Dr. Kook-yeon Kwak, Senior Executive Vice President, LG Electronics Inc. (left), and Mr. Youngsoo Park, Chief Technology Officer, SBS, discuss Korea’s first test transmission of 4K Ultra HD signals using ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast technologies. SEOUL—Korean broadcaster SBS partnered with LG Electronics for the country's first live over-the-air broadcast of 4K Ultra HD signals using technologies behind the ATSC 3.0 TV broadcast standard.
Youngsoo Park, SBS chief technology officer, said the transmission marked the first time ATSC 3.0 broadcasting technologies have been successfully tested in Korea. “This is significant achievement in realizing the feasibility of new broadcasting technology and an important first step in preparation for next year’s test transmissions here,” he said.
SBS and LG successfully demonstrated transmission and reception of 4K UHD and HD mobile signals simultaneously in a single 6 MHz channel. LG also demonstrated capability to receive HD mobile signals in a fast-moving vehicle using the technology expected to be part of the ATSC 3.0 physical layer.
Dr. Skott Ahn, president and CTO of LG Electronics, said, “LG is leading the way in development and commercialization of ATSC 3.0. Test broadcasts like this show how we are partnering with broadcasters around the world to drive adoption next-generation broadcasting technology.”
This month’s landmark Korean broadcast comes on the heels of field tests in the United States conducted since last fall by LG Electronics, its Zenith R&D Lab, and GatesAir.
The real-world field tests in Seoul, Cleveland and Madison, Wis., represent milestones in the collaborative effort by LG, GatesAir and Zenith to develop core technologies behind the new ATSC 3.0 standard. According to LG, these developments are expected to be used in the majority of the baseline physical layer transmission system, which is likely to become an ATSC Candidate Standard next month.
The ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard will require higher capacity to deliver 4K ultra-HD services, robust reception on mobile devices and improved spectrum efficiency. The increased payload capacity of the physical layer combined with HEVC encoding will allow broadcasters many more options when planning their broadcast service offerings.
Development of ATSC 3.0 technologies represents the latest collaboration among LG, Zenith and GatesAir, co-inventors of the transmission system behind the ATSC A/153 Mobile Digital TV Standard, adopted by the industry in 2009. Zenith invented the core transmission system at the heart of today’s ATSC A/53 Digital Television Standard, approved by the FCC in 1996.
