A slight majority of U.S. consumers say they “have never heard of” Next Gen TV (aka ATSC 3.0) according to a new survey from Hub Entertainment Research. This is comparable to the 58% who have never heard of 8K TV but much larger than the approximately 20% who had never heard of 4K TV.

This lack of knowledge of the next generation broadcast standard is just one of numerous conclusions about the current state of the TV set in American homes revealed by Hub’s “Evolution of the TV Set.” The results are from an online survey of 2,500+ U.S. consumers taken in May and June. The survey included both TV and non-TV homes.

Despite the proliferation of viewing video on mobile devices, the TV set still remains the dominant source of news and entertainment in the U.S. household Hub concluded. It found that the average home has 2.7 TV sets and that two-thirds of those homes have at least one smart TV set that is connected to broadband. The TV set in the living room or family room is still the most popular, with respondents saying that 81% of viewing happens on TV sets in those rooms. Half of those “most used” sets are connected to a pay-TV provider while 41% are connected to a streaming TV source.

Among vendors, Samsung is the dominant player with 48% of those planning on buying a Samsung-branded smart TV set in the 12 months (LG is a distant second with 12%).

Half of the sets in American households are 50 inches or bigger and fewer than three years old, Hub said. Almost half of all U.S. homes now have a streaming media player, according to the survey and 75% of homes stream TV shows or movies to a connected TV screen.

When it comes to new technologies, consumers are most interested in 4K and HDR sets with more than 75% of respondents expressing “a lot” or “some” interest in the high resolution imaging technologies. However, while 4K TV sets are now dominant on the retail floor, only 43% have used a 4K TV set to watch actually 4K content.

Television technology is becoming more complex to consumers as they navigate terms such as 8K, HDR and frames per second, according to David Tice, co-author of the study.

“As smart TVs, connected TVs, connected devices, and TV voice-control devices proliferate, many new services and features have suddenly become available to TV set users”, said David Tice, co-author of the study. “But TV manufacturers and services have a long record of inadequately educating consumers on their offerings. TV brands and content distributors need to work together to increase consumer awareness, as these great new features won’t help sell TV sets or services—or command a premium—if people don’t understand them.”

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, is launching a series of new shows that will offer motorsports fans a thrilling look at the lives and stories behind some of the world’s most talented racers on two and four wheels.

Launching on 1st March on Insight.tv, the Speed Seekers series will give fans the inside track on Moto2 motorbike world champion, Franco Morbidelli in Morbidelli Rising; show F1 veterans, professional drivers and amateurs battling to endure the epic Spa 24 Hours race in Endurance: 24 Hours at Spa; provide neck-craning action from the globetrotting Bolddog freestyle motocross team in FMX Nomads; and show celebrity supercar owners racing each other in Fast and Famous.

Morbidelli RisingThe 2018 Moto GP motorbike season kicks off with lots of anticipation and excitement for new rider and rising star, Franco Morbidelli, who is joining for his rookie season. The series charts the 18 months before Franco’s Moto GP track debut, revealing the mentoring and relationship with motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi, his home life, the nerves and pressure leading up to his first race, as well as their intense training sessions at ‘The Ranch’.  The series highlights Insight TV’s continued successful production partnership with Monster Energy.

Endurance: 24 Hours at SpaGo behind the visor and step into the lives of the drivers competing to win one of motorsport’s toughest races: the ‘Total 24 Hours of Spa’ in Belgium. This new show, produced inhouse by Insight TV, goes behind the scenes, featuring personal stories of world class amateur and professional drivers – including F1 legend Rubens Barrichello – from six leading teams who fiercely battle to last 24 hours at this notorious circuit.

FMX NomadsViewers will join Dan Whitby, Samson Eaton and Arran Powley to experience the globetrotting, day-to-day life of the high-flying Bolddog freestyle motocross team. With the latest event in their nomadic schedule taking them to the outskirts of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the crew are faced with the challenge and added danger of combining their show with drift car drivers Luke Woodham and Steve ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni. The show was produced inhouse by Insight TV.

Fast and FamousIn Fast and Famous two celebrity supercar owners are pitted against each other to race their cars on a real race track. But there’s a catch… the host of the show also happens to be an accomplished race driver who will train the celebrities in their quest to reach the chequered flag first. The celebrity who clocks the fastest time wins the grand prize and the honour of being the fastest famous petrol-head.

Viewers can also find a host of additional motoring content on Insight.tv, including Road to Gymkhana Grid, Close Proximity, Graveyard Carz, MTB Heroes, Dangers of Darkfest and many more.

Frank le Mair, Executive Producer, Insight TV says, “This new collection of shows will give motorsport fans and viewers a racer’s view of the skill, danger, determination and speed involved to compete in some of the most exhilarating, exciting and demanding events in world motorsport. Exploring the lives and stories behind talented riders competing in Moto GP, endurance racing and freestyle motocross, along with showcasing the world’s fastest celebrity speed fans, viewers will be treated to spectacular, hair-raising motorsport action from across the globe.

“Motorsports communities have always been an important part of Insight TV’s show library, and these new programs demonstrate to all speed seekers out there that Insight TV is top of the podium for storytelling and adventurous content.”

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, has sold the format rights of its provocative new show, Travel with a Goat, to Nordisk Film TV in Denmark, a part of Banijay Group.

Travel With a Goat, co-created and produced by Tuvalu Media, launched in January to many accolades from the European press and lively debates across social media, with global influencers discussing their reactions. In each episode, food influencers from around the world are challenged to travel with animals destined for the slaughter house, before deciding their fate. The UK’s Guardian newspaper included a write up in its “Monday Best TV” column and The Telegraph called Travel With a Goat “a grime-caked travelogue confronting the ethics of eating meat”.

The premise of the show, which bears the slogan, ‘freedom or feast, what would you do?’ is not to influence people in any direction about their food choices; it’s simply to spark a conversation to get viewers thinking about where the meat that ends up on their plate came from and the journey the animal took to get to that point.

“We always knew that Travel with a Goat was going to cause a stir by its very nature, and we’re delighted with the high level of coverage and the positive reaction that the show is receiving,” says Arun Maljaars, Insight TV’s Director of Content & Channels. “We are really excited that Nordisk Film TV has acquired the format in Denmark, and we look forward to seeing how the show progresses.”

LAS VEGAS—Just before the 2019 CES begins Jan. 8, the Consumer Technology Association will reveal its annual electronics sales forecast, and for the first time 8K ultra high definition TV sets will be included in the forecast.

“8K is getting real,” says Steve Koenig, CTA’s vice president of market research. “We’ve seen 8K in previous years, but now I expect every manufacturer will show 8K equipment, and there will be big announcements about plans to begin shipping 8K sets later in the year.”

Koenig’s forecast will also confirm the strength of the television receiver market, showing that 55-inch 4K UHD displays are “now the industry standard,” a dramatic jump from the 42-inch screen which had been the mainstay of the flat-panel industry for several years. Koenig also expects that 65-inch sets will be heavily promoted at CES.

[Read: Is 8K Gaining Traction?]

Although Koenig admits he has “no idea” about the pricing for 8K equipment, he expects the sets will be just one aspect of the renewed focus on TV devices. Advanced TV display technology, including rollable screens, micro LEDs from Samsung and Sony’s short-throw laser projection are among products Koenig expects to see at next year’s CES.

THE RISE OF ‘C-SPACE’

CTA’s Karen Chupka, senior vice president, CES & Corporate Business Strategy, affirmed the staying power of television sets despite the boom in alternative viewing devices.

“At one point, everyone thought the TV set would become a dumb device, yet TVs have become smarter,” Chupka said. “TVs are still a huge part of our everyday lives. While we have all these great technologies being built into things we never thought of, at the end of the day, people are still using TVs, albeit interfacing with them in different ways.”

Citing the rapid adoption of streaming video, as well as user-created content, Chupka characterized as “incredibly important” the growing reality that “content resides on all our devices.” Focusing on the growth of “C Space,”—a conference and exhibit area at CES aimed at content producers, marketers and distributors—she focused on the growing role of analytics and other tools that help marketers and programmers evaluate new opportunities.

“We created C Space with the intent to bring branding, content and marketing people under one roof,” Chupka told TV Technology. “There is so much knowledge about who’s watching what and the ability to create diverse programming. All this data and analytics are becoming more and more important to understanding audiences.”

This year, “Sports Zone,” a popular component of the CES in recent years, has been moved to C Space, because it’s “such an important tie-in,” Chupka explained. The combination means that 2019’s C Space will be twice the size of last year’s event, which drew 22,000 attendees. Chupka expects a larger crowd this year.

Other technologies such as ATSC 3.0 will be less visible—but not absent—from the halls and suites at CES. Koenig does not expect manufacturers to demonstrate 3.0 devices on the show floor, although such products may be on display at the 2020 CES.

WELCOME TO ‘THE DATA AGE’

Along with 8K introductions, Koenig expects other video developments.

“What matters is picture quality,” he said. Technically advanced consumers will be looking for advanced features, such as high dynamic range. Koenig’s research also indicates that 4K sets will dominate U.S. TV sales in the coming year. Nearly half of all new receivers will have 4K displays in 2019, and that figure will rise to 55 percent by 2020, Koenig said.

Television sets are the number one most-owned technology in America, in 96 percent of U.S. homes, according to CTA’s research, with smartphones (86 percent) coming in second place.

“Even in this mobile-driven era, the TV remains the centerpiece of technology in U.S. homes,” Koenig added. “TV is still a major attraction at CES.” He expects that one major issue next month will be the intense global competitive market, especially as more TV brands from China offer innovations, just as Japanese and Korean companies have done in recent years.

At their presentation at the “CES Unveiled” preview in New York last month, Koenig’s CTA research colleagues predicted an upbeat holiday sales season, predicting that 164 million adults (about two-thirds of American adults) will purchase technology gifts, spending an average of $464. TV receivers remain the most popular item on the holiday wish list, similar to 2017, with notebook/laptop computers and smartphones/tablets filling the next two spots.

In their presentation, Ben Arnold, CTA’s senior director-innovation and trends, and Lesley Rohrbaugh, director-market research, introduced a new strategic perspective, calling 2020 the start of the “Data Age,” following the “Digital Age” (2000) and “Connected Age” (2010). They singled out the growing use of artificial intelligence—where IoT, which usually stands for “Internet of Things”—has been updated to the “new” IoT: “Intelligence of Things,” in which digital assistants become more specialized and a range of home products are integrated into a “whole home view.”

