4K televisions are gradually becoming popular and HDR, a relatively new trend, is catching on as well. Those who have a TV that supports these standards will be able to get an enhanced viewing experience of the upcoming Olympics. NBC has announced that it will provide carriers with content from this year’s games, enabling viewers to watch 2016 Rio Olympics in 4K and HDR. The only caveat here is that there’s going to be a 24 hour tape delay.
NBC is going to provide footage of the Opening and Closing ceremonies, basketball, swimming, track and field, judo, and the men’s soccer final in 4K UHD on a 24 hour tape delay, meaning that viewers will have to wait an extra day to watch all of this in Ultra High Definition.
“The Olympics have been a consistent driver of technological advancements, and Rio will be no different,” said Gary Zenkel, NBC Sports president.
The network is actually going to broadcast a downconverted version of the 8K Olympics feed that’s being tested in Japan. It’s going to bring that in 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound audio.
Content providers haven’t really confirmed yet if they will be making this content available from NBC to their subscribers, but given that Dish is supporting UHD in its newest boxes and DirecTV has started broadcasting 4K channels, it’s likely that a few of the mainstream providers will be onboard.
The 2016 Rio Olympics start August 5th, 2016.