Intel’s 8K HDR Internet livestreams: The future of OTT sports, entertainment, and gaming broadcasts?

 This article is part of the Technology Insight series, made possible with funding from Intel.

Last summer, as athletes broke world records at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, another “one for the books” was quietly taking place. For 19 days, live coverage of many Olympic events was broadcast over the public Internet at 8K at 60 frames per second (Fps) with HDR (High Dynamic Range) to Brazil and Japan. (You didn’t miss it; U.S. viewing was limited to private, invitation-only Intel sites in Portland, Santa Clara, and Hollywood audiences in Los Angeles.). It was believed to be the first live, broadcast-quality transmission on an open IP network cloud, coming just months after a pioneering 8K/60FPSFps livestream (without HDR), also led by Intel, in December 2020.