2018 FIFA World Cup: Intelsat, Globo Provide 8K Video from Brazil
Intelsat will partner with Globo to demonstrate live 8K video transmissions in Brazil for the 2018 World Cup.
Beginning June 15 and running through July 15, content will be broadcast as part of an exhibition at the famous Museu de Amanhã, Rio de Janeiro’s innovative science museum. The transmission of 8K content to the Brazilian venue will provide the finest clarity, stunning color, and viewer experience available. That’s due to the fact that 8K has double the resolution of 4K and 16 times the resolution of full HD. By watching the World Cup match in 7680 x 4320 pixels compared to the typical 1920 x 1080 pixels available in HD video, fans will feel as if they are in the stadium.
The 8K signal will be transmitted as a 200 Mbps video stream at the International Broadcast Center in Moscow and transported to Tokyo. It will then be carried to Intelsat via the Intelsat point of presence in New York. The signal will be transmitted on the IntelsatOne terrestrial network to Intelsat’s teleport in Atlanta, Georgia, where it will be re-encoded at 90 Mbps using a special NTT 8K HEVC real-time encoder. Once the video is compressed, it will be modulated by a Newtec MDM-6100 modem in DVB-S2 and then uplinked to Intelsat 14, the company’s emerging HD video neighborhood in Latin America known for its HD and 4K content distribution.
“From HD to 4K and now 8K, Intelsat 14 is the premier, new neighborhood to ensure that viewers across Latin America have access to affordable, exciting, and breathtaking content that provides them with the most immersive viewing experience for premier sporting and entertainment events,” says Rob Cerbone, Intelsat’s Vice President and General Manager, Media. “While 8K technology is still evolving and further advancements in compression technology standards are needed, Intelsat’s premier video neighborhoods have proven that they are equipped to distribute 8K content to millions of viewers around the world. Since our founding, Intelsat’s satellite solutions have been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to content distribution and with this 8K demo, fans will be able to experience the match as if they are on the field with their favorite players.”
Intelsat 14 is the company’s latest Latin American video neighborhood, joining Intelsat 11, Intelsat 21 and Intelsat 34 and further expanding Intelsat’s media distribution leadership. The company’s video neighborhoods have become the top picks for content owners for distributing top-tier sports, entertainment, news, and education programming for more than 93 million viewers. Intelsat currently delivers 77 of the 100 most-watched channels in the region, with nearly 150 channels distributed in HD.