READY FOR ATSC 3.0

Pearl TV, the alliance of eight broadcast companies promoting Next Gen TV, will be active during CES in anticipation of its 2020 service launch, according to Anne Schelle, managing director.

“Our entire focus is on the commercialization of the very flexible ATSC 3.0 standard,” of Pearl TV, Schelle said. The organization’s leaders and its Phoenix model market partners will be at CES “meeting with various ecosystem partners, reaching out to consumer device manufacturers, automotive manufacturers, and other players to share our service requirements and plans resulting from the Phoenix tests,” she said.

Schelle contrasted the 3.0 rollout to the high-definition transmission and reception launch 20 years ago, which “took several CES and NAB Shows to accomplish.”

“It’s moving much faster in today’s digital environment,” she said. “While we don’t anticipate seeing much in the way of ATSC 3.0 receivers on the show floor itself in 2019, we know that ‘behind the scenes’ discussions will be about new partnerships and new capabilities of future television products—just like conversations in past years.

“CES will be another opportunity to explain how this transition is different than the last one, and how broadcasters are embracing the Internet Protocol capabilities of the new standard,” Schelle added.

Separately, ONE Media, the Sinclair Broadcasting technology unit that is developing Next Gen TV services, will privately demonstrate three configurations of its chip for ATSC 3.0 devices. There will be a simple demodulator package, a demodulator with analog/digital conversion capability and a demodulator with analog/digital conversion plus an embedded turner, according to Mark Aitken, president of ONE Media and Sinclair’s vice president of advanced technology.

First versions of the chip, which was developed by Saankhya Labs, an Indian firm in which Sinclair holds a major stake, were due to be delivered during the past month from a Samsung foundry. The single-chip receivers feature a low-power embedded antenna and were also designed for use in moving vehicles. The chips include a closely coupled antenna array to insure reception in a high-speed mobile environment, according to Aitken. “We’re going after the largest possible markets, including the global market for set top boxes,” Aitken told TV Technology. The new multistandard SDR (software defined radio) chip will support 23 broadcast standards, he added. ONE Media will demonstrate the technology privately in a hotel suite during CES and expects “we’ll have more to show” (possibly on the exhibit floor) at the 2019 NAB Show, Aitken said, adding that he also plans to demonstrate the chip’s capabilities at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in late February.

Aitken declined to discuss pricing, but said that even in low quantities, the price point will be “a fraction” of what other companies are charging for SDR chips.

SENSORY OVERLOAD

Beyond the renewed vigor within the video category, CES continues to expand its reach into countless digital realms—thereby attracting an ever more diverse array of exhibitors and attendees. For example, the Eureka Park exhibit area—where start-ups and young companies can display their innovations—will have 1,200 small booths next month, up from 1,000 in 2018 and six-fold the size of the first Eureka Park five years ago.

Overall, more than 4,500 exhibitors have signed up to show their wares in the 2.75 million square feet of space at CES’s three major venues in Las Vegas (Tech East, Tech West and Tech South, all of which include multiple buildings), CTA’s Chupka said. Floor space and the expected attendee roster of more than 180,000 people are “tracking ahead of last year,” Chupka added. About one-third of attendees are based outside the United States, and CTA’s tally shows that 65,000 people carry a “senior-level executive” title.

In addition to the Prince of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom’s Minister of Trade, 10 other overseas Ministers will take part in the programs.

Chupka is particularly enthusiastic about the growth of C Space, with its larger-than-ever presence by Hulu, NBCUniversal, Turner, Google and other old and new media companies. CES has expanded its “Marketplace” clusters of technologies—each focused on purveyors in categories such as robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, smart cities and travel.

Koenig pointed out the continuing explosion of new programming, including material created for streaming, subscription video-on-demand and other platforms.

“There is so much content out there,” he said, speculating that the “mosaic of sources can be a ‘Frankenstein monster’ of content that consumers have trouble wrangling.” He said he’ll look for ways that artificial intelligence can better help consumers curate their choices. Koenig cited the predictive algorithms (recommendation engines) of Netflix and Amazon Prime which steer viewers to shows they like.

“As algorithms get better and better and train the AIs,” Koenig said he expects that the services will bridge to other digital assistants that will help consumers make viewing decisions. He cited a service, which will be on display at CES, in which LG uses Google Assistant to enable viewers to control the TV.

“It will be interesting to see what is the next level of integration beyond command and control, getting into curation,” Koenig said.

Among other features that he expects to emerge at CES is more audio for home theater, such as a new Dolby Atmos technology that provides “an enormously rich, immersive sound field to go with 4K or 8K.”

WHERE CONTENT AND TECHNOLOGY MEET

The CES conference program—spread over the four days of CES, Jan. 8–12—encompasses more than 250 sessions on dozens of topics. The keynote speaker line-up includes a first-time appearance by LG Electronics President/CTO Dr. I.P. Park, who will appear at a Monday night pre-show event to discuss how artificial intelligence has become the company’s main growth engine. Park is also expected to describe how AI will affect nearly every major industry from technology to healthcare, agriculture, transportation and engineering.

Other keynoters include IBM Chairman/President/CEO Ginni Rometty, who will also discuss AI and quantum in the context of trust and transparency, and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, who will (according to CTA) “take a deep dive into the impact of 5G,” especially for use in building smart cities infrastructure. AMD President/CEO Dr. Lisa Su will examine next-generation of computing, especially in terms of gaming and virtual entertainment.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is scheduled to sit down with CTA President/CEO Gary Shapiro for a half-hour on-stage chat about regulatory issues on the first day of CES. Other members of the FCC and Federal Trade Commission are expected to join various public policy sessions, which had not yet been confirmed at press time. International trade issues will also be on the agenda, Chupka promised.

Even after more than 20 years of overseeing CES, Chupka seemed awed at the velocity of changes now infusing the technology industry.

“One thing I think that will be surprising is how many advances there will be apparent in just one year.”

For more information, visitces.tech.

LONDON–Just as the UHD/4K TV set market heats up, a research firm is predicting that the next wave—8K—is not far behind.

With the debut of 8KTVs now making their way to the market by the end of 2018, business information provider IHS Markit says it expects less than 20,000 sets to be shipped globally by the end of this year, with more than 430,000 sets sold in 2019, eventually approaching 2 million units by 2020. The growth will be centered around sets 60-inches are larger, with 65 inch TVs accounting for more than half of the volume.

For the burgeoning 4K market, IHS says more than half of the 226 million TVs expected to ship in 2019 will be UHD TV models. Global shipments of 4K/UHDTVs are expected to to grow 3.6 percent year over year in 2018, with additional 1.4 percent growth in 2019.

“Growth in the TV market typically is the result of more attractive retail prices for large-screen sizes and the continued commoditization of 4K resolution, driving TV replacements and upgrades,” said Paul Gagnon, research and analysis executive director, IHS Markit. “However, this growth through price compression has a negative effect on profits, so TV brands are actively looking for more growth from advanced TV models to improve earnings.”

[Read: Coming To A Living Room Near You: 8K]

Technologies like 8K, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and quantum dot (QD) carry substantial premiums, and even 4K TVs still carry premiums of more than 35 percent at screen sizes where 1080p resolution is still an option, such as 40-inch to 49-inch TVs.

OLED TV is expected to grow more than 40 percent in 2019, rising to 3.6 million units. This growth is in line with previous forecasts, because demand is essentially matching industry production capacity. The size mix still favors 55-inch TVs, based on current prices, but it will transition to mostly 65-inch TVs by 2020, when new production capacity is optimized for larger screen sizes, and when substantial growth is expected in the OLED TV category.

Quantum dot LCD TV shipments are now forecast to exceed 4 million units in 2019, based on more aggressive pricing and the introduction of transitional quantum-dot-equipped LCD TV models. “The high-end prices of non-QD-equipped LCD TV models and the prices of the low end QD-equipped LCD TV models have moved closer together,” Gagnon said. “This extension of the quantum dot LCD TV lineup into more moderate price ranges effectively reduces the quantum dot premium to less than 100 percent at mid-range sizes, opening up the category to a larger addressable market of consumers.”

Although there is very little to no 8K content available, Japan is expected to spur more interest in the high-res format, which has twice the resolution of 4K and 4x the resolution of 1080p HD. In advance of its plans to broadcast the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo in 8K, public broadcaster NHK announced earlier this year that it plans to launch a channel devoted to 8K by the end of 2018.

Samsung and LG, among the largest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world, are introducing new 8KTV sets to markets beyond its shores. Earlier this month Samsung announced initial shipments of its new 85-inch Q900 QLED television to select retailers. To make up for the lack of 8K content, Samsung has built an AI-based upscaler, called the Quantum Processor 8K, into the television to produce 8K resolution regardless of the video’s original resolution, the company said.

At CES in January, LG previewed an 88-inch class 8K OLED TV the company called “world’s first OLED 8K TV set.” It uses more than 33 million self-emitting pixels to create its contrast ratio and true blacks produce its picture quality. LG Electronics says it expects OLED TV shipments to double in 2018 and to reach five million by 2022.

Vizio is bringing ATSC broadcast tuners back to its entire 4K TV lineup.

The company is launching four new 4K smart-TV lines that feature more high dynamic range (HDR) formats, higher peak brightness levels in all but the entry-level series, more backlit local-dimming zones in select models to improve black levels, and its first quantum-dot TV in two years.

The new TVs are also the company’s first TVs that can be voice-controlled through smart speakers and mobile phones via Amazon Alexa. Like last year’s models, the new models can also be voice-controlled through speakers and phones via Google Assistant.

The flagship TV is the $2,199-suggested P-series Quantum, a 65-inch model with quantum-dot display, 192 local dimming zones, 2,000 nits of peak brightness, black levels said to be “comparable” with OLED displays, and wide color gamut reaching 98 percent of the DCI P3 digital-cinema standard, or 80 percent of the Rec. 2020 standard. It’s Vizio’s first quantum-dot TV in two years after phasing out a 65-inch Reference-series TV.

As quantum-dot film comes down in price, Vizio “will see how far we can spread it” in its lineup, but the company has no current plans to do so, said John Hwang, senior director of product management.

