Driven by the public’s appetite for UltraHD 4K video and the adoption of high dynamic range (HDR) video, the expectation for quality video and digital signage is changing within commercial environments.
The evolution of video is happening at a rapid pace and through increasing bandwidth capabilities that include 18Gbps HDMI compliant fiber optic cables and AV over IP solutions, the ability to display HDR content is becoming easier.
As a result commercial video manufacturers are responding by developing products that enable professional integrators to design cost friendly systems that support 4K with HDR.
Moreover, many of the systems that integrators offer also provide an eye towards the future with the ability to display higher chroma subsampling rates, wider color palettes, and even 8K resolutions.
Infrastructurer Manufacturer Atlona Explains 4K and HDR Applications
Ilya Khayn, CEO, Atlona, points out the growth of 4K and HDR matches the level of growth in the consumer electronics market. Khayn says that because of these formats’ popularity it is more common to see 4K with HDR in commercial settings.
“The majority of our products have been transitioned to offer full 4K support. The adoption of 4K displays and larger displays has grown more popular,” explains Khayn.
“Projectors in commercial environments have been organic with natural upgrade cycles for corporate, higher education and other end users.”
Khayn emphasizes that 4K content is becoming widely adopted in commercial spaces because the cost of 4K sources and displays have become normalized to facilitate these technologies adoption.
Elaborating on why 4K content distribution benefits commercial environments Khayn states the higher resolutions help to deliver better images on larger screens, while accommodating a range of viewing distances.
“In corporate environments such as meeting spaces you want the best possible resolution from your source. This is especially true when dealing with a lot of data and small characters in an Excel spreadsheet,” he says.
“Meanwhile, entertainment and hospitality venues want to impress customers with engaging content, impressive video walls and high performance. UltraHD 4K is a driving factor for visual impression.”
4K Costs Becoming Less of Investment Hurdle
A few years ago when the UltraHD format was first introduced the format was cost prohibitive for many commercial applications.
Today Khayn says that category cable is a big part of the infrastructure planning phase and he says that if an installation is properly planned with category cabling commercial environments will be ready for any current and possibly future application.
“You can drive very high resolutions and support enough bandwidth over 1G networks with high-efficiency compression algorithms,” he notes.
“With this infrastructure soundly in place, integrators will find that deploying 4K end points for today’s commercial AV applications is not wildly different from an HD architecture.”
Read Next:Why High Dynamic Range (HDR) is More Important Than 4K UHD
Validating the growth and cost effectiveness of 4K and HDR Atlona recently announced at the CEDIA Expo 2018 trade event support for the state-of-the-art Dolby Vision HDR format.
As part of the announcement Atlona says that its OmniStream line of AV over IP products not only support the dynamic Dolby Vision HDR format, but the product line also supports specifications like 12-bit video at 60 frames per second (fps) over 1G and 10G infrastructure.
According to Atlona, the Dolby Vision format is considered a leading technology that delivers the best possible HDR image and businesses can benefit by utilizing this type of content.
Looking ahead, Khayn says in the commercial use of formats like Dolby Vision will be dictated by a number of factors, but it is important that businesses stay ahead of the technology curve to ultimately manage their infrastructure costs.
“Adoption will naturally continue to be driven by content, customers’ requirements, application and budget,” he adds.
“However, when collecting customers requirements, the conversation around 4K and HDR should be always on the table. This ensures that integrators can properly educate their customers on the best possible options available to achieve desired system performance and support high-resolution content down the road.”
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[…] no disrespect to 4K — which I personally believe will be around for a while (famous last words, I know!) — a few significant developments are indications of where we are […]