Asia Satellite Telecommunications (AsiaSat) and Rohde & Schwarz have partnered to advance next-generation Ultra-HD (UHD) TV technologies by implementing the first free-to-air UHD channel on AsiaSat 4.
Hong Kong-based AsiaSat plans for an UHD TV broadcasting service over satellite have taken a major step forward with the imminent launch of its first channel following an extensive technical evaluation carried out at the AsiaSat UHD laboratory.
Through AsiaSat 4’s coverage, broadcasters and pay-TV platforms with an AsiaSat 4 C-band antenna in the Asia-Pacific region will be able to receive the UHD channel directly.
Operating at 122°E, AsiaSat 4 provides satellite solutions to clients for TV distribution, direct to home as well as broadband services across the Asia-Pacific region. Its C-band footprint spans from New Zealand to Pakistan and part of the Middle East.
Rohde & Schwarz is providing a comprehensive broadcast solution that includes the R&S CLIPSTER mastering station for editing, handling and playing out UHD data in real time.
In addition, the R&S AVHE100 headend will be used for live encoding using an HEVC encoder with 10 bit color depth.