The quantum-dot TV is among 19 smart 4K TVs that Vizio is unveiling in the D, E, M and P series of 4K smart TVs. The entry-level D series also includes some HD and FHD smart and non-smart models. Like before, all models feature full-array backlighting instead of edge-lit LED lighting for better light uniformity and contrast, Vizio said.

All 2018 smart TVs run on Vizio’s SmartCast OS, which incorporates onscreen apps and Chromecast built-in, which enables the TV to stream any one of thousands of Chromecast-enabled apps running on a mobile device.

ATSC REVISITED

All TV models feature ATSC 1.0 tuners, which in the 2017 lines were available only in the entry-level D series. Vizio brought back free over-the-air ATSC tuning in force because the company recognized that although “a large percentage” of consumers don’t watch over-the-air TV, people who have cut the cord with traditional pay-TV services see value in free ATSC broadcasts, Hwang said.

[Read: Vizio Makes ATSC Tuner-Free 4KTVs]

Because linear TV is “still a strong use case,” Hwang added, Vizio is bringing YouTube TV’s vMVPD service to its selection of embedded smart-TV apps in the spring as well as its own over-the-top (OTT) free-TV service, which it is developing with Pluto TV to let viewers stream more than 100 free Internet channels.

The as-yet unnamed service, which will include some Vizio-exclusive channels, will give users access to OTT linear-TV channels through the TVs’ onscreen GUI as well as by using the channel up/down buttons of the TV’s remote. The service will feel like a traditional pay-TV service without the set-top box or subscription fee, the company said. Channels will offer news, sports, movies, talk shows, concerts and the like.

Pluto TV’s own OTT linear-TV service is available on 2017 and 2018 Vizio smart TVs, but Vizio promises its free linear-TV service will offer content not available through the Pluto service.

HDR, peak brightness: In its 2018 lineup, Vizio is also stepping up picture performance, in part by adding more HDR options. Hybrid Log Gamma appears for the first time in Vizio TVs and will be available on all 4K models, while Dolby Vision, previously available only in the M and P series, migrates down to the “step-up entry-level” E series. Like before, the HDR 10 format appears in all 4K models.

To goose up the peak brightness levels of specular highlights on a sustained basis, Vizio expanded its user-selectable Extreme Black Engine feature down into the E series and upgraded its performance to reduce blooming, said Hwang. The feature is tied to the TVs’ multiple backlit local-dimming zones.

A longer version of this article is available on TWICE.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

WASHINGTON—LG Electronics will include ATSC 3.0 tuners in all of its 4KTVs sold in South Korea beginning later this year, according to John Taylor, LG vice president of public affairs, who spoke during a panel discussion at the annual general meeting of the Advanced Television Systems Committee in the nation’s capitol this week.

“We’ll include our latest generation of ATSC 3.0 chip—it will include both 1.0 and 3.0 demodulation,” Taylor said.

LG introduced its first ATSC 3.0-enabled 4K Ultra HDTVs at CES in Las Vegas in January and said “new” 4K sets sold in Korea would include 3.0 tuners. Taylor today confirmed that would include “all” new 4KTV sets. LG 4KTV screen sizes range from 42 to 86 inches, Taylor said, and all LG TV sets over 50 inches are 4K. Commercial U.S. availability of the 3.0-enabled sets is contingent on the broadcaster roll-out plan in the United States, he said.

The Seoul-based manufacturer said it would roll out new big-screen smart TVs with both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuning in anticipation of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next February, which the South Korean government intends to cover in 4K.

In February of 2016, South Korean broadcasters announced their intention to start broadcasting in 3.0 this spring; and in July of last year, the Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea’s Ministry of Science had adopted ATSC 3.0 as the official over-the-air TV transmission standard, making it the first country to do so.

“The early launching Korea is a really wonderful on-ramp for those of us in the United States,” he said. “We’ll build economies of scale on the production side.”

LG showed a 65-inch model at the January consumer electronics trade show, where they demonstrated broadcast video-on-demand and program guide delivery over the ROUTE protocol specified in ATSC 3.0. The manufacturer rolled out its dual-tuner chips at the 2016 NAB Show, most notably in a smart antenna designed to redistribute the 3.0 signals around the home via Wi-Fi. (TV Technology contributor Doug Lung provides more details on the tuner chip in, “Coming Soon: ATSC 3.0!,” June 22, 2016.)

LG has been actively involved in the development of ATSC 3.0 for years, first proposing “Futurecast” with Harris in 2013. (See “ATSC Receives 3.0 Physical Layer Proposals,” Sept. 6, 2013, and “OFDM-Based ‘Futurecast’ ATSC 3.0 Proposed by LG, Zenith and Harris Revealed,” Oct. 2, 2013.”)

ATSC 3.0 will be the first over-the-air TV transmission standard to leverage internet-protocol technology, which gives it new capabilities such as multiple audio tracks, 4K resolution, high-dynamic range and other advanced video features; portability to mobile devices and the use of apps among them. Development of ATSC 3.0 was first proposed in September of 2011 with the formation of TG3 within the ATSC.

TG3 was led by Dr. Richard Chernock of Triveni Digital, who continues to chair the group. ATSC 3.0 was perceived of before the development of 2.0 was completed in order to incorporate the work being done on mobile digital television. ATSC 2.0 comprised internet-enhanced broadcasting, non-real-time delivery and 3DTV, which evolved into 4K, HDR and other advanced video characteristics.

LG tested Futurecast in Madison, Wis., on WKOW-TV in October, 2014; and again in Cleveland in July of 2015. The foundation of the standard, referred to as the “physical layer,” was approved last year, with core technology contributions from LG and Zenith, it’s U.S.-based skunk works, including the scrambler, forward error correction, bit interleaver, mapper, time interleaver, OFDM framer, frequency interleaver, pilots, reserved tones, and guard interval functions.

LG also has been active in demonstrations of AWARN—the Advanced Warning and Response Network—the emergency alerting platform developed for ATSC 3.0.

~ James E.O'Neal contributed to this story.

For more TV Technology coverage of the standard and its development, see our 170-story ATSC 3.0 silo.

Also see the ATSC 3.0 Standards Update graphic for May 2017.

LAS VEGAS—LG Electronics is introducing the first ATSC 3.0-enabled 4K Ultra HD TVs to support this year’s historic nationwide deployment of the Next-Gen TV broadcast standard in South Korea. Starting this spring—in advance of the 2018 Winter Olympics—new 2017 models of LG 4K Ultra HD TVs and large-screen LG smart TVs sold in Korea will have both ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 1.0 tuners, the company announced at CES 2017.

LG Electronics is launching the first ATSC 3.0-equipped 4K Ultra HD TVs in Korea as SBS and other Korean broadcasters begin Next-Gen TV broadcasting this spring in advance of the 2018 Winter Olympics. At CES 2017, Suk-Mynn Yoon, CEO and vice chairman of SBS Media Holdings, (left) was briefed by Dr. Jong Kim, senior vice president, LG Electronics Office of the chief technology officer and president, of LG’s Zenith R&D Lab. At CES, one of these new models—a 65-inch class LG LED TV with an embedded second-generation ATSC 3.0 tuner—is displaying 4K UHD high-dynamic range broadcast programming. LG also is demonstrating ATSC 3.0’s advanced electronic service guide capabilities. They include broadcast video-on-demand and a program guide delivered by the Real-Time Object Delivery over Unidirectional Transport, or ROUTE protocol, specified in the nearly finalized ATSC 3.0 standard.

LG’s early introduction of ATSC 3.0-enabled TVs builds on the company’s key role in the development of the ATSC 3.0 suite of standards, especially the approved A/322 Physical Layer Standard at the heart of the new broadcast system that will merge the capabilities of broadcast and broadband for the first time.

Core technologies developed by LG and its U.S. R&D lab Zenith are included in the majority of the ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer Standard. LG contributions to the A/322 transmission system include the scrambler, forward error correction, bit interleaver, mapper, time interleaver, OFDM framer, frequency interleaver, pilots, reserved tones, and guard interval functions.

Expected to redefine TV broadcasting for decades to come, the Internet Protocol-based ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard will deliver 4K UHD 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 more options when planning their broadcast services. A majority of the ATSC 3.0 suite of standards has been approved or is in the final stages of approval, expected to be completed this spring.

Development of ATSC 3.0 technologies represents the latest LG/Zenith innovation in digital television, which also includes key technologies in the A/153 Mobile Digital TV Standard adopted by the industry in 2009. Zenith also invented the core transmission system at the heart of today’s ATSC A/53 Digital Television Standard, approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in 1996.

“In parallel with our extensive standards development work with the ATSC, LG has been collaborating with Korean broadcasters and the Korean government to support the Next-Gen TV launch this year,” said Brian Kwon, president of the LG Home Entertainment Company. “The combination of the latest ATSC 3.0 chipset with our industry-leading LG 4K OLED and LG Super UHD displays will deliver the promise of Next-Gen TV for consumers in Korea. Early availability of ATSC 3.0 products in Korea also sets the stage to support U.S. broadcasters’ Next-Gen TV rollout plans in 2018 and beyond,” he said.

LG’s new ATSC 3.0 TVs for the Korean market are being demonstrated at CES through Jan. 8, Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall Booth #11100.

See more TV Technology coverage at our ATSC 3.0 silo.

LOS ANGELES—It’s been a good start for Sony’s new Z-series 4K Ultra HD TVs, which were formally launched on Thursday. In the first hour of their availability, 12 sets of the $6,000, 65-inch Z9D models were sold at the Los Angeles dealer’s Westfield Topanga showroom. There have also been three pre-orders of the $10,000, 75-inch model that will be released next month.

For the full story, visit TV Technology’s sister site TWICE.

WASHINGTON—All signs point to “yes” with regard to high dynamic range, the television technology that renders whiter whites, and more details in the dark. HDR is helping elevate 4KTV shipments to possibly twice the level of last year, according to the mid-year forecast from Consumer Technology Association, having replaced its “Electronics” with “Technology.”

Accordingly, the CTA said, “2016 will be a flagship year for 4K UHD TVs, driven in part by the market introduction of next-generation technologies like HDR. CTA expects shipments of 4K UHD displays will reach 15 million units—a 105 percent increase—and revenue will exceed $12.9 billion, a 69 percent increase. New to the market in 2016, 4K UHD Blu-ray players will further build the 4K UHD ecosystem with 700,000 units sold and $63 million in revenue.”

