The last specification for UHD TV, UHD-1 Phase 2, has been approved today following a DVB Steering Board (SB) meeting.
The new specification is a major milestone for the industry, guaranteeing interoperability and enabling broadcasters and CE manufacturers to provide UHD-1 Phase 2 products and services.
This could mean that the first DVB UHD-1 Phase 2 services, that include the new features, would be available from next year.
The specification covers various elements for the improvement of video and audio quality for broadcast TV services, including HDR. It supports Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) and PQ (Perceptual Quantizer). It also defines Higher Frame Rates (HFR), going beyond the current 50/60 Hz.
The specification will be published as BlueBook A157 and will be passed to ETSI for formal publication as TS 101 154 v2.3.1.
DVB chairman Peter MacAvock said, “Today’s approval of the specification is the result of enormous effort from the contributors, and further evidence of DVB’s leadership in the broadcast industry. DVB views the Phase 2 specification as a key enabler for exciting products and services.”
David Wood, chair of the DVB commercial module for UHDTV, added, “When they draw up the history of television, the agreement by the DVB Steering Board to the UHD-1 Phase 2 specification will surely be writ large.
“It marks the culmination of many years work by scores of DVB Member engineers, and is probably the tipping point for the new age of UHDTV.”
