press release:
New dimension of WIENER STAATSOPER live at home:
La traviata in new HDR image mode for first time on 29 November
Today, Tuesday, 29 November 2016, the WIENER STAATSOPER’s live at home programme will be broadcasting Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata for the first time ever as a live stream in UHD quality using the new HDR image mode, making it possible to achieve an unprecedented picture quality. The opera features a star-studded cast, with Marina Rebeka in the title role, Charles Castronovo as Alfredo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Giorgio Germont, all under the musical direction of maestra Speranza Scappucci.
HDR stands for “high dynamic range” and represents the latest revolution in television, making for even brighter, high-contrast images with greater depth of colour and a sharper picture. The new technology enhances areas of the image that were previously either too dark or too light. “This new technology opens up a new dimension for us. Particularly in opera, we are very often faced with dark backgrounds and brightly illuminated singers and stage scenery in the foreground. The human eye has no problem with this, and can see as much of the detail in both bright and dark areas. HDR now makes it possible to broadcast operas and ballets with the original lighting envisaged by the stage director without compromising the TV pictures or using additional TV lighting disturbing to the audience. Thus HDR delivers a whole new, fantastic quality at several levels! And we are delighted that we have once again been able to introduce a cutting-edge innovation in co-operation with Samsung,” explains Dominique Meyer, Director of Vienna State Opera.
Samsung, technical partner to the Wiener Staatsoper, has integrated this new image standard in its complete current SUHD TV and UHD TV range. An HDR-enabled Samsung TV set is required in order to be able to receive La traviata in HDR. “We have established yet another milestone in the development of streaming technology with the new UHD live stream in HDR mode. Samsung not only offers terminal equipment for this new standard, but also high-quality content in collaboration with the Wiener Staatsoper. The opera experience is transmitted to TV screens around the world not only with high-fidelity sound, but also in optimal visual quality,” says Sunghan Kim, Managing Director of Samsung Electronics Austria.
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