Korea's three main TV stations started ultra high-definition (UHD) broadcasting on May 31. Pictured is a UHD display made by LG Electronics on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Nevada in January this year. (Yonhap News)
By Sohn JiAe
Korea's three main TV stations -- KBS, MBC and SBS -- started broadcasting in ultra high-definition (UHD) on May 31. UHD coverage will be transmitted first only in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do Province and Incheon, and will then be rolled out nationwide.
The Korea Broadcasters Association hosted a ceremony in Ilsan-si, Gyeonggi-do Province, to ring in the so-called “new era of UHD broadcasting.”
President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory video to the event, saying that, “I send my deepest respect and words of encouragement to those who have endeavored with passion to pave a new way across this broadcasting industry.”
“Let us address the challenges that we may face in terms of technology, industry, systems, content and institutions, so that vivid, realistic images offered by UHD broadcasting technology can be delivered across the nation,” the president said in his recorded speech.
National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a ceremony in Ilsan-si, Gyeonggi-do Province, to mark the launch of UHD broadcasting by Korea’s three major TV channels, a first in the world, on May 31. (Korean Broadcasters Association)
Shows broadcast in UHD provide four times the resolution of today's high-definition (HD) broadcasts, enabling viewers to enjoy finer, clearer image quality, as well as more stereophonic sound.
As part of this new tech, viewers can enjoy various UHD-related online services when their TV is connected to the internet. In order to gain access to this new UHD coverage, viewers are required to use a specialized set of antennas based on the U.S.'s Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 standard. Those who wish to watch using Europe's Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard need to purchase a separate set-top box.
The UHD broadcasts will be expanded across the nation by 2021. Starting in December this year, the service will be on offer in other metropolitan cities, including Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan, as well as across Pyeongchang and Gangneung in Gangwon-do Province, two of the three host cities for next year’s PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
jiae5853@korea.kr