How to watch Tricolor TV channels in Ultra HD (4K)

Tricolor TV company is the largest satellite television provider in Russia. The operator regularly updates the range of services provided to meet the needs of its customers. For example, not long ago channels in UHD format appeared in the list of available packages. Users will be able to enjoy high image quality. How to set up Tricolor Ultra HD? What equipment is required for this? It is these questions that we will now try to answer.

Features of the Ultra HD format

4K Ultra HD is a digital television broadcast format characterized by high image clarity. The resolution of the broadcast image is 3840x2160 pixels. High resolution ensures natural image transmission. Incredible detail and maximum depth of color palette are the main advantages of the Tricolor Ultra HD connection.

In 4K Ultra HD satellite television format, your favorite films and TV series will shine with new colors. The saturation of the image will ensure full immersion in viewing. This operator has a large number of Full HD channels, but they are noticeably inferior in clarity to Ultra HD. Full HD resolution – 1920×1080 pixels.

High resolution support has a positive effect on the quality of three-dimensional images. Do not forget that to view Tricolor Ultra HD you will need an appropriate TV model that supports this format. UHD TV Specifications:

• Scan – progressive;
• Frame frequency – 50-60 GHz;
• Color palette depth – 8-10 bits;
• Aspect ratio – 16:9.

Now let's look at the channels that are broadcast by the satellite operator Tricolor TV in Ultra HD format.

What do you need to watch Tricolor TV 4K

To watch Tricolor TV in 4K mode, you must pay for the “Unified” package, which was just mentioned above. The second requirement is the presence of a receiver (receiver) equipped with a 4K format recognition option. You can use the GS A230 model as a Tricolor 4K receiver. The third condition is a TV with the ability to display an ultra-high definition signal.

We hope that there is no need to explain that failure to comply with the first requirement leads to the inadmissibility of viewing the channel as a whole, and failure to comply with any of the next two requirements leads to the channel being displayed in the usual resolution. Now about how to set up Tricolor Ultra HD.

List of Tricolor Ultra HD channels

Subscribers of the satellite operator Tricolor TV who have subscribed to the appropriate package will be able to configure 8 Ultra HD channels on their TV.

We have familiarized ourselves with the list of channels. Absolutely all of them are included in the corresponding Tricolor TV package. The operator continues to actively work to significantly expand the list of available TV channels.

Connection via CI module

The Tricolor TV module itself only works in slots that support CI plus. To immerse themselves in the world of ultra-high definition TV channels, many subscribers buy modern TVs that have high screen resolution and are capable of displaying 4K Ultra HD format. They are equipped with a built-in digital tuner, which is supported by external devices. That is why Tricolor TV operators offer CI plus access modules.

To receive 4K Ultra HD channels, an ordinary satellite tuner is not suitable; you need one that can receive them. For this purpose, it is convenient to use a CI access module, but you also need a TV that supports a screen resolution of 3840x2160, which is capable of decorating this signal.

If the TV supports CAM modules, you only need to purchase a smart card. Before installing it, disconnect the TV from the power supply by pulling the plug out of the socket. Then:

1. Install a smart card into the adapter.
2. The adapter is facing outwards and inserted into the HCMCIA slot.
3. Turn on TV. A message will appear on the screen indicating that a new device has been detected.
4. Start automatic search.

After some time, the TV will be ready for use. Now the eye will not lose the smallest details, and the image will become brighter, more colorful, sharper.

Receivers supporting this format

To watch channels in UHD format, you need to have an appropriate TV. List of required equipment:

• Tricolor receiver supporting 4K Ultra HD;
• Paid subscription to a package of UHD 4K channels;
• TV and properly configured satellite TV connection.

Not all receivers are capable of recognizing a signal in ultra-high definition format. The operator's official website provides a list of recommended equipment. To set up a correct connection, you must purchase one of the following HD receivers:

• CI+ module;
• Module CI+ gold;
• CAM CI+ Delgado;
• GS A230;
• System GS A230 / GS C591;
• System GS A230 / GS C5911;
• System GS A230 / GS C592.

