Las Vegas — With South Korean broadcasters set to begin deploying ATSC 3.0 in February, it’s only fitting consumers there have access to the first ATSC 3.0-enabled 4K Ultra HD (UHD) TVs.
LG Electronics announced at CES that new 2017 models of UHD sets sold in South Korea will feature both ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 1.0 tuners, opening up over-the-air delivery of 4K resolution, high dynamic range (HDR) and other advanced TV features to owners of the TVS.
Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) and other Korean broadcasters are debuting ATSC 3.0 broadcasts this year, and LG’s early inclusion of the 3.0 standard in TVs before it’s approval in the U.S. could help serve as a test case for tech that promises to combine the capabilities of broadband and broadcast for the first time ever. At CES, LG showed off a 65-inch LED set that included an ATSC 3.0 tuner, allowing for over-the-air HDR delivery and advanced service guide capabilities.
“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 LG’s home entertainment group, in a statement. “The combination of the latest ATSC 3.0 chipset with our … 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.”
Earlier at CES, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) announced that it expects the suite of standards for ATSC 3.0 to be complete this spring, opening up widespread IP-based delivery of advanced TV technologies for broadcasters this year.
