• by Wayne Friedman , June 23, 2015

Although TV set manufacturers continue to ramp up 4K TV production, one new study now says it will take up to 10 years for the majority of global broadcasters to make the change to Internet Protocol (IP) transmission and 4K TV adoption.

Concerning the transition to IP only, 19% believe this would occur within two years, 42% within five years and 27% only see this happen within 10 years, according to research from Quantel, a media technology company, and Snell, a TV management company.

Some 60% of respondents saw 4K TV as “relevant in the future” across the two- to five-year timescale. More than 1,000 people participated in the survey among 80 countries.

"Broadcasters and media organizations have been bombarded with IP and 4K now messages over the last year," stated Quantel and Snell CEO, Tim Thorsteinson. "This has led to a great deal of uncertainty, which I know our customers have fed back to us time and again.”

Thorsteinson adds: “It clearly shows that broadcasters see these as key future concerns, but for the vast majority, a full-on infrastructure lift-out and replacement with IP and 4K is not going to happen any time soon.”