Manufacturers must stay on top of codec standard development in order to make the advent of new technologies an evolution for customers, not a revolution according to Tektronix CTO for video product line, Paul Robinson.
Robinson (pictured), told The IBC Daily that although there is the perception that all the underlying technology changes for 4K are new, there was in fact a lot of advanced warning that these changes were imminent, with UHDTV first demonstrated at NAB back in 2006.
Robinson commented: “Obviously the availability of 4K sensors and display panels has accelerated the drive towards 4K implementation, but we had prior warning of the development of higher resolution than HD video. Indeed, when developing the Tektronix WFM and WVR8000 series waveform monitors the internal architecture was implemented to handle 4K data rates, which has allowed us to implement 4K/UHD support as an existing product upgrade, rather than requiring a completely new product.”
He added that the biggest challenge of making 4K a reality for customers was not 4K itself, but staying on top of the ever-changing IP-based workflow standards.
Robinson explained: “There are quite a few different standards being developed, so it’s about monitoring those developments and making sure we deliver the right products at the right time. All of our products on the software side have been designed to accept new codecs as they emerge; we develop our products to ensure they are upgradable. This means 4K doesn’t present insurmountable challenges for us because of the way we architect our products.”
Tektronix is demonstrating its technology on the EBU stand in Hall 10, in partnership with the BBC and Cisco as part of an all-IP live production technology demonstration.
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