Orion seals deal to broadcast two UHD channels

Russian operator Orion has signed an agreement with Media-Content to broadcast two of its channels in UHD.

The channels, Russian Extreme Ultra and Ultra HD Cinema, will be the company’s first foray into UHD broadcasting.

Russian Extreme Ultra is dedicated to extreme sports, travel and other lifestyle activities. It broadcasts competitions, programmes and documentaries from sports such as snowboarding, mountain biking, BMZ and parkour. Ultra HD Cinema, as the title would suggest, is dedicated to films in UHD and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

Orion head of telecoms, Andrei Trufanov, commented: “Television in ultra-high-definition format causes the greatest response from the viewer when watching sports events and film content. Therefore, when our colleagues from the Media Content company turned to us, we enthusiastically took up the task.”

Maxim Zemlyanko, programme director of the Russian Extreme Channel Group said: “All extreme sports are very spectacular, the viewer should have their breath taken away when they watch our channels. They can feel like they’re floating in the sky or, on the contrary, be at the bottom of the ocean. You can create such an effect, of course, only in the UHD format.

“In Russia, however, far from all operators can work with it. We needed a partner who can guarantee high quality and uninterrupted signaling, ready to grasp our task and save us from having to think about the technical side of the process. We found all this in Orion. As for the Ultra HD Cinema movie channel, our task in this case is to give the viewer the opportunity to enjoy an excellent picture and surround sound without leaving home.”