Especially valuable for sports on high definition and very high definition TVs, the extra detail provides a real plus. This is probably why major sporting events traditionally elevate the quality of live broadcasts. Let’s go back, for example, to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, which marked the first broadcast in Mondovision and in color. In France, experiments around 8K have occupied dozens of technicians at Roland-Garros for several years.
Full HD, and that’s it
No offense to television market players who see major sporting events as potential growth drivers for their sales, but also to viewers keen on image quality: Euro 2024 will be a disappointment.
After weeks of rumours, it’s now confirmed: UEFA will not be producing The Euro in 4K. Therefore it will be necessary to be satisfied with Full HD in 1080p or 1080i. If the exact reasons for this decision have not been announced, the main reason often (if not always) seems to be budgetary. Production in 4K is actually more expensive. We think of cameras, but also of control rooms, editing stations, and communication systems between all of these elements that must be tailored to the task.
Of course, upscaling solutions still exist, not to mention those offered by two competing broadcasters in France, TF1 and M6.
If you have a 4K TV or projector, you’ll have to wait a few more weeks to enjoy it. Indeed, the Paris 2024 Olympics will be produced natively in 4K and broadcast under optimal conditions on France Télévision Group’s two new channels, France 2 UHD 4K and France 3 UHD 4K.