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Comcast will record parts of the Sochi Winter Olympics in 4K

Comcast will record parts of the Sochi Winter Olympics in 4K

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Comcast is to capture footage of the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics in ultra-high 4K definition. Tony Werner, Comcast's chief technology officer, outlined the media giant's plans at a CES panel to discuss the future of ultra-HD technology on Tuesday.

Details of Comcast's specific plans for 4K Olympic footage aren't yet clear — Werner said that Comcast would be "doing some stuff" to show what "high frame rates and higher resolutions can do for sports" — but Werner claims Comcast already has the infrastructure to deliver 4K resolutions to the home. Earlier this week, Samsung announced it had partnered with the media company, in addition to Amazon, Netflix, and DirecTV, to stream 4K content through its latest range of UHD TVs.

Comcast will be "doing some stuff" to show what 4K can do for sports

The lack of that 4K content is a more pressing concern for Werner. By recording portions of the Winter Olympics in 4K resolution, Werner hopes Comcast will stimulate both the imagination and the "content ecosystem." The amount of quality content available in native 4K resolution is steadily increasing — Netflix, for example, filmed the second season of House of Cards in 4K — but others at the CES panel warned that it may take some time. Sony Picture Technology's Chris Cookson said a number of titles are not being mastered now in 4K because of the prohibitive cost. That cost, Cookson said, "should be and can be the same as doing 2K."