Odeon Cinema and Telia Test 5G-Connected Movie Theater
Odeon Cinema Center in Oslo and Norwegian mobile firm Telia teamed to operate the first 5G-connected movie theater, presenting films streamed over the next-gen network. The plan was announced in December, with the introduction of a 5G “test network.” The two companies are still in test mode with the launch of the 5G-enabled Odeon, to demonstrate how 5G will replace 4G and at least some wired broadband services. The Odeon is in fact using 5G to transfer the films to its own server, and said the system “works excellently.”
VentureBeat reports that, “the distinction is critically important as it demonstrates that responsive, high-bandwidth 5G wireless could be a viable alternative to local storage, even in commercial settings where buffering or audiovisual degradation would be problems for hundreds of viewers at once.”
In theaters, movies typically are projected at 4K or greater resolution, a problem since existing 4G LTE networks “may struggle to maintain fluid 720p video streams.” In tests, Telia’s 5G network achieved 2.2 Gbps speeds, “between five and 20 times the bandwidth of typical consumer 4G networks, and faster than the theater’s wired Internet lines.”
“participate in real time with live concerts or other events broadcast from remote locations.”
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/odeon-cinema-and-telia-test-5g-connected-movie-theater/