In the overall consumer electronics realm, the television set market is considered a “maturing” segment, and is expected to “remain on par with 2015” with estimated unit sales of 39.7 million, or one percent down from last year; and revenues of $20 billion, a 3 percent increase from 2015. LCD TVs make up the bulk of all new TVs sold and will contribute 38.8 million unit $19.2 billion in revenues.

Of the big five consumer tech categories—smartphones, tablets, TVs, laptops and desktops—only smartphones are expected to generate more revenues than television sets. Smartphones, also a maturing category, are expected to reach unit shipments of 183 million, up 5 percent from last year, with revenues of $55 billion, up four percent. Because fewer people are replacing their phones every two years, the CTA predicts that 2017 will be the first year revenues from smartphone sales will decline.

Tablets are waning after five years of growth. Unit shipments are expected to fall 2 percent to 65 million, with revenues down 5 percent to $19 billion. Laptop shipments are pegged to drop 6 percent to 25 million, with revenues down 8 percent to $15.8 billion. Desktops are free-falling to a 13 percent decline on 7 million units shipped, with revenues down 15 percent to $4.6 billion.

Among newbie categories, drones are kicking it. Drone sales are expected to reach a record high of 2.4 million units, up 112 percent from 2015; and $799 million in shipment revenues—an 80 percent increase from 2015.

Virtual reality is another emerging CE category. VR headsets are looking at a 296 percent increase with 800,000 units sold for $432 million, up 332 percent from last year.

CTA added voice-activated digital assistants such as the Amazon Echo this year. Sales are projected to reach 2.2 million units—up 32 percent—in 2016 and earn $392 million in revenue, up 32 percent.

3D printing is another CE category gaining traction. The sector’s unit sales are expected to increase 56 percent to reach 171,000. Total revenues will reach $148 million, a 35 percent increase.

Sales of wearable technology, particularly fitness activity trackers, are forecast to reach almost 48 million units, up 39 percent. Of those 28 million are expected to be fitness trackers, with revenues of $2.2 billion, up 62 percent.

CTA projects the smart home category—including smart thermostats, smart smoke and CO2 detectors, IP/Wi-Fi cameras, smart locks, smart home systems, and smart switches, dimmers and outlets—to reach 9.5 million units sold, a 29 percent increase. Revenue will grow 24 percent to $1.3 billion.

The overall U.S. consumer electronics market is expected to reach $286.6 billion in retail revenues for 2016, according to the CTA’s semi-annual forecast, “U.S. Consumer Technology Sales and Forecasts.”

LAS VEGAS—“Next-generation” television is like TV with sprinkles—4K, high dynamic range, wide color gamut, high frame rate. All come with complications and possibly, trade-offs.

Ericsson’s Senior Vice President of Technology for TV & Media Matthew Goldman, video expert Mark Schubin, SMPTE President and CBS Vice President of Engineering and Advanced Technology Robert Seidel, and broadcast veteran Jim DeFilippis and will parse these advanced television features with crowd-sourced questions from their peers during the NAB Show in a Tuesday, April 19 at 2:30 p.m. Super Session entitled, “4K, UHD, HDR and More—The Future of Video.” 

Here, we have Matthew Goldman taking on the crowd:

CROWD MEMBER:What provides the best bang for the buck: 2160p resolution, high dynamic, wide color gamut, or high frame rate (120 fps)?
­MATTHEW GOLDMAN: I like to call this “the best bang for the bit.” High dynamic range is clearly the best bang for the bit (or buck) for next generation Ultra HD technology.
There are three aspects that impact this: 1) the “wow” factor of HDR is immediately noticeable by consumers, 2) many consumers’ viewing position is too far back from the display to realize the full effect of 4K spatial resolution (best viewing distance is about 1.5 picture heights back from the screen, but most consumers view the display from about 3 picture heights away), and 3) 4K spatial resolution (2160p) requires significantly more bandwidth to deliver to the consumer than HD, while HDR requires a relatively small percentage.

CM:The Canadians are now doing baseball, basketball and hockey in 4K, and distributing it via cable. What is holding up the U.S. broadcasters? What are their immediate challenges?
GOLDMAN:Likely just plain sensibility, for multichannel video programming distributors that use set-top boxes anyway (cable, satellite, telco)… it’s not possible in either country today via terrestrial broadcasting! At this early adopter stage, it comes down to priorities—who wants to lay claim to being first to generate industry buzz versus waiting for all the pieces of the puzzle to come together to offer a full-featured next-gen immersive viewing experience.

CM:What about standards? What’s needed?
GOLDMAN:Ohhh, there is just so much to do still … lots of activities are occurring across multiple standards developing organizations and industry forums. Additional HDR and wide color gamut signaling is needed on both the production side (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, ITU-R) and consumer side (Consumer Technology Association, HDMI Forum) interfaces. Finalization of HDR/WCG program exchange formats (ITU-R). Recommendations for preferred interoperability points (Ultra HD Forum), system definition for delivery to consumers (ATSC, DVB, SCTE, others), streaming media (Streaming Media Alliance, DASH Forum, others). The so-called UHD-1 Phase 1 specifications really only addressed the 4K spatial resolution and in some cases, WCG signaling. Hopefully, much of the so-called UHD-1 Phase 2a specification, which will add HDR for both 2160p and 1080p, will be complete by end 2016 or early 2017. HFR is even further out.

CM:Beyond sports, what other genre will benefit and have a business ROI?
GOLDMAN:Sports and nature documentaries benefit greatly from all the new immersive viewing technologies—4K resolution, HDR, WCG and high frame rates… well, HFR if the content is high motion—not needed for talking heads! The ROI question is an interesting one because 4K resolution and HFR require extensive changes to the end-to-end workflows and a lot more bandwidth. HDR/WCG have a much smaller impact. Limited bandwidth to the consumer is a particular challenge in terms of availability and costs.

CM:Will broadcasters be “forced” into 4K/UHDTV adoption similar to the evolution of HDTV? If so, by when?
GOLDMAN: I don’t think so. It comes down to the economics, even if there will be lots of premium content driving consumer interest. Now, 1080p with HDR/WCG – “Enhanced HD” as some call it—many of us just consider this part of the next generation of UHD—that’s much more interesting as a practical business case in terms of bandwidth and ROI.
As mentioned earlier, the consumer will definitely see the benefit of HDR/WCG over conventional TV and the increase to 1080p HD resolution from conventional 1080i or 720p HD will be noticeable to consumers as well.
To be very clear, this is not about inventing a new TV format! All UHD TVs upconvert 1080p to 2160p to display as 4K, so regardless of the transmission or delivery resolution, the display is 2160p. This presents an interesting business case for broadcasters wanting to provide much of the immersiveness of next-generation UHD, but with limited bandwidth, especially when a majority of viewers are not sitting close enough to the display to see the benefits of 4K resolution (see my earlier comments about this).
Of course, there will always be marketing folks espousing the difference between upconverted 4K and “real” 4K, but again, this comes down to economics. So, if a broadcaster is able to deliver all the next gen UHD technologies—2160p, HDR, WCG, HFR—then absolutely, they should go for it. However, a lot of the benefits of the next-gen UHD can be realized with 1080p HDR/WCG if that is all one can do.

CM:What are the key dominos in the chain that need to be knocked over for the consumers to feel this is real and start spending? Is it availability of “great titles,” consumer devices, branded premium channels, marketing or something else not yet concocted?
GOLDMAN: Lots of compelling content!

CM:The young adults of today are notorious for consuming social content on small, portable devices. They are the future money for this. Why do they need it?
GOLDMAN: The benefit of these new immersive viewing technologies with portable handhelds is complicated by the nature of the use case: What is the viewing environment? If the device is used in a brightly lit area, then much of the gain is lost because the environment will mask it. However, indoor viewing on a tablet or outdoors at night will see the benefit—so is that use case enough to justify?

CM:How do we as an industry start our advancement to UHD and HDR?
GOLDMAN:It’s already in motion! Via standards and interoperability forums.

CM:What is the immediate opportunity for a TV group with regard to these technologies?
GOLDMAN: Use them to evaluate what consumers really want. The practical versus the theoretical lexicon of next-generation TV.

CM:Are we now headed toward 1080p60 with HDR and wide color as a first step, with 4K used in production and on-set display etc.?
GOLDMAN: Ahhh, please see my earlier comments! 1080p HDR/WCG—the best bang for the bit, the best bang for the buck!

CM:What are your thoughts on HDR HD facilities versus native 4K HDR?
GOLDMAN: There are many implementation of 3Gbps facilities today (support 1080p) while very little for 12 Gbps (needed for native 2160p in baseband). For all the points mentioned earlier, is it worth the investment to build a native 2160p infrastructure for the gain in user experience? This is what the broadcaster needs to grapple. This question is very different between a Hollywood studio production and live TV production or distribution.

CM:Is the notion of HDR for HD now officially dead?
GOLDMAN:Huh? It’s barely even born yet! With all of the considerations mentioned above, I believe that broadcasters will be giving 1080p HDR very serious consideration, especially since the UHD TV will upconvert to 2160p.

CM:Will 4K become a standard transmission? 
GOLDMAN:“Standard” as in common use? Maybe someday. “Standard” as in standardized format? Already in place.

CM:What are you views on affordability of transmission methods for 4K, that is, broadcast, broadband and/or satellite?
GOLDMAN:Please see my previous comments regarding bandwidth limitations and cost of infrastructure and operation.

CM:Do any of you on the panel think there is benefit to using HDR and/or 4K to author a better HDproduct that can be delivered to consumers without significant changes to current infrastructure, instead of racing to provide 4K?
GOLDMAN: Absolutely!

CM:Shooting UHD side-by-side with HD is too costly. How can we reduce the cost of producing sports in UHD and HDR?
GOLDMAN:Just like with the transition from SD to HD, there is a learning curve. The shooting style of zooms and pans in higher resolution can have negative impact on the viewer, so these need to be considered. If the shooting style can be addressed successfully, then there are known technologies for down-rez of UHD and there are discussions occurring actively within SMPTE and the ITU-R regarding mapping a larger color volume (HDR+WCG) into a smaller one, even in real-time.

