DPP: UHD to be

mainstream by end of
2017
25 February, 2016 | By Will Strauss
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/dpp-uhd-to-be-mainstream-byend-of-2017/5100864.article
BVE 2016: The tipping point for Ultra High Definition (UHD) adoption in the
UK will be the end of the 2017, the DPP (Digital Production Partnership)
has calculated.
Speaking at BVE in London, during The DPP guide to 2016: 3 things that could
make this year a game-changer, DPP managing director Mark Harrison told the
assembled audience that the key components of available content, agreed
standards, production readiness and cost neutrality plus TV-set uptake should align
by the fourth quarter of 2017.
By that point, the UHD work that will have started in 2016 will have become
mature in both the consumer and broadcast markets, he said.
Industry standards still need to be ratified but this will be done by early 2017.
Evidence from the consumer market around uptake suggests that there will be
enough people with UHD TV sets by the end of 2017. This also gives enough time
for commissioning cycles to generate the UHD content.
The estimate was based on the conclusions of the DPP at Home, an invitation-only
DPP Members discussion event.
Other predictions suggest that by the end of 2017 any producer seeking to make
content in UHD will find it straightforward to identify production and craft talent
who were familiar with the format.
The point at which the cost of producing in UHD will be cost neutral the same as it
is currently in HD - could also be late 2017, it was estimated, but that could take
until the end of 2018.
Harrison was also quick to highlight High Dynamic Range (HDR) as an important
component of the UHD adoption as, unlike additional resolution, wider picture
contrast is commonly considered to be beneficial irrespective of display size or
viewing position.

A significant portion of the audience agreed with this point via a show of hands.
The movie industry is very excited about HDR, opined Harrison. In the same way
that 4K entered the general parlance, HDR will enter the public lexicon through
cinema first.
He added that if there is, as predicated, a UHD content take-off in late 2017 then
the UHD plus HDR content tipping point will probably be more like mid-2018.
The DPP published an industry-agreed common file delivery standard for UHD
programmes in January.
The DPP guide to 2016: 3 things that could make this year a game-changer
seminar took place in the Post Production and Workflow Theatre at BVE at Londons
ExCel exhibition centre on Wednesday 25 February 2016.