Intelsat demos 8K video transmission from Russia to Brazil

Intelsat is partnering with with Globo, one of the largest broadcasters in Latin America, to demonstrate live 8K video transmissions in Brazil for the 2018 World Cup.

The World Cup video is being shown at Rio's innovative science museum, the Museu de Amanhã at a resolution of 7680 x 4320 pixels.

The 8K signal will be transmitted as a 200 Mbps video stream at the International Broadcast Center in Moscow and transported to Tokyo. It will then be carried to Intelsat via the Intelsat point of presence in New York.

The signal will be transmitted on the IntelsatOne terrestrial network to Intelsat’s teleport in Atlanta, Georgia, where it will be re-encoded at 90 Mbps using a special NTT 8K HEVC real-time encoder.

Once the video is compressed, it will be modulated by a Newtec MDM-6100 modem in DVB-S2 and then uplinked to Intelsat 14, the company’s emerging HD video neighborhood in Latin America known for its HD and 4K content distribution.

“From HD to 4K and now 8K, Intelsat 14 is the premier, new neighborhood to ensure that viewers across Latin America have access to affordable, exciting, and breathtaking content that provides them with the most immersive viewing experience for premier sporting and entertainment events,” said Rob Cerbone, Intelsat’s Vice President and General Manager, Media. “While 8K technology is still evolving and further advancements in compression technology standards are needed, Intelsat’s premier video neighborhoods have proven that they are equipped to distribute 8K content to millions of viewers around the world. Since our founding, Intelsat’s satellite solutions have been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to content distribution and with this 8K demo, fans will be able to experience the match as if they are on the field with their favorite players.”