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

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...

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 | ...

15/07/2026

SIMBA powers new streaming delivery network with Broadpea...

Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...

15/07/2026

DHD Introduces Discovery Utility for Network-Connected Au...

DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration. Anyone w...

15/07/2026

BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026 Breaking t...

BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...

15/07/2026

S&P Analysis: Three Quarters of Americans Watch Live Sports

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

Scripps Sports, Ion Score Women's Volleyball Rights

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

NVIDIA Introduces New Jetson Thor Computers to Advance Mainstream Robotics and Edge AI

General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...

15/07/2026

NVIDIA and Japan Bring Full-Stack AI and Robotics to Every Industry

Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and iconic gaming companies, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI ...

14/07/2026

Bowling Green State Upgrades Doyt Perry Stadium With New Daktronics LED Display

South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...

14/07/2026

Mizzou Athletics Launches Connected Digital Platform

Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...

14/07/2026

DePaul Athletics, Playfly Sports Agree to Multimedia Rights Partnership

Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...

14/07/2026

American Association Expands Broadcast Reach Through FanDuel Sports Network Partnership

Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...

14/07/2026

Euroleague Basketball Introduces Euroleague Basketball+ Digital Ecosystem Initiative

New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...

14/07/2026

Professional Fighters League, ESPN Reach Multi-Year Media Rights Deal for Brazil

ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...

14/07/2026

TEGNA Names Scott Gill VP of Technology and Operations

Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...

14/07/2026

Guest Post: Dynamic Media Facilities Could Reshape the Future of Broadcast Workflows

Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) As broadcasters con...

14/07/2026

Bayerischer Rundfunk Debuts Fully Software-Defined SMPTE ST 2110 Radio OB Van Built Around Lawo Technology

Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...

14/07/2026

Scripps Sports, ION Secure U.S. Rights to 2027 FIVB Womens Volleyball World Cup

Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...

14/07/2026

FloSports Lands Exclusive U.S. Rights to IIHF Mens World Championship Beginning in 2027

FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...

14/07/2026

Minnesota Lynx Add Three Games to KARE 11s Over-the-Air Schedule

Victory+ telecasts to be simulcast on TEGNA-owned station, expanding free local distribution...

14/07/2026

CBS Atlanta Adds a Noon Newscast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

Tegna Names Scott Gill VP, Technology and Operations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...