Successful Satellite Launch to Give Ultra HD 'Rocket-Propelled Boost,' DirecTV Says

Ultra HD’s future got "a rocket-propelled boost" Saturday with the successful launch of the DirecTV 14 satellite, DirecTV said in a news release. When DirecTV 14 begins operations in early Q2, it will be the first commercial satellite to use the "reverse band" direct broadcast satellite spectrum, providing additional capacity for the delivery of 4K Ultra HD programming and other advanced services, the company said Saturday. DirecTV last month laid claim to becoming the first multichannel video programming distributor to deliver 4K VOD to customer homes (see 1411130039). With additional satellite capacity, DirecTV also plans to launch "linear" 4K TV services in 2016, an executive said at last month’s SatCon conference in New York (see 1411130033).