German satellite broadcaster tests broadcasting football match in 4k

The German satellite channel Sky Germany has broadcast a football match end-to-end in 4k for the first time. Although it was an internal test, an existing receiver was used to receive the 4k stream. It is unknown when users will be able to receive the 4k content.

The football match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund is according to Sky Germany the first football match to be successfully streamed end-to-end via 4k. Six cameras recorded the match in 4k resolution; four cameras were still running at 1080p, but those images were upscaled to 4k.

The images were encoded with the new high-efficiency video coding standard and were transmitted at 50 frames per second. During the test, Sky used a Technicolor receiver to receive the images. Previously, Sky already recorded a football match in 4k resolution, but that match was not broadcast in that resolution.

It is unknown when Sky will send consumers images in 4k. In any case, the satellite broadcaster plans to do so, but according to director Brian Sullivan, ‘a number of things will still have to be done’, according to director Brian Sullivan. In September, Sky Germany said it has plans for a set-top box that can receive 4k images.

Although manufacturers are making progress with 4k televisions, 4k images are still scarce. Netflix has started streaming House of Cards in 4k resolution. The Super Bowl, the final of American football, was also broadcast in 4k.