INDUSTRY GIANTS RALLY UNDER 4K BANNER

Leading Hollywood studios, consumer electronics brands, content distributors, post-production and technology companies have announced the launch of the UHD (Ultra High Definition) Alliance.

The coalition, revealed at CES 2015 last week, aims to set the bar for next generation video by establishing new standards to support innovation in technologies including 4K and higher resolutions, high dynamic range, wider colour gamut and immersive 3D audio.

The UHD Alliance was created with the consumer in mind, providing information on Ultra-HD content and devices to deliver the best in home entertainment. The Alliance is also focused on helping people benefit from a seamless, integrated and high-quality Ultra-HD ecosystem from content to delivery, with premium Ultra-HD clearly identified for easy recognition in stores.

The Alliance was formed by global companies including DIRECTV, Dolby, LG Electronics, Netflix, Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Sharp Corporation, Sony Visual Product, Technicolor, The Walt Disney Studios, 20^th Century Fox and Warner Bros Entertainment (significant absentees at this point Paramount, Universal and Sony Pictures studios).

“As the UHD ecosystem continues to evolve, we are strengthening our commitment to high quality UHD content and devices,” said Samsung’s visual display business president Hyunsuk Kim. “The Alliance will encourage the development of high quality UHD content while distinguishing TVs that provide the most premium UHD viewing experience.”

“The innovative advancements and quality improvements with TVs are evolving rapidly, as seen throughout CES,” said 20^th Century Fox home entertainment president Mike Dunn. “The UHD Alliance will benefit consumers by identifying products and content that will give the true UHD experience.”

“These technologies allow us to utilise a much broader palette to tell our stories while providing viewers with true-to-life colours, superior contrast and premium picture quality,” said Warner Bros. home entertainment president Ron Sanders. “Working with a wide industry consortium is the best way to deliver these experiences within premium entertainment.”

The UHD Alliance aims to ensure that all of the links in the chain – from the production, distribution and consumption of content to the playback capability of devices – meet the identified premium quality standards, while embracing standards that are open and allow flexibility in the market, and give consumers confidence that they can watch the content they want on their devices. In the coming months, the group will convene to outline a technology roadmap for the rapid evolution of UHD technology, worldwide.

The Alliance is establishing a website with the hopefully not prophetic URL uhdalliance.org, and can be contacted through [email protected].

Source: media release