How do you see the takeoff of 4K UHD from the Spanish market?

Representatives of the Spanish industry are satisfied with the development of the experiences carried out so far in 4K in Spain, both in experimental pilots and in commercial content production.

Pere Vila (RTVE), Ignacio Sanchís (Hispasat), Nicolás Lecocq (Movistar+) and Javier Gómez (RTVE Digital) have starred in a round table at the 4K Summit in which they have taken the pulse of the current situation of Ultra High Definition in Spain.
Vila has been very satisfied with the 4K experiences in which the public Corporation is participating and has announced that RTVE will produce new chapters of the Spanish World Heritage Cities series in 4K and will continue to experiment with the possibilities of live broadcasting in UHD, the use of HDR, and access through smart TVs and HbbTv. The Polytechnic University of Madrid will also carry out advanced HEVC coding tests and contribution and distribution of content on 5G networks in collaboration.

Pere Vila took advantage of his presence at the 4K Summit in Malaga to encourage the Administration to propose a regular 4K service that goes beyond the specific pilot tests that have taken place so far and is, without a doubt, the new digital dividend would be an excellent opportunity to reorganize services (there are still a significant number of channels broadcasting on DTT in SD), promote the development of UHD and adopt the second generation of the DVB-T2 DTT standard.

Javier Gómez stressed that "our users demand transmedia content, as well as reaching a younger audience, and 4K is key to improving the viewer's experience." In his opinion, "technology gives us the possibility of telling new stories and we have to look for new ways to reach users through stories that involve them more. Stories not only depend on technology but also on the way in which they are told."

For his part, Sanchís was totally convinced of the success of 4K. “Good proof of this is that the growth rate of linear and non-linear content is faster than in HD,” he said. In addition, he outlined his close collaboration with TVE to test the potential of 4K. Hispasat is collaborating in the production of 4K content as well as in its distribution through initiatives such as the Hispasat 4K channel or the International 4K Short Film Festival.

“The rate of growth of UHD will be determined by the speed at which we can offer content while developing a powerful content production market,” commented Sanchís.

Nicolás Lecocq contributed the point of view of Movistar+, a platform that has committed to releasing an original series every month for the next year with a significant investment of more than one hundred million euros. For Lecocq, the production of content in 4K and Dolby Atmos sound is essential in Telefónica's strategy.