For the latest in 4K workflows, one had to look no further than the show floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center last month. From FOR-A's FT-ONE 4K super-slow-motion camera to Evertz's Dreamcatcher to Sony's breathtaking consumer displays and every workflow component in between, 4K was the star of NAB 2013.
At last week's FutureSPORT Summit in New York City, leading manufacturers of 4K production tools discussed their products and more that are paving the way for the production format.
From left: FOR-A's Jay Shinn, Canon USA's Larry Thorpe, Sony's Hugo Gaggioni, Evertz's Vince Silvestri, and FUJIFILM's Thom Calabro
A lot of media customers are interested in this technology, said Jay Shinn, Northeast account manager, FOR-A. [At NAB], they already had some knowledge of what 4K could bring to the table so they were happy to see other products emerging in 4K besides just the camera, from us as well as from other manufacturers. It was quite encouraging to see continued interest.
However, with interest comes a barrage of questions, and inevitable comparisons to the transition to HD.
Larry Thorpe, senior fellow, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Professional Engineering & Solutions Division, Canon USA, noted the difference between the introduction of 4K and the launch of HD: this time, consumer products and production tools are appearing at the same time. The products are rolling out almost simultaneously, and that did not happen with HD. There was a 10-year gap between early HD production equipment and [when] the consumer-electronics industry joined in, and that made the transition to HD long and painful.
Of course, he continued, the transition to 4K may still be painful (and not everyone has the room or the resources for an 80-in. display), but the sheer number of products shown at NAB 2013 was encouraging.
Also encouraging is the accessibility of 4K. Although complete 4K workflows are still a way off, broadcasters are finding ways to integrate 4K technologies into HD productions.
I think the eye-opener is when you say you can use 4K now in an HD production and augment and enhance that HD production, said Vince Silvestri, VP of software systems, Evertz. We showed some of the things we're able to do with [Dreamcatcher slow-motion replay technology]: zooming, panning, scanning stuff and fit it right into your production and tell the story.
As the major networks have demonstrated, 4K technologies can be integrated into HD workflows and will continue to be a key production tool for sports events.
[There are] three major sporting events in the coming years: the Confederation Cup this coming June, the World Cup next July, and the Olympic Games [next winter]. All these events will be pushing 4K very aggressively, said Hugo Gaggioni, chief technology officer, Sony Broadcast & Professional Solutions Division. We have been developing equipment to support fully a complete production in 4K.
When it comes to producing full end-to-end 4K workflows, however, the rules of HD may no longer apply. Producers and directors need the opportunity to experiment with 4K technologies now to see which HD techniques work and which need to be adapted. Through experimentation, creatives can also provide feedback to manufacturers for future technology iterations.
[What you need] to do a game whatever the game is all in 4K with today's restrictions is a new choreography, said Thorpe. My personal belief is, if you're going to have 4K [and] have the large screens, why not open up the angle of the lens? Why do we need to zoom as much as we do today? Perhaps we don't need to switch as fast as we do between 20 cameras; maybe we switch between seven or eight cameras.
At several times during the FutureSPORT Summit, experimenting with 4K was likened to a science experiment. Manufacturers have long focused on their specific cogs in the 4K workflow, requiring end users to take a mix-and-match approach to integrating the format.
All the ingredients aren't quite there, so it is a bit of a science project from lenses to fiber to routers to the infrastructure to make this thing hum, said Shinn. I see a lot of scientists trying to make all the pieces work together like they used to [with HD]. But it's coming together. Within the next 12 months, I think that process will be much more commercial than it is today.
If 4K workflows are to go mainstream, they need to be streamlined. Beautiful images aren't enough; production teams need both speed and ease of use to tell their story.
Speed is the most important thing, said Silvestri. If they're struggling to tell the story, if the guys can't create fast enough, then it adds a lot of friction.
The future of 4K may be up for debate, but the panelists vehemently agreed on one thing: 4K will not face the same problems that hindered 3D.
3D was quite unique in its shooting, in how it was seen or not seen in the home. It was always a problem because, until quite recently, you'd need active glasses. You also had a host of problems, [including] angle of view, said Thom Calabro, director, marketing and product development, Optical Devices Division, FUJIFILM. No, I don't think we're going to see the same issues with 4K as we did with 3D. I think [4K] will come; it's certainly in Hollywood, for sure. They've embraced it, and I don't think there's any looking back.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
For the latest in 4K workflows, one had to look no further than the show floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center last month. From FOR-A's FT-ONE 4K super-slow-motion camera to Evertz's Dreamcatcher to Sony's breathtaking consumer displays and every workflow component in between, 4K was the star of NAB 2013.
