One year before the start of the Paris Olympics, France 2 and France 3 are preparing to switch to Ultra HD. We learn today that the two chains will lead the way, but that others should also follow.
It will not have escaped you that French television channels are still limited to broadcasting in Full HD, but this situation should change very soon. As the specialized site points out Freebox Universethe French government asked ARCOM (formerly CSA) last May to authorize France TV to broadcast in Ultra HD definition.
4K on our French TV channels is coming soon
This measure, which will initially concern the group’s two main channels, France 2 and France 3, should subsequently be extended to other channels. We learn, in fact, that other players have expressed an interest in broadcasting their services in a higher definition than the current Full HD.
A news that will probably not surprise anyone as Ultra HD has gradually established itself as the new standard on our televisions, and has been for several years now. A definition that has also been used for a long time by the tenors of SVoD, such as Apple TV+, Netflix, Prime Video or even Disney+.
By switching to 4K, the French television sector would therefore make up for a significant delay in terms of image quality compared to SVoD platforms. A strategic novelty ahead of the opening of the Paris Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. An event massively broadcast on television.
What terms?
As pointed out Freebox Universe, the operators having the obligation to include the public channels in their offers, will therefore include the Ultra HD version of these channels. We should therefore take advantage of France 2 and France 3 in 4K on DTT, but also on our box operators.
To do this, we learn that a multiplex operator of new standards should be put into service soon. We also know that ARCOM has already launched several technical initiatives in this direction. A public consultation was also launched on July 21, in order to determine the capacity of this multiplex, and this, according to the number of Ultra HD services that it will have to house.
ARCOM has also established two improved formats to come on French TV channels: a first called HD-HDR (which will remain limited to Full HD, but with the contribution of HDR for better contrast and better colors); and a second named UHD (which will also have HDR, but with Ultra HD definition to display more details on the screen).
In the future, ARCOM will finally have to set a framework allowing it to issue authorizations to other television service providers for the adoption of Ultra HD or HD-HDR. It will also need to allocate radio resources to these services. A project that seems to be well underway.
Source : UniverseFreebox
6