Canal+ selects NAGRA for
4K offering
N
AGRA Connect is securing Canal+
Group’s new 4K service. With this
solution, NAGRA ensures content
protection via satellite broadcast, OTT, or
within the home, in addition to access control
for users authorised by Canal+.
The new service delivers a variety of
4K content to Canal+ viewers via satellite
broadcast as well as via OTT to multiple
devices using the operator’s new G9
set-top box. It also brings a number of
new benefits and features to consumers
including premium TV in every room,
improved performance and stability in the
user experience, the availability of live and
recorded services on other devices via WiFi
into the home.
“We are very excited to bring this new
service to our viewers and deliver a world
of high-quality content in amazing 4K Ultra
HD that they can enjoy across devices,” said
Philippe Rivas, CTO, distribution, at Canal+
Group. “What’s more, by deploying NAGRA
Connect to secure our newest service, we are
able to seamlessly deploy one solution on
multiple networks while meeting the security
requirements for high-value content.”
“With this latest launch, Canal+ continues
to raise the bar in pay-TV entertainment
and the delivery of next generation content
and services,” said Thierry Legrand, SVP
sales EMEA at NAGRA. “NAGRA Connect is
our flagship content protection solution for
connected networks and hybrid environments
and designed for the multi-network, multi-
device, multi-use case reality of today’s most
advanced pay-TV operators, while reducing
complexity and cost.”
LG confirms ATSC 3.0
Korea 4K TVs
LG Electronics, co-developer
of the ATSC 3.0 next-
generation television
broadcast standard, has
confirmed that all LG 4K
Ultra HD TVs now on the
market in South Korea
already incorporate ATSC
3.0 tuning circuitry. At CES
2018 in Las Vegas, where
the Advanced Television
Systems Committee (ATSC)
officially released the new
suite of standards, LG
announced plans to support
broadcast trials and early
deployment testing in the
United States during 2018.
Korea adopted the Next
Gen TV standard in 2017 and
leading broadcasters KBS,
MBC and SBS launched ATSC
3.0 broadcasting in advance
of 4K UHD transmission of
next month’s 2018 Winter
Games in Pyeongchang. Since
last autumn, all new LG 4K
UHD TVs and most new LG
smart TVs sold in Korea have
included dual ATSC 3.0-ATSC
1.0 tuner chips.
To support initial US
Next Gen TV broadcast
deployments, LG said it will
leverage its marketplace
experience from the launch
of Next Gen TV in Korea and
its technical expertise as
co-developer of ATSC 3.0,
which has been hailed as the
world’s first Internet Protocol-
based TV broadcast system.
The US Federal
Communications Commission
approved key elements of
the ATSC 3.0 broadcast
standard in November 2017
for voluntary implementation
of Next Gen TV. “The flexible,
extensible new ATSC 3.0
standard will unleash an
innovation revolution,
marrying broadband and
broadcasting to deliver a
range of new services for
8 ADVANCED TELEVISION
consumers in Korea, the
US and around the world,”
said Dr. Jong G. Kim, SVP in
the Office of the CTO, LG
Electronics.
Technologies developed by
LG, along with Zenith, its U.S.
R&D subsidiary, are included
in all three major layers of the
ATSC 3.0 standard, explained
Kim, who also serves as
President of the Zenith R&D
Lab. LG contributions are in
the majority of the A/322
Physical Layer Standard
adopted by the FCC,
including the scrambler,
forward error correction, bit
interleaver, mapper, time
interleaver, OFDM framer,
frequency interleaver, pilots,
reserved tones, and guard
interval functions.
Expected to redefine TV
broadcasting for decades
to come, the ATSC 3.0
broadcast standard is
designed to deliver 4K Ultra
HD and immersive audio,
robust reception on mobile
devices and improved
spectrum efficiency. The
increased payload capacity of
the physical layer combined
with HEVC encoding will allow
broadcasters more options
for expanding their broadcast
service offerings, including
business-to-business
opportunities in new markets
such as the automotive
segment.
Development of ATSC 3.0
technologies represents
the latest digital television
innovations by LG and Zenith,
long-time supporters of US
terrestrial broadcasting,
including the A/153 Mobile
Digital TV Standard adopted
by the industry in 2009.
Zenith developed the core
transmission system at
the heart of today’s ATSC
1.0 A/53 Digital Television
Standard, approved by the
FCC two decades ago.