This year’s Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea will be home to large-scale public demos of 5G video streaming, according to broadcasting industry group IBC. The event, to be held 9-25 February, will also see substantial 8K video production during the Games.
The International Olympic Committee has worked with Intel and Korea Telecom to create 5G wireless infrastructure at select Winter Games venues. 5G video links to bobsled cameras will give viewers a real-time view from the front of any sled picked by TV producers. The multiple “real-time links are only possible with the low latency (almost zero delay) of 5G," say Winter Olympic video producers.
Other 5G demonstrations will be available in special zones using demo 5G viewing devices. Intel will offer “time-sliced views of skaters in motion,” letting viewers switch between different angles of figure skating performances at any given moment, as well as “Omni-View,” a multi-view, real-time presentation of every cross country skiing competitor. The company will also offer a 5G connected car experience in Seoul, demonstrating in-car videoconferencing powered by high-bandwidth, low-latency 5G networking.
IBC also reports that the Winter Games will host the largest ever live 8K UHD production, featuring high dynamic range (HDR), 'a world first on this scale'. As 8K displays are not yet commercially available, OBS is working with Japan’s NHK television network to capture 90 hours of 8K content including figure skating, ski jumping, and snowboarding that will be displayed on special screens. Some screens will be set up at PyeongChang’s International Broadcast Center for viewing during the Olympics, while others will be used for private viewing in Japan. NHK is expected to roll out satellite 8K video feeds in 2020.