Sky has announced that it's set to give the Royal Wedding a picture quality it deserves, by broadcasting the upcoming nuptials of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in Ultra HD.
Shooting such a big live event in 4K is a massive undertaking for Sky. It will take 110 cameras and 160 technical staff to produce the event, and it will be the only broadcaster to shoot in Ultra HD.
Alongside this, Sky will be using 27km of cable, 10 satellite uplinks, 20 fibre circuits in and out of Windsor and 19 separate UHF radio comms channels.
Sky has been bolstering its Ultra HD catalogue of late, which is currently only available to those with a Sky Q box. Most of its live 4K coverage, though, has been centred on sports coverage, so this is definitely the broadcaster going into unknown territory.
Speaking about the plans, John Ryley, Head of Sky News, said: “Sky News will offer viewers a comprehensive package of coverage across all our platforms, however they wish to follow the event on the day.
“We’re incredibly excited to be the first and only broadcaster to televise a Royal Wedding in UHD and to offer those watching the ceremony across the country expert analysis, innovative technology and bespoke coverage on mobile.”
Pixel perfect
The bespoke mobile coverage Riley mentioned is a service that will automatically recognise the ultra-posh faces going into St George’s Chapel for the wedding and give the user information about them.
All of this will be available through the Sky News app, in the aptly title section: Royal Wedding: Who’s Who Live.
The app will offer up pertinent information, such as their links to the royal couple and how many times they have been on Made In Chelsea (presumably).
For those who have a calendar to hand and want to watch the wedding, you can do so by tuning into Sky News from 9am on Saturday 19 May. British flags and confetti are, sadly, not included in the Sky Q package.
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