Geneva, 7 September, 2011 - The EBU, at IBC2011 stand 10.F20 has been showing an unprecedented live 1080p/50 end-to-end signal chain from camera, contribution and final distribution to set-top boxes and display.

Quality has become a key commercial factor for broadcasters since home displays have grown larger and consumer expectations higher. While 4k and 8k formats may still be some years off, an economically feasible answer for now is to migrate high quality productions to a FULL-HD 1080p/50 master format. The EBU demonstration at IBC2011 proves that the industry is ready to supply all the components for this 1080p/50 migration.

The demonstration involves a live picture being originated at the ARD Sternpunkt building, in Frankfurt, Germany, and sent via satellite and fibre to a display at the EBU Village, at the IBC in Amsterdam.

In Frankfurt a 1080p/50 studio camera (GV LDK 8000) produces the live 1080p/50 signal. To provide a comparison, a Snell Alchemist Ph.D. downscales the 1080p/50 source format to a second 1080i/25 signal. Both signals are sent via the EBU FINE contribution links to Geneva (AVC/H.264 encoded at 38.5 MBit/s video bit rate) using a Fujitsu IP9610 encoder. EBU Eurovision Geneva then uplinks both signals to Eutelsat W3A (2 x 24MHz).

At the EBU Village in Amsterdam, the incoming signals are presented on two Dolby PRM4200 reference monitors. In addition, the incoming 1080p/50 contribution link is re-encoded at 12Mbit/s AVC/H.264 L4.2 (8bit, 4:2:0) and DVB-S2 modulated at the EBU stand. The broadcast 1080p/50 signal is then decoded as it would be in the home by a Broadcom SoC STB platform.

1080p and broadband

The EBU is also demonstrating two currently prominent 1080p/50 internet video codecs. EBU Village visitors can judge for themselves which codec they prefer in terms of streaming quality via the internet to tablets or to their computers.

In essence, 1080p/50 is the true Full-HD format, and offers many advantages:

• The 3G infrastructure supports not only 1080p/50 but also stereo 3D signals, which means installations are multipurpose.
• It is an excellent master format that optimizes many genres, particularly sport.
• It enables easy support of existing 1080i/25 and 720p/50 broadcasts, and for some broadcasters it might even be an option for delivery to the home without needing a greater bit rate than that required by 1080i/25 broadcasts.           

The EBU 1080p/50 demonstration was developed by EBU intern Jens Fischer as part of his Master's thesis, under the direction of Dr Hans Hoffmann, Head of Media Fundamentals and Production Technology at the EBU Technical Department in Geneva and Prof. Dr. Hedtke, of the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences.

The demonstration is supported by:

ARD; Ateme; Broadcom; DOLBY; Eurovision; Fujitsu; Grass Valley; HR; MBF Filmtechnik; NuMedia; Penta Studio Technik; Snell; Symposium; VideoClarity; VideoR; Visuals; Wellen&Nöthen; Westend Film&TV Production; WIGE Media AG.

Note to editors:

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
The EBU Technical Department is a reference point for industry professionals seeking clarity amid the hype. Its objective is to build leading communities of industry professionals and bring tangible benefits to its Members, the public service broadcasters. Through its work on HDTV; efficient production technologies; 3DTV; access services; HBB on radio and TV and loudness, the EBU is a pioneering driving force in media innovation. http://tech.ebu.ch/

The EBU serves 85 national media organizations in 56 countries in and around Europe. It represents its Members and promotes the values and distinctiveness of public service media in Europe and around the world. The Eurovision and Euroradio networks deliver news, sports, events and music to EBU Members and other media organizations. Services to Members range from legal advice, technical standardization and development to coproduction and exchange of quality European content.  For more information about the EBU: www.ebu.ch and www.eurovision.net/