What should you do if the receiver you are using is not on this list? It is necessary to acquire the appropriate equipment. Tricolor TV regularly conducts various exchange programs. According to the promotion, you can exchange the receiver for a new one for free.

Not all receivers participate in the exchange program. If the old receiver cannot be exchanged, then you need to buy new equipment. You can order the receiver in the online store or Tricolor TV office. An alternative option is official dealers who also sell equipment.

Non-mass UHD

At the same time, in Russia, ultra-high definition television has not yet conquered the mass market. This is evidenced by the fact that still not all of the pay TV operators included in the top 5 in terms of subscriber base (Tricolor, Rostelecom, MTS, Dom.ru, Telekarta) offer users of UHD channels.

Director of the TV and Content Department at J'son & Partners Consulting Dmitry Kolesov believes that this is quite natural, since the penetration level of UHD TVs in Russia today is low. He refers to data from consumer electronics retailers, according to which 4K TVs became a commodity in high demand only in 2021. According to J'son & Partners Consulting, at the beginning of 2020, the population's available fleet of UHD TVs amounted to 4.3 million units. “Even if we assume that each of these TVs belongs to one household and one family does not have two or more such devices installed, then out of approximately 55 million Russian households this will be noticeably less than 10%,” notes Dmitry Kolesov.

IAA TelecomDaily General Director Denis Kuskov is more optimistic. According to him, HD and UHD formats have already become a part of our lives. These types of content are popular and are present in almost every player. “When purchasing HD and UHD TVs, people want to watch quality content on them. Therefore, operators are trying to provide users with this opportunity both in the form of linear TV and in the online environment,” comments Denis Kuskov.

Let's look at the real picture of UHD channel offerings from the largest pay TV operators.

The leader in the number of 4K channels available to subscribers is Tricolor, whose satellite TV packages offer access to 10 such TV channels. Two of them are even available in the “Unified” package with a subscription fee of 1,500 rubles per year, which is the operator’s basic offer. Tricolor also offers a separate Ultra HD package. It includes seven UHD channels. For those who want to cover the maximum range of content in ultra-high definition format, “Unified Ultra HD” with nine corresponding channels is suitable. The tenth is included in the “Night” package, which is subscribed separately. Let’s make a reservation that we accept the “Unified” package from Tricolor as a basic package, since the operator’s package called “Basic” includes only on-air channels of the first and second digital multiplexes and is free for subscribers.

Rostelecom is in second place in terms of the range of 4K channels. There are seven of them in his packages. All of them are available in the Wink interactive TV service, starting with the “Maximum” package with a subscription fee of 850 rubles per month. In the basic subscription version, the operator does not provide access to UHD content.

MTS, which ranks third in the number of Ultra HD channels, has three. But the operator gives subscribers the opportunity to access them using various technologies: via satellite, IPTV and OTT. Depending on the chosen technology, a monthly subscription to a minimum package with a UHD channel will cost the subscriber 199 rubles (OTT), 250 rubles (satellite) or 490 rubles (IPTV). But the latter option is provided in conjunction with mobile communication services.

On the Dom.ru platform, the only channel broadcasts in ultra-high definition format - MyZen 4K.

Telekarta does not offer its users channels in UHD format.

Dmitry Kolesov does not see this as a big problem. In his opinion, there is no mass demand for the sake of which it is necessary to make titanic efforts to launch UHD broadcasting. “Operators, whose packages still do not have a single 4K channel, can still catch up with competitors in this aspect when such a need arises,” he believes.

According to the forecast of J'son & Partners Consulting, the total number of subscribers across all operators who will be able to subscribe to UHD packages will exceed 1 million only in 2023. “The overall penetration of UHD TVs in Russia is significantly less than 10%, and only 6–8 million new TVs are sold annually. It is clear that the share of UHD among them will constantly increase. Based on this, we can roughly calculate the dynamics of UHD penetration in Russia,” says the director of the TV and content department at J’son & Partners Consulting.

