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.