154th Open Championship Production

With 42 RF cameras and high-power radio mics deployed, the spectrum environment ...

16/07/2026

The Gauge: Poland | June 2026

June brought stabilization to the television market. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes a day in front of their TV screens exactly the same as i...

16/07/2026

New studio monitoring leads Glensound's 60th year line-up...

Glensound returns to IBC with a major new addition to its intelligent loudspeaker range, the Greater Divine Supernal studio monitor, alongside recent developmen...

16/07/2026

Complete spectrum of innovation from British exhibitors a...

33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...

16/07/2026

Hitomi Broadcast to showcase HDR colour verification and...

Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...

16/07/2026

SMPTE Kicks Off 110th Anniversary Campaign

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/07/2026

Cox Media Group Taps Waymark for AI Ad Creation Tools

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/07/2026

Parks: Cable Broadband Sub Losses Slow Down

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/07/2026

CatchLight, Sony Launch Initiative to Help Local Newsrooms

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/07/2026

XR Launches XR ONE Ad Ops Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/07/2026

Zixi and Comcast Technology Solutions Partner to Provide...

Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...

16/07/2026

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App Brie Clayton July 15, 2026 0 Comments Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...

16/07/2026

XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage Interfaces

XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...

16/07/2026

Sharpen the Sword, Skip the Downloads - Onimusha: Way of the Sword' Is Coming to GeForce NOW

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming to GeForce NOW at launch, with the playable...

15/07/2026

Inside DAZNs Multi-Market World Cup Effort With CTO Sandeep Tiku

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...

15/07/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Qumulo's Chris Horn on Powering Global Media Workflows Across Edge, Core, and Cloud

As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...

15/07/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026: Inside the HBS Non-Live London Production Hub

HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...

15/07/2026

IBC2026 to Spotlight AI, Live Sports Production, Creator Economy, and Trust in Media

IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...

15/07/2026

Vanessa Paradis Tour Adopts Sennheiser Spectera Wireless Ecosystem for 2026 Production

Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...

15/07/2026

Telos Alliance Integrates AudioShake Source Separation Into Minnetonka AudioTools Server

New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...

15/07/2026

AIMS Schedules Second IPMX Product Certification Event for August

Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...

15/07/2026

Force Tech Appoints Bryan Adams as Vice President of Integration

Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...

15/07/2026

USA Sports and Bundesliga Announce Exclusive Multi-Year U.S. Media Rights Agreement

USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...

15/07/2026

Inside ITV Sport's Stunning FIFA World Cup Studio in New York City With Paul McNamara

ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...

15/07/2026

CatchLight, Sony Launch Equipment Initiative for Local Visual Journalists

Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...

15/07/2026

CornerstoneSF Installs FOR-A HVS-Q12 Switcher in New UHD Production Facility

San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...

15/07/2026

Steve Bornstein Joins Advisory Board of Scott Cokers New Global MMA Promotion

Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...

15/07/2026

Space City Home Network Executive Producer John Valek on Leaning Into Innovation, Access, and Opportunity

The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...

15/07/2026

FCC to Vote on Replacing National Broadcast Ownership Cap

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

ATSC Updates Industry Audio Loudness Guidance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

GigaCloud and Cubbit partner to deliver sovereign and res...

GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...

15/07/2026

SMPTE Launches 110th Anniversary Campaign to Advance Its...

SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...

15/07/2026

STUDIO TECHNOLOGIES UNVEILS MODEL 762 STEREO LEVEL CONTRO...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...

15/07/2026

COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried

COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried Brie Clayton July 15, 2026 0 Comments Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...