Thursday, March 6th, 2014
SEOUL, KOREA - SK Broadband said on March 5 that it has succeeded in developing an ultra high-definition (UHD) set-top box for home use. The company will commercialize the technology within this year after a pilot service soon. With the newly developed set-top box, anyone can watch UHD-quality television programs without spending several thousands dollars to buy a new UHD TV.
An SK Broadband official said, "UHD IPTV service is possible when all the infrastructure including equipment to send out signals, networks, and consumer-end terminals is in place. With the development of the set-top box, we laid the foundation for moving toward the full-fledged UHD IPTV service."
Next week, the company will launch a new television model "Set-top Free TV," jointly with a TV manufacturer, that is embedded with the UHD set-top box. Earlier in September last year, SK Broadband had developed, in partnership with SK Telecom, a new technology called "HEVC" (High Efficiency Video Coding) that can compress data twice better than the current IPTV standard technology of H.264.
Kang Jong-ryeol, SK Broadband head of network division, said, "We will work hard to provide best-quality services based on our excellence in technology to move up the commercialization date for full IPTV service."
