The BBC Blue Room in Birmingham is an interactive exhibition showcasing the best in the Corporation’s innovative technology. At the July event, “The future is now”, TV producers had the opportunity to put their geekiest questions to Blue Room expert Colin Warhurst – and discovered much that astounded them.

 

Ultra-high definition (UHD) television offers a maximum pixel resolution of 3,840 x 2,160. More dots, means more detail, which sounds great in theory, but, in reality, the human eye is not up to the job. With an increase in the detail of an image, viewers have to get closer to the screen to notice the difference.

 

Because UHD does not make enough difference in picture quality without forcing audiences to sit on top of their television sets, the industry is making changes to the pixels themselves, not just the numbers of them.

 

The latest features include: high dynamic range, an increase in the available light range, which offers incredible contrast; wider colour gamut, which, simply put, means a move from millions to billions of colours; and high frame rates, which offer more pictures per second, recreating motion as our eyes see it. Over the next few years, the latter could revolutionise sports coverage.

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The week before, in early July, Women in Film & Television UK and Film Birmingham joined RTS Midlands for its latest networking evening. Seventy guests joined the RTS centre and a mix of producers, writers, musicians, composers and those hoping to break into the television industry at the Colmore Club in Birmingham.

Dorothy Hobson, vice-chair of the centre, said: “It was another very successful evening when the room was buzzing with chat, the exchange of ideas and new contacts being made.”

 

RTS Midlands is planning more networking events in the future.