Dmitry Kolesov clarified that while the penetration of a service is less than 15% of the population, this service is niche, and in order to use it, you need to make a lot of effort. Once the 15% threshold is crossed, rapid growth begins if there is real demand for this service. “We can talk about some differences in service offerings by different market players until penetration exceeds 85%. After that, it becomes a massive single service that everyone uses. And somehow it becomes pointless to separately understand its importance for the consumer,” he is sure.

Connecting Tricolor Ultra HD channels

If all the necessary equipment is assembled and connected, then it’s time to connect the appropriate package. How to connect Ultra HD TV for Tricolor? To enjoy watching, you need to act in accordance with these instructions:

1. Go to settings, and then select the Eutelsat 36B satellite.
2. Set the following parameters - 12360 R SR 27500 and DVB-S2 8PSK FEC ¾.
3. Log in to your personal account.
4. Activate the “Ultra HD” package, the cost of this subscription is 1,500 rubles per year.
5. Leave the receiver turned on for 8 hours so that the activation codes are installed automatically.

When you do this, run automatic channel tuning. How to pay for a subscription? All available payment methods are listed on the operator's official website.

Set-top boxes for watching Tricolor TV in 4K mode

High-definition TV channels are only available for viewing with a digital TV set-top box that supports UHDTV. The Russian-made GS230 receiver has proven itself well. It receives satellite signals and broadcast TV content on modern ultra HD TVs. It is equipped with this capability by two DVB-S/DVB-S2 tuners, which are built into it.

The device has a Wi-Fi module, which is a modern standard and a convenient way to connect to your home IP network wirelessly. And the GS230 receiver, using the GS C5911 subscriber set-top box, can be configured to supply content to a second TV.

The built-in hard drive made it possible to support additional functions (recording, delayed viewing), as well as platforms with modern services.

But other satellite receivers, except for the Russian GS230 tuner, with this function are still rare. These include: Opticum HD AX 501 CI+, HotCake HD CI+ and Skyway Light 2.

Players for viewing HD and 4K content

The most popular players today for unhindered viewing of HD content are IP-TV Player and OTTplayer, for 4K - ForkPlayer.

OTTplayer

Today this is one of the best free players for watching interactive TV. Suitable for devices running Android, Windows, iOS, MacOS, LG Smart TV and Samsung Smart TV operating systems. Supports HLS, TS by UDP, RTMP, etc., which guarantees the operation of many playlists. Also, the player does not contain any advertising. The only system requirement is at least 1 GB of RAM.

To add a playlist, do the following:

1. Register on the player developer website - https://ottplayer.es/account/registration
2. Fill out every single field and go to your e-mail to confirm registration.
3. Return to the site and log into your personal account.
4. Find the section called “Playlists”, where on the right you will see the “New Playlist” menu.
5. Enter any name in the “Playlist name” field.
6. Where “Playlist Source” is indicated, insert the correct link to the desired playlist. Click “Submit.”
7. Go to this application on your device.
8. Log in. That's it, completed.

Video instructions for installing and adding a playlist to the player:

ForkPlayer

Software for viewing playlists in 4K format. Essentially, this is a browser designed to view websites, as well as playlists in various formats (m3u, xml, xspf). Content downloaded from the network is automatically processed and transferred to the original ForkPlayer format. Supports Smart TV and Android TV operating systems.

Video instructions for adding a playlist:

Playlist with films in 4K HDR and m3u format

Current IPTV playlist with 45 movies in modern 4K HDR format. The playlist contains cult and simply cool films of various genres and years of release. The playlist was created for viewing on Smart TV through the ForkPlayer program.

