France 2 UHD, available since the end of 2023 in some cities, is arriving on Orange decoders. A message of hope for 4K sports fans, who should finally be rewarded after 10 years of waiting.
Available on DTT since December 2023 (at least in some large cities), France 2 UHD, the 4K version of the first public service channel, is beginning its national expansion phase.
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In addition to channel 52 of TNT (channel 22 in Overseas), France 2 UHD will arrive, for the first time, with an operator. Orange will be the first to offer the channel by “end of May-beginning of June”, just in time for Roland Garros (from May 26). After ten years of slow progress, the prospect of the Olympic Games finally allows the France TV group to deploy the quality set to become the standard.
Will all operators be ready on time?
At France Télévisions, 4K has always been a strange subject. The public service has a very competent innovation team, which has been experimenting with new technologies in advance for several years, but the group launches almost nothing. The first Roland Garros filmed in 4K dates from 2013, with further experiments in 3D and 8K in the following years. However, it was impossible to easily watch the tournament in 4K in 2022 and 2023, since no channel was broadcasting it in this quality.
After years of moving forward in a vacuum, the Olympic Games will allow France TV to finalize its transition to 4K. The group has been preparing since March 2023, with two channels (France 2 UHD as a permanent channel, France 3 UHD as an event channel), both in 4K HDR. Certain technical choices, notably on DTT, do not allow optimal quality to be achieved, but it is already much better than an HD stream (even if 4K HDR creates saturation constraints, which could affect France TV same tours as on TF1, M6, Canal+ or Bein avec le football).
Orange, on channel 902 of its decoder (funny choice), will be the first major operator officially compatible with France 2 UHD (after a funny episode SFR, which seems to have broadcast the channel without authorization). What remains for France TV is to sign with SFR (for real), Bouygues, Free, Molotov and, above all, Canal+. If everyone plays the game, the Paris Olympic Games will be the first entirely broadcast in 4K. Eurosport, the other broadcaster, should also offer a UHD stream. Note that smaller operators, such as Orne THD, already offer the channel.
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At a time when France TV is finally switching to 4K, it is interesting to note that other major events, like the finals of the Champions League or Euro 2024, revert to 1080p HDR. Faced with excessive technical complexity and few channels, some broadcasters renounce maximum quality. The emergence of channels like France 2 UHD, set to become the standard, could finally popularize 4K.