CM:Do you think that high frame rate is suitable for all genres?
GOLDMAN: Only of value to high motion content, such as some sports and nature documentaries.

CM:Given the propensity of advertisers for brighter brights and whiter whites, how do we avoid the CALM Act for brightness?
GOLDMAN:Ahhh, I’ve been calling this “video loudness.” The industry definitely will need to address how to handle transitions in programs, across interstitials, etc. This work effort is just in its infancy but I believe really will be needed.

CM:How do we integrate interstitials into programming without brightness and color wars?
GOLDMAN:We need to develop “video loudness” standards!

CM:How well can we produce for both HD and HDR without serious compromises, particularly in graphics or saturated colors?
GOLDMAN:We need to develop “video loudness” standards!

CM:Given the constraints of the television, cable and satellite system, how comparable will the broadcast experience be to the ultra Blu-ray?
GOLDMAN: It can be very comparable, especially driven by compelling premium sport content. See my previous comments regarding proper viewing distance and 1080p HDR WCG.

Also see…
April 13, 2016
“Q&A: Jim DeFilippis on 4K, UHD, HDR and More”
We have many standards, but what we are missing is clarity of the problem they are supposed to solve.

April 11, 2016
“Q&A: Mark Schubin on 4K, UHD, HDR and More”
“In my opinion, HDR and HFR offer the most bang for the buck. HDR might be easier to implement, but it can increase motion artifacts, bringing us back to HFR.”

LAS VEGAS—The video industry is moving into more—more resolutions, more color, more contrast, more frames. Ultra high-def 4KTVs are the new HD. More and more sets feature high dynamic range. Wide color gamut is on the way. The questions now revolve around the workflow—achieving these dynamics glass-to-glass—whether or not it’s worth it, and if so, what’s the best approach.

That’s what four top broadcast engineers take on during the NAB Show in a Tuesday, April 19 at 2:30 p.m. Super Session entitled, “4K, UHD, HDR and More—The Future of Video.” TV Technology’s Deborah D. McAdams will grill video expert Mark Schubin, SMPTE President and CBS Vice President of Engineering and Advanced Technology Robert Seidel, broadcast veteran Jim DeFilippis and Ericsson’s Senior Vice President of Technology for TV & Media Matthew Goldman with crowd-sourced questions from their peers.

Here, Jim DeFilippis takes a crack at the list.

CROWD MEMBER: What provides the best bang for the buck: 2160p resolution, high dynamic, wide color gamut, or high frame rate (120 fps)?
DeFILIPPIS: Good and interesting content! Ok, each provide a unique ability to capture and display content.

CM:The Canadians are now doing baseball, basketball and hockey in 4K, and distributing it via cable. What is holding up the U.S. broadcasters? What are their immediate challenges?
DeFILIPPIS: The difference is that this is one cable/broadcaster (Rogers Communications). DirecTV and Comcast have committed to delivering 4K (Masters Golf, Rio Olypmics). 

CM:What about standards? What’s needed?
DeFILIPPIS: We have many standards, but what we are missing is clarity of the problem they are supposed to solve.

CM: Beyond sports, what other genre will benefit and have a business ROI?
DeFILIPPIS:Cinema, perhaps documentaries.

CM:Will broadcasters be “forced” into 4K/UHDTV adoption similar to the evolution of HDTV? If so, by when?
DeFILIPPIS: Different situation today. Back then, with government and private cooperation, the spectrum sell-off traded the mandatory digital tuners. This time around, government is taking spectrum and providing a one-time payout or compensation for re-location to the under-500 MHz ghetto. No mandate to update the digital tuners nor upgrade of the broadcast technology.

CM:What are the key dominos in the chain that need to be knocked over for the consumers to feel this is real and start spending? Is it availability of “great titles,” consumer devices, branded premium channels, marketing or something else not yet concocted?
DeFILIPPIS: Well the key growth driver is mobile/OTT; so how will 4K play in these devices? When a Google Nexus supports native 4K decoding, when Apple promotes their “8K” screens and iTunes UHDTV offerings, then UHD will take off.

CM:The young adults of today are notorious for consuming social content on small, portable devices. They are the future money for this. Why do they need it?
DeFILIPPIS: Cause as they get older, need to have larger screens so they can read their tweets.

CM:How do we as an industry start our advancement to UHD and HDR?
DeFILIPPIS: Run around, start many organizations that advocate people go out and spend more for larger TV’s.

CM:What is the immediate opportunity for a TV group with regard to these technologies?
DeFILIPPIS: Let the other guy go first. 

CM:Are we now headed toward 1080p60 with HDR and wide color as a first step, with 4K used in production and on-set display etc.?
DeFILIPPIS: Maybe.

CM:What are your thoughts on HDR HD facilities versus native 4K HDR?
DeFILIPPIS: Well while HDR HD is more affordable, so much of the industry is in shell shock and can’t rationalize spending any capex. So if a channel has the opportunity to upgrade, might as well go for 4K.

CM:Is the notion of HDR for HD now officially dead?
DeFILIPPIS: Stillborn perhaps?

CM:Given the file sizes, do you think we should be significantly compressing in acquisition and post, just as we did in the early stages of HD?
DeFILIPPIS: All aspects of 4k makes the workflow more of a problem. However if there can be a universal file format for UHDTV, this alone would speed adoption.

CM:HDCam, while not perfect, was a pragmatic way of getting to HD and getting material out to audiences. What’s the equivalent for UHD?
DeFILIPPIS: Good news is that in the time from HDCam (130Mbps) we are now able to support 250Mbps in production. Given that video compression is not linear—4K does not take four times the bitrate of HDTV—the production bitrate maybe close to the 250Mbps range.

CM:4K, 8K, UHD, and HDR require a very large network topology to support file transport. How do we justify that investment when the delivery to the home will not support the transport without heavy compression for years to come?
DeFILIPPIS: A bit of apples and oranges. Yes live UHD requires large amounts of bandwidth and storage. Given that HDTV/MPEG-2 routinely uses 11-18Mbps, UHDTV using HEVC can be delivered without much more (or less) bandwidth. The more difficult problem is agreeing to the distribution modalities.

CM:Will 4K become a standard transmission? 
DeFILIPPIS: Sure. Just numbers on a piece of paper.

CM:What are you views on affordability of transmission methods for 4K, that is, broadcast, broadband and/or satellite?
DeFILIPPIS: 4K is as affordable in it’s time as HD was in the late ’90s. The real issue is the cost for any change to the established infrastructure.

CM:Do any of you on the panel think there is benefit to using HDR and/or 4K to author a better HD product that can be delivered to consumers without significant changes to current infrastructure, instead of racing to provide 4K?
DeFILIPPIS: This is happening today… use of 4K cameras to capture and then downsampled in post to 2K, while preserving the 4K digital negative.

CM:Shooting UHD side-by-side with HD is too costly. How can we reduce the cost of producing sports in UHD and HDR? 
DeFILIPPIS: Ultimately, side-by-side is not practical. So we have to develop the ability to interoperate between UHD, HDR and HDTV.

CM:How can we do live production of HDR sports without needing separate “shaders” for an HDR/wide color gamut output and an SDR/normal color gamut output for legacy TVs?
DeFILIPPIS: We need to develop tools and monitoring techniques to allow video ops to “shade” for both HDR and SDR.

CM:Do you think that high frame rate is suitable for all genres?
DeFILIPPIS: Yes, in the context that HFR capture can be used for any frame rate (24, 25, 30…). However, artistically we are accustomed to seeing some content at low frame rate and other content at high frame rate.

CM:Given the propensity of advertisers for brighter brights and whiter whites, how do we avoid the CALM Act for brightness?
DeFILIPPIS: Have Congress work on more important matters such as the budget, hunger, terrorism, etc…

CM:How do we integrate interstitials into programming without brightness and color wars?
DeFILIPPIS: Ultimately, this is a self-correcting problem. If commercials are obnoxious, people will tune out, or cut cords or go read a book.

CM:How well can we produce for both HD and HDR without serious compromises, particularly in graphics or saturated colors?
DeFILIPPIS: By it’s nature, HDR is a different pallet than SDR. One could “paint” within the Rec. 709 lines, and HDR will convey these colors but no real benefit. Or paint outside the Rec. 709 lines and try to downsample to SDR, with mixed results.

CM:Given the constraints of the television, cable and satellite system, how comparable will the broadcast experience be to the ultra Blu-ray?
DeFILIPPIS: Apples to oranges. Ultra Blu-ray is not limited by bitrate nor have to support both HDR and SDR.

CM:Given the wide disparity of displays and capabilities on the market, how well can we author once and use everywhere, and how much will the user experience vary?
DeFILIPPIS: Hey, just like NTSC, Never the same color!

CM:As HDR displays get better and do a nice job of presenting SDR-graded content better than it would look on a legacy UHD display, does this challenge the value of specific HDR grading? What percentage of average consumers will appreciate the difference?”
DeFILIPPIS: Unless some one has a side-by-side set of UHDTVs, one showing the SDR upsampled and the other HDR graded, who knows? Try watching a movie on DVD and then Blu-ray HD. Not exactly the same.

CM: When will lower-end 4K cameras offer servo lenses?
DeFILIPPIS: Not sure what lower-end 4K cameras exist… but the key issue about 4K cameras is the optics not the cost or electronics.

Also see…
April 16, 2016
“Q&A: Matthew Goldman on 4K, UHD, HDR and More”
“Is it worth the investment to build a native 2160p infrastructure for the gain in user experience? This is what the broadcaster needs to grapple. This question is very different between a Hollywood studio production and live TV production or distribution.”

April 11, 2016
“Q&A: Mark Schubin on 4K, UHD, HDR and More”
“In my opinion, HDR and HFR offer the most bang for the buck. HDR might be easier to implement, but it can increase motion artifacts, bringing us back to HFR.”

LAS VEGAS— The DS Broadcast BGE9000 encoder is transmitting 4K Ultra HDTV in 4K trials in South Korea, according to the vendor.

Enhanced since its introduction last fall, DS Broadcast said the BGE9000 now features support for Dolby AC-4 audio and MPEG-H audio as well as 4K Ultra HD encoding and four full HD encoding streams in real time. The BGE9000 is designed with hybrid capabilities, as a dedicated 4K Ultra HD / HEVC system-on-chip encoder it is used for video encoding while audio encoding and multiplex are done in a programmable embedded processors and a high-performance CPU. 

