• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SEENIT

TV, Film, Broadband, Pay-TV, Games, Computing & Tech | News, Comment & Reviews

  • NEWS
  • UPCOMING BLU-RAYS
  • ADVERTISE

BBC iPlayer to stream Planet Earth II footage in Ultra HD

December 8, 2016 - Martin Hoscik@seenituk

Four minutes of Sir David Attenborough’s acclaimed natural history series Planet Earth II is now available to stream in Ultra HD via the BBC iPlayer.

Available on compatible TVs, the footage will be available in Ultra HD and Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) and mark’s the BBC’s first public UHD broadcast. The corporation will use feedback to help decide how best to stream full-length Ultra HD programmes in future.

The BBC says the inclusion of HLG is “central to the trial” as it sees the technology as an integral part of future Ultra HD programming. Where Ultra HD improves image quality by increasing the number of pixels in a TV set, HLG takes this one step further by providing better quality pixels.

Developed by BBC R&D and Japanese broadcaster NHK to address the complex needs of TV broadcasters, HLG works by enabling images to be shown in extremely high contrast. This provides greater sharpness, extended detail in the shadows and dark areas of the picture, a wider range of colours, and more natural and brighter highlights and mirror-like reflections.

Dan Taylor-Watt, Head of BBC iPlayer, said: “The extra quality HLG brings to Ultra HD needs to be seen to be believed. It’s still early days for the technology but this experiment puts us in the best possible position once audience demand is there.

“This year we’ve brought live events like the Euros and Olympics to iPlayer, introduced new personalised features and now we’re giving people a glimpse of what the future may hold.”

Phil Layton, Head of Broadcast & Connected Systems, BBC Research & Development, said: “Increasing the dynamic range of TV images makes a huge difference to how real the images appear to viewers – it’s closer to looking through a window than watching a standard TV set.

“Crucially, HLG works with existing TV technology and workflows making it ideal for broadcasters, and audiences, all over the world.”

Due to the nature of the trial using cutting-edge technology, the test footage will only be available on a small selection of the latest TVs. A full list of compatible TVs will be published later today here.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Tagged With: Streaming

RECENT ARTICLES

Apple TV+ releases first images from conspiracy thriller Constellation

TNT Sports confirms UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington pricing and coverage plans 

ITVX releases trailer for epic Arthurian series, The Winter King

Amazon Prime members can now get discounted cinema tickets every month

UPCOMING BLU-RAY RELEASES

The Celestial Toymaker – BBC reveals trailer for animated reconstruction of classic Doctor Who story 

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One gets release date 

Sergio Corbucci’s Django is getting a new 4K Blu-ray release 

Tom Selleck’s Quigley Down Under is getting a Blu-ray release 

POPULAR

BBC Sounds gains multi-room listening on Echo and other Alexa powered speakers

Paramount+ UK is now available on Hisense Vidaa Smart TVs

UK’s free broadcasters team up to create Freely – a new streaming TV service 

Openreach calls time on new analogue copper phone line installs 

ADVERTISE ON SEENIT

We’re pleased to offer a number of advertising opportunities to high quality brands including sponsored content, competitions and advertising placements.

Please contact us for details.

 

TOPICS

Audio Blu-rays and DVD Cinema Gaming Guides Sport Streaming Telecoms Television

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · Contact Us · Copyright · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy