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Tech Times | Digicel and Huawei Technologies ready for a 4K future - First-ever broadcast of 4K - (UHD-TV) in the Caribbean

Published:Sunday | August 27, 2017 | 12:00 AM
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From left: Elon Parkinson, regional communications manager at Digicel Group; Engelbert Reys, Huawei account manager (Jamaica); Andrew Wheatley, minister of science, energy and techology; and John Quinn, Digicel’s group chief technical officer for fibre TV and Internet, talk about the latest advances in fibre technology last Tuesday.
Looks so real, you could almost touch it! Digicel’s group chief technical officer for fibre TV and Internet, John Quinn, and Huawei account executive Engelbert Reys give Science, Energy and Techology Minister Andrew Wheatley a first-hand view of the 4K TV experience at the Huawei Digicel 4K TV First-Look event at the Digicel HQ in downtown Kingston on Tuesday, August 22.
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With the constant search for improvement in the landscape of technology, Digicel and Huawei have joined forces to demonstrate that they are ready to broadcast 4K content.

4K TV or ultra-high-definition TV, is a pixel-packed technology that enhances the viewing experience with picture quality that is four times clearer, crisper, sharper than HD TV.

Howeve,r for this technology to be utilised, content producers, cable providers and TV manufacturers have to be on the same page. Currently, TV manufacturers are mostly focused on producing HD TVs, which have been a hit with consumers. As it pertains to 4K TV, the price index is still too high for consumers, with top-notch brands like Samsung and LG selling their premium models for upwards of $300 000.

For this reason, many content providers, including movie studios, are not producing much 4K content. Nonetheless, this is the future of TV and it is expected to over populate households within a few years.

Digicel's role

This is where Digicel's move to partner with Huawei comes into play, as a cable provider, Digicel is showing its customers that it is ready to deliver 4K content when the time comes.

"Just imagine that while most people across the world are still getting used to standard HD TV, technology has jumped four steps ahead, and thanks to the power of our fibre network and hybrid TV platform, UHD-TV can be a reality for Jamaica, and indeed all of our fibre networks in the region," said John Quinn, group chief technical officer for Digicel Play.

The company hosted their first broadcast of UHD-TV at their head offices last Tuesday. The demonstration, done on 4K TV, showed that Digicel's fibre-optic network, coupled with Huawei's encoding technology, can deliver the content without glitches.

"We have a true fibre-optic network which allows us to do a true 4K broadcast. It's a sneak peek into what is possible, and we want our customers to know that we are ready with the technology to deliver 4K content," said Elon Parkinson, head of public relations.