Several newer technologies such like HEVC video encoding, Dolby AC-4 audio encoding, MPEG-H audio encoding, and ROUTE/MMTP multiplexing are required to fully support for ATSC 3.0, DS Broadcast said. 

Inputs to the encoder are 12G-SDI or 4x 3G-SDI. Outputs are IP or MPEG-2 TS over ASI. One more important feature of BGE9000 is that it supports Precision Time Protocol (IEEE 1588 v2) to enable accurate system synchronization of ATSC 3.0 services. The BGE9000 delivers guaranteed Mean Time Between Failures of over 50,000 hours. 

DS Broadcast said it also is offering a broadcast quality HD-to-4K Ultra HD upconversion transcoder, model BGX2400, which employs a “self-similarity based super resolution system.” DS Broadcast said the BGX2400 is designed specifically for HD-quality original video content owners. The BGX2400 transcoder supports various input container formats and video codecs, upconverts to 4K Ultra HD video, and then writes back to the specified output format. It is also equipped with HDMI 2.0 to check upconverted images.

IRVINE, CALIF.— Vizio is rolling out a new line of smart 4KTVs that aren’t. The Southern California set maker announced a new line of television sets with the works—Ultra HD resolution, high dynamic range, integrated Google Cast streaming technology and a 6-inch, 1080p Android tablet remote… but no ATSC over-the-air tuners. Without tuners, Vizio’s new line legally can’t be referred to as “TVs.”

“They are obviously trying to get around that problem by including no tuner at all, as opposed to including a tuner that picks up only some channels,” said one veteran media attorney based in Washington, D.C. “However, you then need to market the device as a ‘monitor’ or a ‘display.’ Calling it a ‘TV’ leads to an issue with consumer confusion. Some manufacturers produced similar sets during the DTV transition when tuners were expensive, but they flopped with consumers.”

The 1962 All Channel Receiver Act “authorized the commission to require that all television receivers shipped in interstate commerce, or imported into the United States, for sale or resale to the public be capable of receiving all channels allocated to television broadcasting.” The Federal Communications Commission further amended its TV reception rules for the digital transition, requiring all new TV receivers shipped into and within the United States to have ATSC tuners as of May 1, 2007.

In fact, Vizio itself does not refer directly to its new TVs as “TVs” or “televisions.” The terms appear only in the boilerplate of Vizio’s press release announcing its new “Vizio SmartCast P-Series Ultra HD HDR Home Theater Display collection.” However, the P-Series falls under the category of “TV Series” on the Vizio website.

News sites that picked up the press release connected the dots. “Vizio’s newest 4K UHD HDR P-series TVs with Google Cast baked right into them,” the headline at 4K News said.
“Why Did Vizio Remove ATSC Tuners From P-Series 4K TVs?” TV Technology sister publication TWICE said.
From The Verge: “Vizio’s new P-Series reinvents the ‘smart’ TV with Google Cast — and nothing else.”
And TechHive: “Cord cutters should hope Vizio’s new smart TVs don’t spark a trend.”

“Vizio is also boasting that its SmartCast 4KTVs will be ‘tuner-free,” Jared Newman wrote for TechHive. He reported that a Vizio spokesman told him that since a minority of U.S. households rely exclusively on over-the-air TV—roughly 10 percent—that Vizio decided to leave out the tuners and simplify the set-up process.

Reliance on over-the-air TV reception could be changing, however. A Canadian market researcher recently said 1.13 million U.S. households dropped pay TV in 2015, up four times the 2014 cord-cutting rate, according to Multichannel News.

When asked directly why it was leaving tuners out of the P-Series and possibly other lines, Vizio provided TV Technology with the same statement it gave to TechHive:

“Research shows that less than 10 percent of TV viewers receive over-the-air broadcast programs. As we continually evaluate and focus on designing products that deliver a beautifully simple experience, we felt that removing the tuner would simplify the overall setup and user experience for the vast majority of customers. P-Series users can play content from nearly all content sources, like most cable/satellite set-top boxes, game consoles, Blu-ray players and more. If consumers use an external ‘rabbit ear’ antenna to watch local over-the-air broadcast TV signals, a TV tuner can be purchased separately,” it said.

Additionally, a Vizio spokesperson said the company continued to make “TVs.”

“Vizio released the D-Series TVs earlier this year that do include over-the-air ATSC tuners. Those models range in size from 24 to 70 inches, from prices between $149.99 and $1299.99.”

Vizio is well known among TV manufacturers for making low-cost sets, but there was no mention of saving money by omitting ATSC receiver chips. The Vizio spokesman said the company does not share component costs. Television display expert Pete Putman said it would save Vizio roughly $10 per set to leave out the tuners, or about 1 percent on the low-end P-Series 50-inch display, MSRP listed at $999.99. A 55-inch goes for $1,299.99; 65-inch for $1,999.99; and a 75-inch P-Series Ultra HD HDR display is MSRP’d at $3,799.99.

The FCC has been known to fine manufacturers for selling TV sets without tuners. Between May of 2007 and July of 2012, a total of 17 DTV tuner enforcement actions were taken, according to FCC records.

The commission fined Regent USA $63,650 in 2007 for non-compliant receivers. Tempe, Ariz.-based Syntax-Brillian Corp. was fined $1,277,100 in 2008 for importing tuner-free TVs. The most recent action was against Hanspree, a U.S. subsidiary for Taipai-based HannStar Display Corp. Hanspree was fined $11,800 in 2012 for DTV tuner requirement violations.

The FCC’s DTV tuner mandate also requires that receivers have the capability to fix on virtual as well as actual channels, which came into question last fall when viewers looking for WJLP-TV of Middletown Township, N.J. on Ch. 33 consistently ended up looking at WCBS-TV out of New York. CBS asked the FCC to look into the issue. (See “CBS Alerts FCC to TV Tuning Failure.”)

According to an FCC spokesman, the commission can initiate its own action regarding tuner enforcement, or an affected party can file a complaint.

Also see…
Oct. 9, 2014
“4KTVs: A Conversation with Vizio’s Carlos Angulo”
Vizio's latest connected platform is equipped with support for the HEVC H.265 codec and 802.11ac dual-band WiFi for a better streaming experience that is up to three times faster. 

October 7, 2015
“Vizio Launches $130,000 HDR 4KTV Set”
Vizio and Dolby Laboratories have announced the pricing and availability of the new Vizio Reference Series HDTVs, with a 120-inch version going for a starting price of $129,999.99; the 65-inch model starts at $5,999.99.

July 3, 2012
“Vizio Launches First 21:9 HDTV in U.S.”
Vizio has announced the availability of its XVT Series Cinemawide LED Smart TV with Theater 3D, the first 21:9 ultra-widescreen TV available in the United States.

Sept. 1, 2010
“Vizio to Introduce 9-inch Mobile DTV Receiver in January”
The device would be Vizio’s first ATSC-M/H compliant receiver. LG, Samsung and Dell have the only Mobile DTV receivers currently in use.

INDIAN WELLS CALIF.—As a matter of street cred,Pete Putman launched his annual Consumer Electronics Show Review at the HPA Technology Retreat with a slide of his old Heathkit Crystal Receiver Model CR-1 that still works.

Putman then reviewed the price points of TVs, which are all over the board, but tumbling in general. In 1995, a 50-inch 720p plasma costs $50,000. It would now be had for less than one-tenth of that.

Putman said 170,000-plus people attended CES, including 3,600 companies exhibited on 2.47 million square feet of floor space. Sharp TVs, once renowned for its RGBY pixels is no more. Hisense owns the brand. Panasonic, Putman said, had a single TV on the floor. LG is pressing forward with organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, TVs, in part because it scored the Kodak patent for white OLEDs, which overcome the dreaded phenomenon of the dying blue OLEDs that have plagued the displays from their inception.

Virtual reality was big, as was augmented reality. Putman showed a slide of the line at the Oculus Rift booth that looked like Walmart on black Friday. It was long.

So Putman kept up the TV tour, which included 8KTVs and a screen that’s really too big to be believed. LG had a 98-inch 8KTV; Samsung had a curved 8K LCD, and Konka and Hisense had 8KTVs.

But it was Samsung that showed the “world’s largest” 170-inch TV. Putman said he didn’t know of another 170-inch TV that was not the world’s largest.

“You stood there long enough, you get a nice tan from it,” he said.

One display exhibit that caught Putman’s eye comprised four 65-inch curved OLED panels together, displaying different scenes on both sides.

With regard to high-dynamic range, the route to provision is turning into a maze, but the goal is clear enough on the display side. Just as there were a lot of high-definition TVs in the market long before there was high-definition TV, HDR sets are hitting the floor.

Changhong, one of the many Chinese TV makers, was showing 4K HDR OLEDs, Putman said. Samsung demonstrated 4K HDR over the air, if you could find it, Putman said. LG had a 4K HDR LCD, and Sony had a 4KTV with wide color gamut.

Samsung announced a UHD HDR BluRay player for $350. Panasonic also showed one but did not name a price.
Lenovo showed the Yoga X1 with an 14-inch OLED screen, with three USB Type 3 connectors, important for hooking up things that aren’t here yet but coming, Putman said.

There were also transparent displays and quantum dot displays. QD Vision demonstrated that quantum dot backlighting is more power efficient than LCD, the technology is still contains cadmium, which is pretty nasty to the human body.

Putman said the coolest thing he saw was a rollable OLED display from LG showing video. Sony first showed a tiny rollable OLED in 2010. Putman describe LG’s 18-incher as “too cool for words.”

Putman talked about the superMHL interface for mobile devices for delivery of video up to 8K resolution. He mentioned 60 GHz connectivity, and said 802.11ad Wi-Fi is here with the support of Qualcomm. He called it “Wi-Fi with rocket boosters.”

Also see Pete’s coverage atHDExpert.com.

CASCADES, FALL—Max was perfectly happy with his big screen Sony projection CRT the size of a fatted heifer before I came along.

“I like the soft picture,” he’d say. “It’s easy on my eyes.”

Max is a master artist and colorist by trade, so I didn’t doubt him.

I, on the other hand, have spent a good deal of my adult life staring into a glowing screen. The massive Sony had a three-inch strip of dying phosphors across the bottom. I imagined I could hear them screaming with my imaginary profoundly acute hearing. Max, who is also a mind-reader and a Broncos fan, casually mentioned that maybe it was time for a new TV shortly after Peyton Manning skooled Tom Brady.

