DVB Organization Adopts 4K TV Broadcast Standard

The DVB Steering Board has adopted a new dvb standard for uhdtv. The dvb-uhdtv phase 1 standard offers a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels for TV broadcasts and an improved color depth of 10bit.

The new DVB standard is intended for both satellite broadcasts and TV stations that want to broadcast broadcasts in UHDTV quality via cable or terrestrial broadcasting. The hevc codec was chosen instead of the h.264 codec. This codec is on average twice as efficient and is used by Netflix, among others, for its 4k content.

UHD images, with a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels at 60Hz, have an improved color depth of 10bit in the dvb-uhdtv phase 1 standard, Techradar reports. Current DVB standards still offer 8bit and HD resolutions up to and including 1080p. Several broadcasters worldwide, including the BBC, are already experimenting with 4k broadcasts based on technology similar to that enshrined in the standard.

The dvb-uhdtv phase 1 standard will be sent by the DVB Steering Board, which includes more than two hundred companies, to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to make it an official ETSI standard. In a possible second phase of the standard, even higher resolutions and refresh rates may be specified, possibly in combination with a new codec.

Despite the adoption of a new DVB standard, its implementation will take some time. UHDTVs currently on the market do not yet meet the standard. One possible option is to buy a new decoder. These should be on the market from 2015.