Stay tuned, TV fans. That was the message on the eve of CES, as television manufacturers and Hollywood studios announced a new logo for what will now be called "Ultra HD Premium" TVs. TVs bearing the logo, which will be licensed through the UHD Alliance (UHDA), support increased resolution, high dynamic range, and high color gamut content.

However, no firm announcements about new UHD content offerings, such as a long-promised upgrade to the Blu-ray format, were made at the UHDA's Monday-night event.

UHD Alliance Specs for Premium Content Creation, Distribution and Playback

Content Master

The UHD Alliance Content Master must meet the following requirements:
Image Resolution: 3840×2160
Color Bit Depth: Minimum 10-bit signal
Color: BT.2020 color representation
High Dynamic Range: SMPTE: ST2084 EOTF

The UHD Alliance recommends the following mastering display specifications:
Display Reproduction: Minimum 100% of P3 colors
Peak Brightness: More than 1000 nits
Black Level: Less than 0.03 nits

Distribution

Any distribution channel delivering the UHD Alliance content must support:
Image Resolution: 3840×2160
Color Bit Depth: Minimum 10-bit signal
Color: BT.2020 color representation
High Dynamic Range: SMPTE ST2084 EOTF

Devices

The UHD Alliance supports various display technologies and consequently, have defined combinations of parameters to ensure a premium experience across a wide range of devices. In order to receive the UHD Alliance Premium Logo, the device must meet or exceed the following specifications:
Image Resolution: 3840×2160
Color Bit Depth: 10-bit signal
Signal Input: BT.2020 color representation
Display Reproduction: More than 90% of P3 colors
SMPTE ST2084 EOTF
A combination of peak brightness and black level either:
More than 1000 nits peak brightness and less than 0.05 nits black level or more than 540 nits peak brightness and less than 0.0005 nits black level

Source: UHD Alliance

The UHDA did tout new growth estimates for UHD TV sales, which an analyst at IHS Technology said are expected to reach an installed base of more than 300 million in 2019. "Annual worldwide shipments of Ultra HD TVs are expected to grow nearly 719% over the next several years according to IHS forecasts, from nearly 12 million in 2014 to nearly 96 million in 2019," senior analyst Paul Erickson said in a prepared statement.

Late in December, IHS estimated that 40 percent of all TV panels shipped in 2016 would be UHD. (See infographic, below.)

Ultra HD TV shipments 

Source: IHS Electronics360 | http://electronics360.globalspec.com/

The UHDA membership includes a mix of consumer electronics manufacturers, movie studios, and content distributors. Member companies are Directv Group, Dolby Laboratories, LG Electronics, Netflix, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, Sony, Technicolor, The Walt Disney Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.