BT Sport and Samsung teamed up at the Emirates stadium to deliver the UK’s first live 8K broadcast
One of the concerns about 8K has been the lack of content to watch in the format. BT and Samsung have been working on a solution to that, and last night they went ahead with the UK’s first live broadcast in 8K by showing the UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie between Arsenal and Olympiacos.
Related: What is 8K?
Using a Sony 8K camera that costs in the region of a $500,000, BT Sport were able to beam an 8K signal from their outside broadcast set-up to a Samsung Q950R 8K QLED TV in the stadium.
Trusted Reviews was there to witness the occasion, and the broadcast passed by without any issues. We watched a significant chunk of the action on the 8K that afforded plenty of detail and clarity to the proceedings, although the match didn’t fare so well for the home team.
BT Sport and Samsung have been working together over the past few months to bring this to reality, having conducted a test last year in 8K but in SDR. The Europa League tie was the first in 8K HDR (HDR10), and played on the QE82Q950R at 50 frames-per-second.
It follows Samsung’s push to make 8K TV more common place and feeds into BT Sport’s track of innovation, which has seen them deliver VR production, Dolby Atmos sound and regular programming in 4K HDR with BT Sport Ultimate.
And this test is just the beginning. BT Sport is looking to bring 8K programming to its service in time for the 2020/21 season. It’ll be included as part of the BT Sport Ultimate package, which will serve the best picture and sound quality depending on your set-up.
So, if you want the best experience BT Sport can offer, it may be high-time to start considering an 8K TV. With the new range of TVs set to hit next month, it’s looking as likely that some of them will priced much more affordably, and closer to premium 4K sets than before.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.