MEGOGO Launches 8K Channel
MEGOGO is an Eastern European OTT service provider with a lot of dubbing that is now offering an 8K channel of content to subscribers in multiple regions. Unfortunately, not much public information was available on the new channel called [M] 8K, so we reached out to Ivan Shestakov, Chief Innovation Officer, to learn more (see Q&A below).
According to various news reports, this is the first 8K channel to be accessed via three different subscription levels (Easy, Optimal, and Maximum). 8K content will have voice dubbing or subtitles in Ukrainian, Russian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Latvian, Lithuanian and English. It is a 24- hour interactive channel that allows consumers to pause, rewind and fast forward as well as the ability to select content both from the archive.
This news follows the successful launch of an 8K channel of content from The Explorers on TCL 8K TVs, as we reported recently (Creating an 8K Channel “Not That Hard” Says TCL). It seems that the first flowers of an 8K spring are starting to bloom. Below are the emailed answers to questions we posed the Shestakov.
Is the 8K channel only offered in Ukraine?
Our 8K channel is available in the following countries: Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
How much 8k content is available now?
There are currently 27 titles, including The Poison Rose, Kill Chain, The Ghost Who Walks, Hellboy, Hunter Killer, Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, Trimates, Territory, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Strategy of Life, Beyond Skyline, Rambo: Last Blood, Gisaengchung, Angel Has Fallen, Spring Breakers, The Hurricane Heist, Mia et le lion blanc, Mechanic: Resurrection, Matilda, He’s Out There, Earth: One Amazing Day, Law Abiding, Citizen, The Wild Canadian Year, Galapagos: The Edge of the World, Bison Return, American Hustle, Panfilov’s 28 Men. The list will continue to grow.
How much additional 8K content do you hope to offer each month?
We always communicate with content owners to increase the number of titles.
Which content genres are offered?
We offer all genres, including drama, action, thriller, historical, documentary, etc.
Many of the titles I saw mentioned were not originally mastered in 8K. Are you upscaling and remastering in native 8K?
Yes, it was both: upscaling RAW 4K materials (using smart scaling technologies) and working with native 8K.
Do you need to content owner’s permission to create an 8K version?
Of course, we always work in the legal field. And we have all permissions from our content owners.
Are MEGOGO labs doing this conversion and remastering?
Yes, it is our internal project.
For distribution, are you using HEVC or AV1 codec?
We use HEVC.
Up to what data rate do you encode?
It is 30Mbps, 7680×4320 resolution, up to 60fps.
What encoding software and hardware are you using?
Regarding HDR, we use:
- Dolby Encoding Engine
- HDR10+ Converter
- SL-HDR Tool from Technicolor
- MEGOGO HDR Converter
Regarding the color grading process, we use:
- Blackmagic Davinci Resolve
- MEGOGO grading solution (own proprietary software)
Regarding the encoding/transcoding process, we use our own proprietary Command Line Interface solution.
In 2021, MEGOGO Laboratories expanded its services to offer color grading, audio mixing, sync, DCP mastering, subtitling, and all types of encoding/transcoding services. “Besides our proprietary technologies of upconversion to HDR and upscaling to 4K/8K Ultra HD, we collaborate with the leaders of the digital video technology market: Dolby and Technicolor,” notes the company on its website.
