HD isn’t prevalent in South Africa yet and 4K content is a dream for all but those with the fattest internet pipes (and Netflix) but there’s a day in the future when a 4K TV will be able to stream a UHD broadcast over the air. That’s not a pipe-dream either, LG is engaged in a trial run of OTA 4K video broadcasts in the States.

LG, along with Zenith and GatesAir are running tests in Cleveland based on the new ATSC 3.0 Standard. Their implementation is called Futurecast and has already seen “…owners of future 4K Ultra High-Definition TV sets with pristine 4K content delivered over-the-air”, according to LG.

The trio involved in their field tests have used HEVC encoding on a single 6Mhz channel to deliver OTA 4K video as well as two mobile video streams to homes within the test area. The theory is that we could see 4K video being beamed over the air without having to resort to an internet connection or satellite dish.

The technology is still a long way off from being commercial however and LG’s ATSC testing doesn’t actually apply to South Africa at all – we run on a different standard on this side of the world. But it’s encouraging to see that 4K video has the potential to become the broadcast norm – assuming South Africa doesn’t manage to muck it up when it does become available.

Source: LG Newsroom