HISPASAT to broadcast soccer match live in Ultra High Definition in run up to World Cup

30 de Maio de 2014

HISPASAT's satellite capacity will make it possible for Portugal Telecom's MEO Ultra HD service to broadcast the Portugal vs. Greece match via satellite, from the national soccer stadium in Lisbon.

The footage will be sent out through MEO's satellite and OTT platforms at the event, to be held in the Portuguese capital's MEO Arena pavilion.

This will be the first time a live UHD satellite broadcast is made in Portugal and one of the first times worldwide.

Spanish satellite communications operator HISPASAT will provide satellite capacity for MEO Ultra HD’s live broadcast in Ultra High Definition (UHD or 4K) of the soccer match pitting Portugal against Greece this coming 31th of May. This match, in the run up to the World Cup to be held in Brazil this summer, will be sent out live from the national soccer stadium in Lisbon. The footage will be received at the Portuguese capital’s MEO Arena pavilion, through the satellite and OTT platforms of MEO, which is the home voice, data and television service brand of Portugal Telecom, the country’s leading mobile phone operator.

This will be the first time a broadcast of this kind is made from Portugal and one of the first of its kind worldwide. HISPASAT will make it possible to broadcast this sporting event in UHD using the satellite Hispasat 1E, located at orbital position 30º West. It provides the best technical services, using the smallest antenna size, both in continental Portugal and on the islands of the Azores and Madeira. In order to broadcast via satellite, HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) technology will be used at 50 fps (frames per second).

HISPASAT, a pioneer in UHD satellite broadcasting

Satellites are the ideal platform for developing 4K services, owing to their vast bandwidth, which is essential for high-quality transmission of the large quantity of information required by UHD. Indeed, UHD multiplies the resolution used in traditional high definition by four, as well as improving image sharpness, giving users an extra-high perception of quality.

Thus, HISPASAT has once again proven its commitment to distributing Ultra High Definition content, a technology in which this Spanish operator is true a pioneer. With proven experience in Europe and North Africa, HISPASAT has a permanent open channel available to the industry to facilitate the development of this new technology, “Hispasat 4K”. This channel has been presented at the most significant fairs in the business, for example the IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) held in Amsterdam in 2013 and the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) held in Las Vegas in 2014. In addition, the Spanish operator has played an active role in defining the satellite HEVC compression standard, about which it presented a demo at the IBC that constituted an industry milestone, achieving the first UHD broadcast at a speed of less than 20 Mbps. HISPASAT has also lead other pioneering experiences with technology manufacturers and providers of compression and decoding solutions, etc.

MEO will also broadcast the match in OTT using a self-developed UHD application. For this UHD broadcast, to be made on RTP (Portuguese Radio and Television), the Portuguese operator has worked together with the following technological partners:

-       Medialuso for image capture and UHD production,

-       Elemental Technologies for HEVC and DASH coding,

-       HISPASAT as a space capacity provider,

-       Samsung as a television and UHD set-top box provider.

About MEO

Launched in April 2008, MEO has today more than 1.3 million customers in the television service. Based on a logic of quadruple play through a truly converged fixed-mobile service including TV, internet, telephone and mobile phone, the M4O, MEO has in offering more than 200 television channels and thousands of titles in VOD being available in all screens through the MEO GO service! (PC, tablet and smartphone). It offers a set of advanced features such as TV Guide, Pause TV, Digital Recording, Channels subscriptions (directly on the TV via the remote control ), and High Definition content in 3D, MEO Kanal, Karaoke, Games and Music. Additionally to these features it has been added multiple interactive services, with direct access through the MEO remote control to interactive applications with unique content divided by theme. Being a pioneer in Portugal in the new converged telecommunications solutions, MEO is also the brand of Portugal Telecom's mobile network, which currently has more than 7.8 million customers.

About HISPASAT Group

The HISPASAT Group is composed of companies with a foothold in Spain as well as in Latin America, where its Brazilian affiliate HISPAMAR, sells its services. The Group is a leading Spanish- and Portuguese-language content broadcaster and distributor, including over important direct-to-home television (DTH) and high-definition television (HDTV) digital platforms. HISPASAT is one of the world's largest companies in terms of revenue in its sector, and the main communications bridge between Europe and the Americas.


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