Coincidentally, I got an email from Best Buy the next day. OK, I get emails from Best Buy every day because I almost bought something online from them once. But this email offered a 65-inch LG 4KTV for $999. So I tell Max I’ll get it for his birthday because I like him a lot and screaming phosphors. Being a proud man, Max was not about to let any girlfriend of his buy him a TV set without seeing if he could get a better deal.

So we took a field trip to our local Best Buy where they did not have the 65-inch LG 4KTV for $999 in stock. They had plenty of 65-inch 4KTVs for many, many more dollars, but not that one. We then asked our friendly Best Buy associate if he could order it for us.

“Hem. Haw,” he replied.

“Hmm,” we responded.

The next day, Max tried to order it online. Best Buy would not ship it to his business. Best Buy would not ship it to his house. Best Buy would not ship it to a mouse. Best Buy would not ship it here, or there or anywhere. Best Buy does not like green money in hand.

Max got a customer service rep on the phone.

“I have a FedEx account,” he said. “I’ll ship it myself.”

“We can’t do that.”

“I am a shareholder. I’m trying to give you money.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

This tactic, I am told, is called “the old bait and switch.”

I am not saying that Best Buy intentionally pulled “the old bait and switch.” I am saying the preceding true-life scenario was described to me thusly by two completely separate people, one of whom was not me.

In the meantime, since I had placed the pretend $999 LG 4KTV in my virtual Best Buy shopping cart, I kept getting email overtures that read like a Match.com mistake.

“!!!Big News,” said the first one, punctuated in Spanglish. “This has your name on it! Your cart has something in it!”

Then two days later, the less exclamatory, “Thanks for your interest, this has your name on it! We saved it for you...”

Five days in, they went passive-aggressive like an undershorts thief at camp.

“Uh oh, this has your name on it!”

And then finally, as if the previous series of emails never occurred and I hadn’t already discovered that the $999 LG 4KTV set was not available in or through any Best Buy store in all of California:

“You’re all set to check out at Best Buy.”

By this time, however, Max and I had gone to Costco where I let him do the talking. They had 65-inch Samsung 4KTV floor model that he got for pretty much the same price as the LG that Best Buy would not sell us unless we drove 3,000 miles to get it in Baltimore.

Aside from my own soupçon of niggling guilt about potentially setting off a chain of electronic upgrades across Max’s house, we both really like the new TV.

Thank you, Best Buy. Well played.

FREMONT, CALIF.—“Ultra high definition” has been defined. The UHD Alliance this week released specifications for UHD, along with a logo identifying devices capable of displaying Ultra HD content.

The Alliance developed three specs that cover devices, distribution and content. All three require a resolution of at least 3840x2160 (not quite 4KTV); 10-bit color depth, BT.2020 color gamut and high dynamic range according to SMPTE ST 2084 EOTF.

There are two HDR spec options for displays: A combination of peak brightness and black level of either more than 1,000 nits peak brightness and less than 0.05 nits black level, or more than 540 nits peak brightness and less than 0.0005 nits black level. Devices also must display more than 90 percent of P3 colors to meet the requirements for the UHD Alliance logo. With regard to mastering, 100 percent of P3 colors must be displayed, and HDR is set at more than 1,000 nits brightness and less than 0.03 nits black level.

The specs focus on image quality and make no specific recommendation for immersive audio.

The year-old Alliance, comprised of 35 member companies (listed below), said that it has designated “multiple, independent centers around the globe to handle testing” to ensure compliance with the specs.

The UHDA specs and the associated licensing terms are available from the organization.

UHDA Member Companies
DirecTV
Dolby Laboratories
LG Electronics
Netflix
Panasonic
Samsung Electronics
Sony
Technicolor
The Walt Disney Studios
Twentieth Century Fox
Universal Pictures
Warner Bros. Entertainment
Amazon
ARRI
Dreamworks
DTS
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Hisense
HiSilicon Technologies
Intel
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
MStar Semiconductor
Nanosys Inc.
Novatek
NVIDIA
Orange
Realtek Semiconductor
Rogers Communications
Sharp
Shenzhen TCL New Technology
Sky U.K.
THX
Toshiba
TP Vision Europe B.V.

LAS VEGAS —Sinclair Broadcast Group, along with subsidiary One Media and Technicolor, report they have successfully transmitted high-dynamic range 4KTV over the air using the proposed ATSC 3.0 standard and a prototype reception device. Sinclair made the announcement, and said it had invited a delegation of 11 South Korean broadcasters to see the demo, which also leveraged scalable HEVC encoding from French compression specialist Ateme.

The broadcast was done at Sinclair-owned Vegas NBC affiliate, KSNV. The signal originated on KSVN’s facility on Black Mountain near Henderson, Nev., using a prototype Teamcast modulator and was received at KSNV facilitities 15 miles away by prototype receiver technology developed by Sinclair subsidiary ONE Media, and Technicolor, according to Sinclair.

The payload included HDR UHDTV using scalable HEVC—both base and enhanced layer—with 3D audio and other overhead in half of the 6 MHz channel. Scalable HEVC or SHVC, is the scalabilty extension of HEVC, and “provides support for spatial, SNR and color gamut scalability,” according to Fraunhofer’s Heinrich Hertz Institute. (Fraunhofer itself was not involved in these tests, but merely referenced to clarify the capability of the technology.) SHVC was leveraged in this case to accommodate high dynamic range, or HDR. The bitstreams were encoded using the only single pass live SHVC encoder available, according to a source at site.

The transmission methodology leveraged MPEG Media Transport, or “MMT,” over IP, which supports high-efficiency video coding, or HEVC. HEVC is said to provide around twice the compression of H.264/MPEG-4 without affecting picture quality. Current broadcast TV signals are encoded into MPEG-2, which has roughly half of the compression power of MPEG-4.

This means far more information can be packed into a 6 MHz television signal using HEVC with MMT over IP, including mechanisms for interactivity, multiple langauge audio tracks, immersive audio, simultaneous data transmissions, mobile signals and HDR 4KTV.

4KTV signals alone pack four times the picture information of HDTV. Over-the-air transmission of 4KTV is not possible using MPEG-2, which is required in the current ATSC transmission standard by the Federal Communications Commission, and compatible with the installed base of television sets in U.S. households.

The limited capability of the current transmission standard, as well as the upcoming spectrum incentive auction and subsequent channel repack, is driving the development of 3.0 by a large part of the U.S. broadcast community. The FCC has yet to weigh in, though sources on background say the agency is waiting for a fully baked proposition from broadcasters. One is expected as of the first quarter of 2017, according to ATSC President Mark Richer, who outlined the physical layer component elevated to Candidate Standard status in October. The physical layer represents the foundation of ATSC 3.0.

Korean broadcasters are interested in ATSC 3.0 for 4KTV in time for the 2018 Korean Winter Olympics. The board of the Advanced Television Systems Committee—the standards-setting body that is compiling ATSC 3.0—met with them in Seoul last June, and the first 4KTV-over-ATSC 3.0 test was conducted there in September. (See “ATSC 3.0 Tested With 4K, Mobile in Korea by LG, SBS.”)

Then last month, broadcasters from around the world met in Shanghai for “Plug Fest 2015,” to test ATSC 3.0 systems compatibility. TV Technology alum and contributor James E. O’Neal attended and filed this report.

Mark Aitken, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s vice president of Advanced Technology, said this demonstration was a preview of another that will be done during CES 2016 in January by Sinclair, the Pearl TV consortium and Samsung. All three agreed to a Memo of Understanding in June to “collaboratively to support the development and the implementation” of ATSC 3.0. (See “Samsung, Pearl and Sinclair Gear Up for ATSC 3.0 Dry Runs.”)

Sinclair and Technicolor pulled off their first ATSC 3.0 4KTV broadcast last October. This week’s test in Las Vegas builds on experimental transmissions of HDR 4KTV done by Sinclair and Technicolor last April. This week’s test differs in that it used an end-to-end 3.0 system with all the major components of the standard. Also, it used scalable HEVC, which divides the signal into a base HD video component, and an enhancement component—a separate stream—that builds off of the HD component, providing for HDR. April's test also was done with DVB-T2, the European DTV broadcast standard. This test was entirely ATSC 3.0 compliant.

Also see...
October 7, 2015
ATSC 3.0: Mark Richer Details Phys Layer CS
The ATSC achieved a significant milestone last week with the elevation of the ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer to Candidate Standard status. TV Technology asked ATSC President Mark Richer to provide more details on the technology and the process…

September 29, 2015
“Samsung, LG, Contributed Technology to ATSC 3.0 Candidate Standard”
Both Korean electronics giants have been integral in developing the U.S. broadcast standard.

September 21, 2015
“ATSC 3.0 Tested With 4K, Mobile in Korea by LG, SBS”
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.

September 2, 2015
“Voting on ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer Standard Begins“
Ballots were sent out on Aug. 31 and over the next four weeks members of the TG3 Technology Group will vote on whether to approve or not approve the Physical Layer to Candidate Standard status.

May 15, 2015
“Samsung and ONE Media Drive ATSC 3.0 Candidate Standard“
Samsung and ONE Media proposed a hierarchical framework comprised of the ‘bootstrap,’ preamble and data framing to meet broadcasters unique requirements.

May 7, 2015
“ATSC 3.0 Bootstrap Signal Becomes Candidate Standard“
The first of five components in the Physical Layer transmission standard for ATSC 3.0 has been elevated to “Candidate Standard” status.

April 9, 2015
“Technicolor and Sinclair Demo HDR UHD Live Over-the-Air Broadcast”
Technicolor and Sinclair Broadcast Group have announced a successful demonstration of UltraHD with high dynamic range live broadcast based on proposed ATSC 3.0 technologies.

October 8, 2014
“Sinclair and Technicolor Do ATSC 3.0 4K Over-the-Air Broadcast”
Sinclair Broadcast Group and Technicolor delivered an industry first by successfully deploying Technicolor’s ATSC 3.0 4K UltraHD testbed platform and receiving an over-the-air signal.

