UHD Introduction at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: A Case Study

Jonathan Dupras, Pierre Hugues Routhier

In its biggest move since the 1960s, the French Canadian headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) will move out of its current, historical facility into a brand new, all-digital home in 2020. As part of this radical infrastructure change, the CBC has undertaken a series of tests on new imaging technologies to better understand their impact on the viewer as well as the required changes in production and post-production techniques. The tests were designed to validate several engineering and creative challenges facing broadcasters wishing to transition into ultrahigh-definition (UHD). Following the successful acquisition of hundreds of reference shots, a post-production workshop helped define the optimal workflows and formats for source archival, mezzanine file generation, and over-the-top (OTT)/broadcast distribution formats. A training program is in the works to help creative leads transfer their newly acquired know-how to other members of the CBC. This paper provides insights to broadcasters with significant infrastructure and large teams as to how to successfully transition from HD to UHD and the challenges to expect along the road.

Print ISSN
Electronic ISSN
2160-2492
Published
2019-10
Content type
Original Research
Keywords
4K, broadcast, high dynamic range (HDR), ultrahigh definition (UHD)
DOI
10.5594/JMI.2019.2932209