If you take a look at the television services in South Africa, some are better than others. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will net you 4K video streams, but basically nobody else will. That might change, at least a little. Multichoice reckons it’ll be ready to offer broadcasts in 4K by November this year.
South Africa’s main paid TV service currently airs content at a maximum resolution of 1080i. This hardly makes the most of that lovely new 4K TV in your lounge. But the company has plans to show at least some 4K content in the near future.
Spoilt for Multichoice
Speaking to TechCentral, the service’s CEO, Calvo Mawela, said that things were ready for DStv to offer 4K to its subscribers. The launch of the resolution is set to coincide with the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
“We are ready for the World Cup to be available in 4K,” said Mawela. Indeed, Multichoice’s Explora Ultra decoder already supports 4K. If you’re a Netflix or Amazon subscriber, you can stream supported content at that resolution. But it’s not offered by either DStv or Showmax, long a contentious point for South African subscribers.
What isn’t clear, however, is whether 4K broadcasts will stick around on the satellite service after the Qatar World Cup concludes. It’s also unlikely that Showmax will jump up to 4K from its current 720p max resolution. Maybe we’ll finally get proper HD from Multichoice’s streaming arm when satellite subscribers gain the ability to watch England’s team take a dive in sparking UHD. Wouldn’t that be something to see?
Source: TechCentral