Daejeon, KOREA — ETRI’s broadcasting and media technology has been globally recognized as a leader of related technologies around the world. ETRI is gaining traction in establishing related core technologies as international standards in the industry for UHD, often known as the next-generation television service, which has been expanding its market size.
Researchers from ETRI have developed LDM (Layered Division Multiplexing) technology that can simultaneously transmit and receive UHD and mobile HD broadcasting signals through a single channel, and it was selected as a baseline technology for the ATSC 3.0 standard. In addition, ETRI has developed and applied to UHD television, HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), enabling twofold greater data compression than the existing technology as well as MPEG-H 3D audio technology to provide multi-channel, multi-objective services. The latter is projected to become available in the global market in the future through application to UHD television service. Based on these achievements, South Korea is scheduled to launch the world’s first UHD broadcasting service through terrestrial networks in February 2017.
These two technologies won several awards inside and outside Korea for their excellence, strengthening the position and presence of ETRI. The LDM technology won the Technology Innovation Awards at the NAB Show 2015, the world’s largest broadcasting equipment exhibition, held in the United States in April 2015. The technology was also the subject matter discussed in the top award-winning papers at the BMSB 2012, 2014, and 2015, the world’s largest conference for the broadcasting and media industry. For the video compression technology, Dr. Hui Yong Kim was awarded “Inventor of the Year” in May 2015 by the Korean Government Office of Intellectual Property in recognition of his contribution to core technology research.
ETRI researchers have conducted a number of studies related to UHD broadcasting. The research outcomes include HEVC encoder technology to compress 4K-UHD images, which are four times clearer than those in full HD broadcasting, at a rate of 60 frames per second in real time, as well as upscaling technology to convert full HD images into high-quality 4K-UHD images.
By the end of 2015, the technologies had been transferred to related companies, which opened broad prospects for entry into the broadcasting equipment markets.
ETRI has recently completed the development of high-efficiency audio coding encoder technology to provide 10.2 channel stereophonic sound service for both horizontal and vertical sides and an interactive service that can selectively control the volume of dialogues and is currently working to commercialize this technology.
ETRI has also successfully developed convergent 3D broadcasting technology to air 3D UHD broadcasting without additional data transmission, in addition to UHD and mobile HD broadcasting. The institute reflected the technology into the ATSC 3.0 international standard, thereby significantly expanding the scope of viewers’ options for broadcasting services.
ETRI is now set to target the global market based on its enhanced presence in the area of broadcasting technologies. In October 2016, upon suggestion by Technicolor and Ateme, French global broadcasting technology companies, ETRI successfully completed the world’s first field test in Jeju Island for the LDM technology combined with SHVC, a new type of video compression technology.
ETRI is also facilitating full-scale global cooperation with various international companies, including CRC (Canada), NHK (Japan), NERC-DTV (China), Fraunhofer (Germany), and UPV/EHU and iTeam (Spain). In relation to the UHD broadcasting technology, the institute has thus far registered over 400 patents, published more than 20 SCI-level papers, and completed over10 cases of technology transfer.