BBC to trial Ultra-High Definition (UHD) during World Cup 2014

BBC Research and Development has announced that it will trial Ultra-High Definition (UHD) broadcasts during this year’s World Cup.

The closed trials will cover all of the three World Cup matches being produced in UHD by FIFA TV from the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro – one from the last 16, a quarter-final and the final – marking the first time live UHD coverage will have been delivered simultaneously over Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and Internet Protocol (IP) technologies ‘to the home’.

The live UHD streams will be transported from Brazil by satellite to the UK where they will be decoded and distributed, via existing broadcast and super-fast broadband infrastructure, to a number of compatible consumer UHD TV sets in selected R&D facilities.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup takes place in Brazil from June 12 – July 13, 2014 with live coverage on the BBC and ITV.