Vienna State Opera Streams Nabucco in 4K

Set for 7 p.m. CET on Wednesday May 7, the production of Verdi’s Nabucco with opera star Plácido Domingo in the title role will be streamed for global viewing on UHD smart TVs as well as to a 65-inch Samsung UHD TV at the opera house. The new Wiener Staatsoper Samsung smart TV app will have been released ahead of the performance and is the first such app with fully integrated UHD playout functionality that will allow viewers worldwide to watch the broadcast at their respective prime time, through Vienna State Opera’s unique time-shift feature.

“Our multiscreen offer, VOD services and user-selectable two-channel live programme provide new and exciting ways for fans to experience the arts with the highest levels of accessibility and artistry,” said Christopher Widauer, director of digital development for the Vienna State Opera. “The flexibility, speed and power of solutions from Elemental and the unique ability to stream 4K video using HEVC and MPEG-DASH, are vital for us to broaden the possibilities for opera and ballet viewing experiences.”

In addition to 4K HEVC real-time video streaming, Elemental supports live streaming and video-on-demand (VOD) for the Wiener Staatsoper full HD livestreaming service, which enables viewers to purchase a selection of live performances over the web to be enjoyed on computers, mobile devices (iOS and Android), connected TVs and on Samsung smart TVs, time-shifted for optimal viewing in each local market. Elemental also supports a Vienna State Opera companion application that shows subtitles and score sheets through a second screen app in sync with broadcasts.

The workflow for the 4K streaming event was designed by Elemental partner ETAS High Tech Hardware Systems GmbH. Based in Austria, ETAS has worked closely with Vienna State Opera, Samsung and other partners to assure event success. For the event, Elemental® Live will encode content captured by a Sony PMW-F55 CineAlta 4K camera. Delivery of the 4K HEVC MPEG-DASH streams will be managed by Ooyala for viewing worldwide via a custom Samsung connected TV application and PC-based application. Elemental will also encode content for a 65-inch Samsung connected TV for public viewing at the opera house.

“Vienna State Opera has been at the forefront of opera technology for some time – dating back to the nineteenth century when it was one of the first opera houses to have its own fire department and could assure patrons of artistic performances that were both stunning and safe,” said John Nemeth, VP of sales EMEA for Elemental. “Elemental is honored to support Vienna State Opera in its on-going technology innovation to increase access to the arts.”

About Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is one of the world's most important opera houses. Its season runs from September to June and offers over 300 performances of more than 60 different operas and ballets each year. The artistic cornerstones of the opera house are the State Opera Orchestra / Vienna Philharmonic, its ensemble of 60 singers, the stage orchestra, the choir and ballet ensemble, as well as all the great voices and conductors who appear regularly as guest stars. Ticket sales of over 99% makes the new staatsoperlive.com live broadcast service a highly important step towards more national and global accessibility of Vienna State Opera content. Overall, the organization employs around 950 permanent staff.

About Elemental
Elemental Technologies is the leading supplier of software-defined video solutions for multiscreen content delivery. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company pioneered the use of software-based video processing to distribute video over IP networks. Solutions from Elemental provide the flexibility, scalability and performance required to deliver high quality video via turnkey, cloud-based and virtualized deployment models. Powering video experiences for more than 400 leading media franchises worldwide, Elemental helps pay TV operators, content programmers, broadcasters and enterprise customers bring video to any screen, anytime – all at once. The company has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China, Russia, India and Brazil.