AT&T will add 4K high dynamic range support to DirecTV Now starting in 2018 as part of a “next-generation video platform” that will begin rolling out this fall, it announced. Beta-testing will begin this summer among “invited” DirecTV Now customers, among the first to try out the platform’s cloud DVR functionality and other features, the company said Thursday.

Westinghouse launched the Ultra HD 4K Alexa-based Amazon Fire TV Edition Tuesday, calling it the first smart TV with Alexa. On Prime Day, Amazon featured the 43-inch Amazon Fire TV Edition under the Element brand for $449. Element TVs are produced by TongFang Global, which also manufactures the Westinghouse brand. The Westinghouse Fire TVs are sold at HSN and Micro Center and through distributors, a company spokeswoman emailed us.

The first live 4K stream from space, shown Wednesday at the NAB Show and online, appeared to go off without any hitches, but with some limitations due to the unique nature of the broadcast. There was a several-second delay among transmissions from the keynote room at the show and U.S. astronauts aboard the International Space Station. To us, the quality of the picture appeared better on our laptop via the re-stream at the show's website than on the very large screen showing the stream to the audience. The feed from about 250 miles above Earth was to have been encoded with Amazon Web Services Elemental software on board the space station and at the Johnson Space Center, said a previous NAB news release. Amazon didn't reply to our queries for comment. "The broadcast in the session room utilized the most state-of-art 4K technology," an NAB spokeswoman emailed us. "I'm sure the image was also splendid on small screens." The crowd in Las Vegas reacted with obvious pleasure during the stream, which featured astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson playing table tennis with what appeared to have been water, their mic turning around in the air. "Peggy, Jack, I don’t know if you are hearing the oohs and ahs here," said Sam Blackman, CEO of Elemental Technologies, who did a Q&A with them. "This has been one of the most remarkable exchanges I’ve ever had." With Ultra HD/4K, astronauts can "get high resolution, higher frame rates, to capture different science for some of our experiments, ultra slow motion for some of the effects that are slow-lived yet are very important," said Fischer. "Even more important ... is the inspirational aspect."

NASA will produce a live 4K video stream from the International Space Station (ISS) during the “Reaching for the Stars: Connecting to the Future with NASA and Hollywood” super session at NAB on April 26, it said in a Tuesday announcement. The panel, co-produced by NAB Show, NASA and Amazon Web Services, will look at the roles advanced imaging and cloud technologies play in scientific research and filmmaking, NASA said. The live feed from 250 miles above Earth will be encoded using AWS Elemental software on ISS and at Johnson Space Center in Houston. AWS Elemental will deliver the live stream of the event via an AWS workflow that includes AWS CloudWatch, Amazon Route 53, and the Amazon CloudFront content delivery network for public access in 4K and HD. Roberts Communications Network, Las Vegas, will provide the satellite downlink truck for the transmission from Johnson Space Center to the Las Vegas Convention Center, and Christie is providing 4K projectors for in-room display during the session, NASA said The 10:30 a.m. PDT event will be available to the public for multiscreen viewing in live 4K and down-converted high definition (HD) video at https://live.awsevents.com/nasa4k, NASA said.

Samsung announced availability of its MU series Ultra HD 4K LCD TVs, led by MU 9 models ranging from 55- to 75-inch screen sizes. Features of the top-line MU 9 TVs, starting at $1,999, include Samsung’s new Smart TV user interface, smart remote control with voice interaction, 4K HDR Extreme, MR 240 and an anti-reflective coating. The MU 6 series starts at $549 with sizes ranging from 40 to 75 inches; the MU 7 series starts at $699 and ranges from 40 to 65 inches and the MU 8 series, starting at $1,199, covers 49- to 82-inch screen sizes, Samsung said.

Driving “overall development” of Ultra HD delivery solutions for Fios subscribers in the U.S. is the aim of a “collaborative agreement” SES signed with Verizon, the satellite company said in a Monday announcement. It will supply Verizon with content to test from its “pre-packaged Ultra HD platform, which combines a growing lineup of Ultra HD channels and reception equipment in a cost-effective service delivered over scalable satellite capacity,” SES said. Since that platform is delivered “over dedicated satellite bandwidth,” it provides “a much higher quality viewer experience” compared with internet-streamed 4K offerings, “which can be susceptible to bottlenecks, buffering and network congestion,” SES said. “Home to nine linear Ultra HD channels, the platform provides the largest bouquet of Ultra HD programming available in North America.”

Dish Network will deliver live in 4K Ultra HD a natural history series, Planet Earth II, it said in an announcement. The series, narrated by David Attenborough, will be simulcast on BBC America, AMC and SundanceTV Saturday, with subsequent episodes airing on BBCA every Saturday night, Dish said. Dish is also offering an exclusive free preview of BBC America, from Tuesday through March 30, giving customers access to Planet Earth II in both 4K and HD at no extra cost, it said.

BenQ said its HT8050 is the first DLP 4K Ultra HD home cinema projector to achieve THX HD display certification. The HT8050 projector has 8.3 million-pixel 4K resolution, and is said to ensure image integrity and color accuracy without artifacts that can be introduced by panel alignment issues. The projector’s optical system has 14 high-resolution elements, a zoom system and low-dispersion lens coatings said BenQ Tuesday. THX certification guarantees accurate reproduction of the content the way the director originally intended, it said. The HT8050 underwent 18 months of development and 200 THX laboratory tests covering more than 500 data points to ensure strict color accuracy, precise gamma, ideal color temperature, enhanced uniformity and high native contrast ratio for THX certification, said BenQ. A pre-calibrated THX Mode engineered by THX is said to offer accurate out-of-box picture quality.

THX denied withdrawing from the UHD Alliance, notwithstanding Dec. 22 written notifications to the contrary that the alliance sent the FTC and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, according to a notice in Tuesday’s Federal Register from DOJ’s Antitrust Division. OPPO Digital, which used CES to announce its second-generation Ultra HD Blu-ray player, recently joined the alliance, the same notice said. The notifications were required to extend antitrust protections to UHD Alliance members under the 1993 National Cooperative Research and Production Act, it said. "THX didn't withdraw from the UHD Alliance and is still a member," THX spokeswoman Nyrie McKenzie emailed us Tuesday. “Membership renewal just happened to align with the timing of THX’s recent acquisition” by Razer, McKenzie said. “Rather than renewing membership under Oldco, THX established new membership under Newco. Minor technicalities but still very much involved with UHD Alliance.”

There’s “nothing formal” in the works “at this time” within the Blu-ray Disc Association to upgrade the Ultra HD Blu-ray format for 8K resolution, Ron Martin, vice president and director of the Panasonic Hollywood Lab, emailed us Monday. But “several member companies have been monitoring it,” Martin said of 8K TVs, which saw an unusually large showcasing of prototypes at CES amid forecasts that products soon will reach the commercial market (see 1701090053). Specifications for the Ultra HD Blu-ray format were completed in May 2015 and stipulated resolutions up to 3840x2160 (see 1505120025). Martin is one of BDA’s top technical experts and was the vice chairman of its U.S. promotions committee (see 1510130055).