Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics showed off their next-generation UHD technologies based on ATSC 3.0 at 2016 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the world's largest electronic media show held in Lag Vega on April 18.
Next-generation standards for over-the-air TV are divided into American and European standards. The two South Korean tech giants introduced services based on ATSC 3.0 (Advanced Television System Committee), a new over-the-air broadcast standard used in the US.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission adopted the ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard, which had been proposed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), as a digital HDTV standard in 1996. ATSC 3.0 promises fast transmission and great interoperability and enables multi-channel digital broadcasting in various signal formats. The ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard has been adopted by North America and South Korea.
The ATSC 1.0 standard was developed almost 20 years ago in the US while the ATSC 3.0 is based on South Korean broadcast technologies. Both Samsung Electronics’ MPEG Media Transmission (MMT) and LG Electronics' ROUTE, which are IP-based (Internal Protocol) transmission technologies, are parts of ATSC 3.0. Sometime in the second or third quarter, the ATSC Board of Directors will officially name the two technologies as ATSC 3.0 standard technologies.
At 2016 NAB, Samsung sported real-time 4K live broadcast processing; MMT; UHD and FHD channels being viewed alternatively on Samsung TV; push VOD (video on demand) services in collaboration with Pearl TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group; and electronic program guide (EPG) technology.
In cooperation with major Korean companies including MBC, Samsung demonstrated how videos shot with UHD cameras are encoded in real time and played on Samsung’s SUHD TV.
By capitalizing on MMT, one of the key technologies of ATSC 3.0, Samsung also demonstrated UHD and FHD contents being viewed alternatively on Samsung TV. As S. Korean educational television and radio network EBS offers multichannel broadcasts, ATSC 3.0 enables multichannel broadcast services.
In collaboration with Pearl TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group, Samsung also showcased a technology for receiving over-the-air high definition programming using an antenna without Internet connection. Late at night when few sit in front of the TV, TV contents are transmitted through broadcasting networks and stored in the receiver to let consumers choose a VOD service of their liking from among those recommended by the broadcaster next morning. Since this technology requires no Internet connection, both broadcasters and consumers do not have to pay extra.
Another note-worthy service was electronic program guide (EPG), which not only shows broadcast schedules for the future but also offers a guide on programs previously aired and catch-up TV services.
LG Electronics unveiled the world’s first TV equipped with a ATSC 3.0 reception chip, which enables streaming ultra HD contents without a separate set-top box. In addition, LG’s ROUTE is a next-generation IP-based broadcast transmission technology. When ROUTE is in use, over the air signals are loaded with more broadcast information. Thus, consumers can access a variety of new services via LG's smart network antenna (which is built upon the world's first ATSC 3.0 demodulator chip) without having their TVs connected to the Internet.
Both Samsung and LG are preemptively gaining ground in broadcasting equipment, as well as TVs, in the US UHD market, the world’s largest UHD TV market.
