Spanish Broadcaster Manages Dolby Vision/Dolby Atmos Broadcast

Spanish broadcaster RTVE is the first national channel to complete a live broadcast in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, namely the 5 July transmission of the historic Solemn Changing of the Guard.

Dolby vision broadcastThe ceremony was transmitted live in Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Dolby AC-4 sound, the next generation audio (NGA) format able to carry Dolby Atmos sound and mixes. It used the 4L DVB-T2 trial channel operated by RTVE and Cellnexx Telecomm. The broadcast was available on terrestrial channels in Madrid (channel 32), Barcelona (channel 43) and Seville (channel 36), and was received by viewers with a 4K HDR TV.

Delivery of said broadcast involved a pair of outside broadcast trucks-- one for video, the other for audio. Also involved were a cabin housing EVS recorders for video production, camera control units, reference monitors and analysers, as well Dolby equipment required to incorporate Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio technologies. A satellite uplink distributed the signal via the Hispasat satellite to Barcelona and Seville.

Technical partner Ateme provided encoders to generate the video and audio streams, including the dynamic metadata provided by Dolby equipment to deliver Dolby Vision HDR. Also supporting the broadcast were partners Loewe, LG, Cellnex, Albala, Abacanto, Grass Valley, Crosspoint, Moncada y Lorenzo, Canon and Huri, as well as the National Heritage and The Royal House.

Dolby expects the first commercial AC-4 services to start from 2019. NGA-capable TVs should make their debut at around the same time.

Go RTVE