Wiener Staatsoper is set to make history when its production of Nabucco is broadcast online tomorrow in Ultra HD.
It will be the first time any live stream has been available in the format, which has four times as many pixels as Full HD.
The company has teamed up with Samsung for the broadcast. Its existing Wiener Staatsoper Samsung Smart TV App will now include a UHD section, through which users will be able to view the live performance of Nabucco starring Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo.
‘We are very happy – and I admit: we are also proud that the world’s first UHD live stream will come from the Wiener Staatsoper,’ said director Dominque Meyer. ‘It is not so natural that in such a revolutionary step in the fields of TV and IT, an opera house is taking charge.’
Seong Cho, president of Samsung Electronics said: ‘UHD is the answer to ever growing TV screen sizes, which require a much higher resolution…The UHD live streaming of Nabucco is a historical milestone on the way to the best TV experience for our customers.’
Wiener Staatsoper has already made significant headway in the live streaming arena, after launching Wiener Staatsoper Live at Home in HD earlier this year.
The company made several technical upgrades in preparation for the Ultra HD performance, including a UHD camera and live encoder.
Samsung SmartTV owners (whose devices are supported by the HEVC Standard 2014) can watch the opera for free, or through the online stream for €14.
Photo: Plácido Domingo in Nabucco © Wiener Staatsoper / Michael Pöhn