The Euros are one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and 80 per cent of viewers own a 4K UHD TV. Nevertheless, the tournament will only be broadcast in Full HD resolution. Why?
Additional costs are usually passed on to viewers. Live sports subscriptions are already significantly more expensive than TV subscriptions for films and series. Consequently, it’s questionable whether enough sports fans would be willing to pay extra for a UHD upgrade. In Germany, Deutsche Telekom is broadcasting the Euros exclusively in UHD with Magenta TV, but only upscaled.
SRF even broadcasts only in HD
Most Swiss viewers can only dream of such quality – at least when they watch matches on SRF. There, matches are only broadcast in 720p. In response to an inquiry, the provider said: «The HD format is our reference signal and therefore the SRG standard, which corresponds to the quality customary in the industry and the legal broadcasting requirements.»
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When Switzerland meet Italy in the Round of 16, it won’t be a straightforward affair. Not because of their footballing skills, but because the 2024 Euros will only be broadcast in Full HD. While you’ve been able to enjoy the World Cup in UHD for ten years now, you’ll be watching the Euros in a much fuzzier resolution. Yet UHD televisions have long been standard in most households. Only 20 per cent of viewers still own devices with a lower resolution. Why do streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus and others manage to reproduce their content in better quality than traditional television providers?
UHD is the abbreviation for Ultra High Definition and stands for a resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels. The term 4K is often used for this, although strictly speaking it refers to 4096 × 2160. The HDR standard refers to high dynamic range, making images look richer in contrast and stronger. SDR is the most common format for television displays and stands for Standard Dynamic Range. The dynamic range is smaller than HDR here.
UEFA slams the brakes
The spoilsport in this case is UEFA. The European Football Association only provides a full HD signal with 1920 × 1080 pixels, 50 frames per second and HDR for the Euros. The association told Der Spiegel (page in German) that tests had been carried out with manufacturers and providers. The result? The current signal offers the best quality and consistency. No UHD transmission is planned for future competitions either.
A pretty poor explanation. They could’ve mentioned additional costs, not every channel is equipped for UHD. For comparison, the HD resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels consists of 921,600 pixels. At 1920 × 1080 pixels, it’s already 2,073,600 pixels. And with UHD resolution at 3840 × 2160 pixels, the picture consists of 8,294,400 pixels. Studios, cameras, cables, servers, transmission buses, etc. would have to be upgraded at great expense. This could potentially create bottlenecks at various nodes. Higher resolution requires more data, computing power and time. It’s why most broadcasters are still content with 1080p. Not that this makes your UHD TV useless. Unlike a Full HD device, it upscales the picture, which generally results in better quality.
This picture quality is obviously enough for most viewers. Source: YouTube/SRF
Another reason is probably customer response. At the industry event 4K-HDR Summit in November, it was stated that tests had shown that a majority of viewers prefer a full HD picture with HDR to a UHD image. Why UHD in combination with HDR wasn’t an option isn’t explained. But it’s also likely to increase the amount of data transferred and therefore costs. A Full HD stream requires a 5 Mbit/s line, while for UHD it would be at least 20 Mbit/s. In addition, younger audiences in particular rarely watch entire games in one go, but rather highlights – and often in portrait format on their smartphones.
However, the signal will also be made available in 1080p, but only to retransmitters «who respect the signal integrity provided for by law and enable additional services, such as for people with sensory impairments, to be used by the end customer.» According to a comparison by Moneyland, these include Swisscom TV and Init7. All other providers listed, such as Sunrise, Teleboy or Zattoo, only receive the 720p signal.
UHD in sport an exception
If you look across the pond, you’ll realise the Euros are no exception. Whether American football, basketball or ice hockey, neither the NFL, NBA nor NHL broadcast their games in UHD. Even the Superbowl is broadcast in 1080p. Although 4K and 8K cameras are occasionally used, they’re only used for specific settings. The upcoming Olympic Games in Paris are an exception. They’ll be broadcast in UHD with HDR and 5.1 surround sound. Partners from Japan and the USA have made a strong case for this, writes tech blog 4KFilme.de (page in German). Apart from this exception, the UHD revolution in live sports is still a long time coming.
The 2024 Olympics will be one of the few sporting events to be broadcast in UHD. Source: Flickr/nicolas michaud
If you want to watch the games with Swiss commentary, there’s no way around SRF. For Full HD, only Swisscom TV and Init7 come into question. If you don’t mind alternative commentary, then ARD, ZDF or Austria’s Servus TV, for example, will also matches in 1080p. ORF, on the other hand, only broadcasts in 720p. The potentially best quality is only available in Switzerland via detours. Magenta TV in Germany is apparently the only German-language broadcaster to deliver an upscaled UHD signal with HDR.
SRF, 1080p, SDR: Swisscom TV (except via the smartphone app and browser) and Init7
ARD, 1080p, SDR: Init7, Swisscom TV (only via Smart TV apps, Android TV, Apple TV) Sunrise, Teleboy, Yallo, Zattoo (except Free)
ZDF, 1080p, SDR: Init7, Swisscom TV (only via Smart TV apps, Android TV, Apple TV), Sunrise, Teleboy, Yallo, Zattoo (except Free)
Servus TV, 1080p, SDR, Swisscom TV (except via the smartphone app and browser), Init7, Sunrise
