HPA 2016: Broadcasters—HDR Yea, 4K Meh

TVTechnology.com reports that high dynamic range or Ultra HD? That was the first question put to the annual broadcasters panel at the HPA Tech Retreat Wednesday. Matthew Goldman of Ericsson once again moderated

HDR vs. UHD
Skip Pizzi of the National Association of Broadcasters said there was no NAB consensus viewpoint, but that “generally anecdotally,” there appeared to be more bang for the big with HDR versus 4K.

“Especially with 4K upconversion at the set,” he said. “HDR has the most ‘wow’ factor for the consumer, and we figure high frame rate in sports.”

HDR increases visibility of motion artifacting and thus makes a case for HFR in fast-motion imagery such as sports.

Sinclair’s Mark Aitken noted that if a media facility has just “spent a boatload of money on a 3G plant, you’re not going to suddenly build a 12G plant for UHD. HDR does give a noticeable enhancement to consumers…. HDR 60P 1080p certainly is an enhancement that consumers recognize.”

Mario Vecchi of PBS said that without a real business case to increase the capacity of the PBS plant, including storage, “it’s going to be a real difficult decision to make.” HDR, he said, seems to be “a low-hanging fruit.”

Robert Siedel of CBS said the network was testing it.

Read more at http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0002/hpa-2016-broadcasters-hdr-yea-4k-meh/277969