August 27, 2013
“TV Tomorrow: ATSC 3.0 Advances”
The ATSC announced that 10 proposals have been submitted for the foundation of 3.0 known as the “physical layer.” This physical layer includes the modulation scheme, which defines how the signal information is carried by a radio frequency—in this case, the TV channel.

March 28, 2013
“ATSC Seeks Next-Gen TV Physical Layer Proposals”
It appears some of the requirements could be a bit of a stretch, but that may not be such a bad idea, considering that ATSC 3.0 will be replacing a terrestrial DTV standard that’s survived for 15 years.

March 27, 2013
“ATSC Seeks Proposals for ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer”
Glenn Reitmeier, ATSC chairman, noted that, “the ATSC 3.0 effort is a crucial time for broadcasters, professional equipment manufacturers, consumer device manufacturers and all stakeholders to collaborate and create the future capabilities of over-the-air broadcasting.”

February 22, 2013
“HPA 2013: ATSC 3.0 Update”
The current standard was developed 20 years ago and implemented around 15 years ago. The Internet was on baby legs, processor speeds were measured in megahertz, storage in megabytes, and networks in kilobytes.

January 22, 2013
“New ATSC Implementation Teams to Focus on Commercialization of ATSC 2.0 and M-EAS”
The Advanced Television Systems Committee has formed new Implementation Teams for two new emerging standards -- ATSC 2.0 and the Mobile Emergency Alert System.

February 15, 2012,
“HPA Tech Retreat: The State of ATSC 2.0”
ATSC 2.0 will provide a variety of interactive capabilities to broadcasters not now available.

September 6, 2011
“New ATSC 3.0 Technology Group Formed To Anticipate TV of the Future
ATSC 3.0 is anticipated to be a series of voluntary technical standards and recommended practices for the next digital terrestrial television broadcast system.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO—U.S. television networks are taking advantage of advanced video formats, IP-based signal routing, and just-in-time video file transfers to enhance coverage of the NFL and college football season. “Sports coverage is usually at the cutting-edge of TV production technology,” said Ken Aagaard, executive vice president of operations, engineering and production services for CBS Sports. “We tend to lead the charge into new ways of doing things, on behalf of all our networks’ production and operations facilities.”

Drew Brees (#9) during the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints matchup in Pittsburgh last season. The NFL kicks off the 2015 season with the Steelers visiting Gillette Stadium to take on Super Bowl champions New England Patriots.4K AND BEYOND
Although fans can’t view the action in ultra-high definition yet, 4K cameras have become a staple of sports coverage. “This will be our fourth or even fifth year that we’ve used 4K equipment in some area of football coverage,” said Michael Davies, senior vice president of Fox Sports’ Media Group Field and Technical Operations. “4K cameras are extremely useful for capturing high-resolution footage that we can then digitally zoom into for HD replays and slow motion clips.”

The Sony HDC-4300 variable frame rate camera is the preferred choice for NFL and college football coverage with at least three of the four networks (ESPN/ABC, CBS and Fox) using the camera system in their mobile football units. Fox is also shooting with the Grass Valley LDK 86 4K and Vision Research v642 2K cameras to shoot slow motion clips.

“The v642 provides higher resolution than HD, variable frame rate, and the ability to work over a single server channel on our Game Creek Encore mobile production unit,” said Davies. “In contrast, the HDC-4300 at full 8x slow-mo requires nine channels.” Fox is adding Vision Research Phantom Flex4K cameras to its football roster to broaden its base of 4K camera options. The Flex4K can shoot 4K footage at speeds up to 1,000 frames per second.

When it comes to using advanced video formats to cover football, ESPN is pushing the envelope this fall, including the testing of the “Pylon Cam,” a custom-molded goal line pylon that houses multiple cameras that can bring new imaging perspectives around the goal line during the game. ESPN has consulted with the NFL on the development of the Pylon Cam since it debuted the device during the College Football Playoff Championship in January. The network tested it during this year’s NFL preseason and, depending on feedback, may decide to use it during the Monday Night Football debut on Sept. 14. It also may utilize the Pylon Cam during some college football telecasts this season.

During the NFL preseason, ESPN tested the “Pylon Cam,” a custom-molded goal line pylon that houses multiple cameras that can bring new imaging perspectives around the goal line during the game.

“We’re active in testing, research and development around new video formats, including 4K, 8K, HDR and more,” said Jon Pannaman, vice president of content and production systems for ESPN. “We’ve also got some other new things that we are exploring in terms of using technology to bring new views to consumers, but we’re not in position to talk about those just yet.”

CBS is also trying out new cameras as it deploys its new SSCBS mobile unit to cover football. In addition to SSCBS’ flagship Sony HDC-4300 4K cameras, the network will be testing its own version of pylon-mounted small cameras and 360 degree-cameras on its “Supracam” two-point aerial 4K camera system. “Supracam is strung between two points in the stadium and flown over to the opposite side of the field,” said Aagaard. “This camera just moves in a straight line, always looking down the line of scrimmage. We would possibly place 360-degree cameras on the Supracam system, giving 360-degree camera views.”

IP ROUTING ADDS CAPACITY
Compared to traditional SDI signal routing, IP-based routing can support far more signal channels and connections. This is why Fox’s Encore unit is equipped with an Evertz EXE IP-based router, Evertz 570IPG high-density IP gateways, and an uncompressed 10Gbps Ethernet infrastructure that can carry and switch the equivalent of 6,900 uncompressed HD-SDI signals.

“We are very happy with the extra capacity that IP provides to our Encore unit,” sDavies said. “This unit probably won’t get fully tasked until we cover the Super Bowl.”

CBS Sports is also using hybrid IP and SDI routing in its new NEP-built SSCBS mobile production unit. “CBS is committing to an IP-based infrastructure for video, audio and communications,” said Aagaard. “As these technologies continue to mature we are prepared to take advantage of them.”

Another big trend in this season’s pro/college football coverage is the expanded use of video file transfers. These files are transferred on a “just-in-time” basis to mobile units to broaden their choice of real-time templates and content during live production; and from mobile units to network storage facilities to allow more people to pull and edit highlights quicker than ever before.

ESPN is using off-the-shelf network-attached storage hard drive arrays to create dedicated network-connected data storage centers for football video files. Available in storage sizes from 6 TB to 2 PB, ESPN calls these dedicated data centers “Bristol Advanced Storage Systems” (BASS); Bristol, Conn. being the home of ESPN’s IP-based (DC-2) Digital Center 2. (When it opened last year, DC-2 was the first-large scale Ethernet/IP-based production facility in the world. It is built around a large Ethernet core of two custom-made Evertz systems that provide 2304x10 Gbps ports, enabling a fully redundant dual path platform with 46Tbps of bandwidth.)

“With all of our football video being directed into a dedicated BASS, our people now have a one-stop-shop for storing, accessing, editing, and playing out football video,” said Pannaman. “DC-2’s tremendous IP-based capacity is central to our ability to utilize BASS for football production. For instance, the facility has the capacity to route and switch more than 60,000 1080p sources at a time.”

There is no doubt that this year’s network football production is more advanced than ever before. But as advanced as it is now, it will likely become even more sophisticated as the 2015-16 season progresses.

“The things that we are doing at the start of the season may well be different by the end,” said Davies at Fox Sports. “That’s just how quickly production technology progresses in U.S. pro/college football coverage.”

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.—LG Electronics USA announced pricing and availability for the latest addition to its OLED TV line, the EF9500 flat OLED 4KTV series, scheduled to begin arriving at retailers nationwide in September.

LG said the introduction of the EF9500 OLED 4KTV series triples the number of models in less than a year. The new series introduces flat-screen models to LG’s OLED line up, which also includes the EG9600 and EG9700 series of Curved OLED 4KTVs and its EC9300 Full HD Curved OLED TV model. LG now offers OLED TVs in 55-, 65-, and 77-inch class sizes, both curved and flat configurations, and 1080p and 4K resolutions.

LG notes that blacks rendered by its OLED TV are up to “200 times deeper than those of an LCD panel,” and feature the capability to display high dynamic range content “from both streaming content partners and external source devices.” LG said its EG9600 Curved OLED 4K TV series soon will receive a firmware update that enables streaming of HDR content from current and future providers.

The 55EC9300 Full HD Curved OLED TV is now priced at $2,499, more than 75 percent lower than the price of LG’s first-generation 55-inch class model, which first sold for $14,999 two years ago. The new flat EF9500 series and the curved EG9600 series will be available at the same price—$6,999 for the 65-inch model and $5,499 for the 55-inch model.

Series, models and suggested pricing for LG’s full line up of OLED TVs include: 

• EF9500 – OLED 4K TV
  65-inch class (64.5 inches diagonal) model 65EF9500: $6,999 55-inch class (54.6 inches diagonal) model 55EF9500: $5,499

• EG9600 – OLED 4K TV
  65-inch class (64.5 inches diagonal) model 65EG9600: $6,999 55-inch class (54.6 inches diagonal) model 55EG9600: $5,499

• EG9700 – OLED 4K TV
  77-inch class (76.7 inches diagonal) model 77EG9700: $24,999

• EC9300 Series – Full HD OLED
  55-inch class (54.6 inches diagonal) model 55EC9300: $2,499

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF.—The new AT&Tified DirecTV is rolling out a new 4K set-top box.

The new 4K Genie Mini, which the satellite TV provider said is about the size of a paperback book, offers “full Genie and 4K capability,” DirecTV said. The 4K Genie Mini also supports Dolby Digital Plus audio decoding. DirecTV has listed requirements for compatible 4KTVs on its website. Currently, only certain Samsung models are listed as being “DirecTV 4K-ready.”

“Not all 4K TVs meet the requirements to display 4K resolution from DirecTV. Due to copy protection requirements set by our major content partners, DirecTV and other pay TV providers are permitted to show 4K programs on TVs that support the latest HDMI 2.0 specification and HDCP 2.2 content security. In addition, your 4KTV must support a minimum of 60MHz—60 frames per second.”

DirecTV said it currently offers a variety of 4K UHD titles, including new releases, popular films and nature documentaries.

DirecTV launched 4K programming last November through its Genie HD DVR, which it said is currently in millions of DirecTV customer homes. The Genie HD DVR allows receiver-less connections to supporting DirecTV 4K-Ready UHD TVs from Samsung with instant access to DirecTV 4K on-demand movies. LG, Sony and additional TV manufacturers will have compatible sets “coming soon.”