BT Sport trials HDR livestream over 4G

BT Sport has staged a trial livestream of a UEFA Champions League match in high definition (HD) and high dynamic range (HDR) direct to mobile.

The UK sports broadcaster ran the trial this week at Wembley Stadium – during Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-2 defeat to Juventus – using mobile operator EE’s 4G network.

The HD HDR footage was broadcast to a range of devices including Samsung’s new S9 smartphone to a new beta version of the BT Sport App.

BT said that HD HDR is less data intensive than 4K for both the mobile network and the end-user’s data consumption and provides “a better mobile experience”.

“Mobile viewers are an important and growing part of our audience, and we’re constantly focusing on innovating to ensure the best possible experience for our sports fans,” Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer, BT Sport.

“HDR is the future for mobile – the technology is perfect for getting the most out of the small screen, with incredible colour and definition.”

The move comes after BT last year broadcast the UEFA Champions League final on its BT TV service using HDR in ultra high definition (UHD) with Dolby Atmos sound at a private screening in London.

The mobile HD HDR trial was done using a 24 camera Ultra HD set up at Wembley Stadium, with 17 HDR cameras native HDR and the remaining seven cameras converted to HDR 10 PQ.

The BT Sport app is available free for BT mobile customers and for EE customers on ‘Max’ plans.