The opening ceremony of Korea’s 2019 Broadcast Industry Promotion Week included a launch ceremony for an ATSC 3.0 emergency alert system. At the ceremony, The Korean Ministry of Information and Communication announced the launch of a UHD Emergency Alert Service for delivering disaster response information for earthquakes, heavy rains, and fires. The Ministry predicts the new system will be able to deliver information more quickly using a terrestrial UHD broadcast network.

The new system will not replace Korea’s existing telecom-based alert system, but will work with it to improve performance and coverage. Korea IT Times reports, “South Korea already has an emergency alert system based on telecom technologies. The addition of using ATSC 3.0 signals from broadcast spectrum is designed to enhance the alerting process, offer backup to the existing telecom networks if they are compromised, and finally cover blind spots that telecom signals do not reach.”

New coverage will include use of large outdoor display screens placed in bus, subway, and multi-use facilities such as nursing homes. The large screens will more dramatically and graphically communicate emergency information. The new service will also include innovations to support hearing impaired citizens with voice guidance based on text-to-speech (TTS) technology, and support the visually impaired by using beacons and vibrometers as guides to safety.

According to BusinessKorea, part of the alert plan was put into place the day of the announcement. ATSC 3.0 receivers and displays were activated in bus and subway facilities in South Korea’s capital city of Seoul. The Korean government has plans to expand the new emergency service to other cities in 2021 and go nationwide in 2022.

While the announcement of an ATSC 3.0-based emergency alert system surprised some in the US, Pete Han, CEO of DigiCAP, a technology supplier for the project, thought it was inevitable, “In Korea we are starting our third year working with live ATSC 3.0 broadcast networks. When you work with this technology day in and day out, you realize how much room for innovation there is. You can see evidence of this in this new EAS system.”

According the Korea IT Times, “These alert services, based on ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcasting and communications technology, are expected to change the paradigm of information transmission…The Ministry of Science and ICT is planning to overcome the limitations of the current emergency alert and broadcasting services by refining the initial pilot services in cooperation with the Korea Communications Commission, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Meteorological Administration.”

At NAB New York October 22

Pete Han, who attended the Korean emergency alert system launch in Korea will be a part of a panel discussion at NAB NY about the system. He will be joined with John Lawson, Executive Director of the AWARN Alliance, and Joonyoung Park, VP and Fellow at DigiCAP.who worked on key technology for the project. Link to NAB NY Korean EAS Session

LONDON—New research from IHS Markit reveals the average screen size of TV units shipped in Q3 2018 grew larger than any previous quarter in more than a year.

Worldwide, shipments of TVs with screens 60 inches or larger in Q3 grew by 40 percent year over year, 10 percent higher than in recent quarters. In North America and emerging markets, the growth was even greater as prices hit new lows for 65- and 75-inch screen models, the research group found, the research group said.

“Each year during the holiday shopping season, brands and retailers try to push ever larger screen sizes to keep revenues growing and encourage adoption of value-added features like 4K and smart TV,” said Paul Gagnon, research and analysis executive directors at IHS Markit.

[Read: Nearly 6 Million 8K TVs To Ship In 2022, Says New Report]

This year promotional deals are helping to create greater interest in 65-inch TVs, which in turn is shifting the focus from sets with screens that are 50 inches or less, he added.

However, in Western Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa TV shipments were down by double digits in Q3 ’18 –off from the more than 7 percent increase for the regions in the first half of the year spurred on by seasonal promotions for the World Cup, IHS Markit said.

The share of 4K TVs shipped reached a record high of 44 percent in Q3. In terms of dollars and cents, they accounted for 71 percent of all TV revenue in the quarter. Shipments of 8K TVs remains small, with a single brand shipping in Japan and China. More brands are expected to ship 8K TVs by the end of the year, IHS Markit said.

In North America, the average price of a 65-inch 4K LCD TV fell from $1,256 to $1,100 in Q3, In China the average price was $928. Elsewhere the average price remained higher as a result of less competition and a smaller market size.

As relates to display technologies, OLED TV shipments fell slightly in the third quarter compared to Q2, while LCD TV shipments grew 14 percent quarter over quarter, and shipments of quantum dot LDC TV with screen sizes exceeding 60 inches increased to 663,000 units in Q3. Average OLED TV screen size also grew to more than 59 inches for the first time, as the share of 65-inch OLED TV shipments grew to a new high of more than 38 percent, the research group found.