SES & Samsung claim Astra satellite UltraHD live broadcast first

Satellite operator SES and electronics giant Samsung are to deliver what they call the world’s first live UltraHD concert broadcast from the Astra craft at the 19.2° East neighbourhood.

Rapid TV News reports the companies’ respective technologies will be used to show the Linkin Park concert on 19 November at the O2 World in Berlin.

It will be available exclusively on the Astra UltraHD demo channel, HEVC-encoded at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, 50 frame per second and a colour depth of ten bits. The live broadcast will begin at 9pm CET and can be received with Samsung 2014 UltraHD screens. SES Platform Services, a subsidiary of SES, will manage the encoding of the content.

“We are honoured that Samsung has chosen to work with SES to broadcast a live concert exclusively on our demo channel, as this demonstrates Samsung’s faith in our satellites and our technical capabilities,” said Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer at SES. “The successful broadcast of a live concert will mark another milestone in the development of the UltraHD ecosystem and power the way for more live content to be broadcast live via satellite in the coming years.”