Live Sports To Be ‘Key Driver’ of 4K Adoption, Akamai Says

Akamai is the first to bring live 4K to consumers, said Chris Nicholson, senior public relations manager, in a Tuesday blog post. While there have been many 4K-related announcements of over-the-top demonstrations at the NAB Show, “Akamai has already evolved the live/linear 4K workflow from controlled demonstrations to real-world, public, consumer distribution,” Nicholson said. “Live 4K has the potential to reach the market more quickly online as opposed to traditional methods like satellite, IPTV or cable. That's a pretty big deal.” At its NAB Show booth, Akamai will demonstrate “a complete live 4K workflow in production, from camera to consumption, streaming over the public Internet -- no small feat in a giant convention center,” he said. “You'll be able to see firsthand the steps that we're taking to make this a reality.” Much like the role live sports played in HD’s “uptake,” live sports “are again proving to be a key driver for 4K adoption,” he said. “Akamai recently helped deliver the first publicly available live 4K streaming of a major sporting event. It's yet one more step in the right direction to making this game-changing technology available on a mass consumption basis.”