Partial list of available films:

• Agent Johnny English 3 (2018);
• Agents of AHKL. (2015);
• Aquaman (2018);
• Aladdin (2019);
• Aladdin (1992);
• Charlie's Angels (2020);
• AHHA (2019);
• Aeronauts (2019);
• Mad MAKC: Fury Road (2015);
• Venom (2018);
• GODZILLA 2: KING OF MOHCTPOB (2019);
• Burn Clear (2019);
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014);
• The Grinch (2018);
• Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017);
• Jumanji 2: The Next Level (2019);
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Sunrise (2019);
• Zootopia (2016);
• Interstellar (2014);
• Toy Story 4 (2019);
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2 (2003);
• The Lego Movie 2 (2019);
• Bachelor Party in Vegas (2009);
• Bachelor Party 2: From Vegas to Bangkok (2011);
• Bachelor Party: Part 3 (2013);
• Jurassic World (2015);
• The Mummy Returns (2001);
• Night at the Museum: CEKPET TOMBS (2014);
• Very Bad Mommies 2 (2017);
• Prestige (2006);
• Arrival (2016);
• Prometheus (2012);
• The Fifth Element (1997);
• Salt (2010);
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007);
• Split (2016);
• CTAPTPEK: Retribution (2013);
• Judge Dredd (2012);
• The Secret Life of Pets (2016) + Part 2 (2019);
• Titanic (1997);
• TOP: Ragnarok (2017);
• Predators (2010);
• Ant-Man and Oca (2018);
• Spider-Man: Black Panther (2018);
• Spies Next Door (2016);
• I'm not like that! I am not like that! (2019).

Link for free download of the playlist – https://smarttvnews.ru/apps/4k-film-hdr.m3u

HD with reservations

TV channels in HD format have long ceased to be a rarity. “At the moment, the presence of HD channels is no longer an additional bonus, but a necessity,” Denis Kuskov is sure. And one cannot but agree with him. Even small cable providers include them in their channel packages in fairly large quantities. What can we say about the top 5 operators. Dom.ru packages have the most of them - 84, Rostelecom 80, Tricolor 74, MTS 64. Moreover, each of the listed operators included an impressive number of HD channels in the basic offer.

Telekarta stands apart, which offers only 26 high-definition channels, none of which were included in the basic package on the satellite and only four were included in the standard offer on the Telekarta Online OTT platform.

Analysts note that it is not so much the number of HD channels in operator packages that is important, but rather their demand from subscribers. According to Denis Kuskov, it is not so important for subscribers how many UHD and HD channels the operator has. The average viewer constantly watches seven or eight channels that are interesting to him, so what is important is not that the operator has 100 or 300 channels, but that he has channels that meet the needs of users both in terms of content and picture quality.

“All operators, to the best of their ability, try to provide the user with the widest possible choice. At the same time, it is important for the operator to know the profile of his subscriber and give him what he needs, and not chase the number of channels that no one will watch. The same can be said about the picture quality. If a person is interested in the content of a channel, then he will watch it in any capacity. Don't forget that even if a user has an operator's set-top box that supports UHD, this does not mean that he also has a 4K TV. Nevertheless, he will still watch UHD channels if he likes their content,” explains Denis Kuskov.

Dmitry Kolesov reminds that in Europe HD channels are sold for a fee, but in Russia it so happens that operators do not charge additional money for HD. Therefore, he believes that the HD format does not provide the additional value for which Russian subscribers are willing to pay. “This means that the subscriber no longer cares about the number of channels. The race to increase their number leads primarily to a dead end for the operators themselves. It turns out that there are no new subscribers on the market, since the pay TV market in Russia is already oversaturated. On the other hand, to lure subscribers away from competitors, it is not enough to simply offer more channels. Rather, operators compete with package offers and additional services,” Dmitry Kolesov is sure.

Indirectly, the fact that the role of the range of HD channels is not so high is also evidenced by the fact that many over-the-air channels still do not have an HD version.