Elemental Powers a Wave of 4K Services as Sou Korea Extends Ultra HD Lead

Elemental Powers a Wave of 4K Services as South Korea Extends Ultra HD Lead posted: 26/05/2016

Top two OTT/DTH providers - KT and SK Broadband - add services built on Elemental software-defined video solutions

Elemental Technologies, the leader in software-defined video solutions, today announced it is providing the technology platform for a rush of new 4K Ultra HD (UHD) over-the-top (OTT) and direct-to-home (DTH) services in South Korea. Market leaders telco KT and SK Broadband have both launched UHD services using Elemental high-efficiency video coding (HEVC) software. Asia represents one of the world's fastest growing UHD markets, with Korea reported as the largest UHD TV market in the region by research firm GFK.

KT is one of the leading telecommunications company in South Korea. It launched its media business seven years ago, and is expecting 20 percent revenue growth in 2016, and to boost its pay TV subscriber base by a half million to bring its total subscribers to approximately seven million. The UHD channels KT has added to its SkyLife DTH service are important elements in attracting those new viewers.

SK Broadband, also a telco leader in South Korea, is investing 320 billion Won (about $265 million USD) in its own creative content this year, which is equivalent to nearly half the country's drama budget. It is also investing in its delivery infrastructure to meet continually growing demand, and to provide 4K content to more of its subscribers.

Both KT and SK Broadband have chosen to offer 4K UHD as a key part of their offerings, in an effort to provide high quality content in their programming. The first 4K services were made available in June 2015, powered by Elemental Live and Elemental Server video processing. To meet their expanding needs, both companies have already ordered extensions to their installations in 2016.

South Korea is at the forefront of 4K in Asia, said David Godfrey, Elemental vice president for the region. Elemental is very excited to be working with both KT and SK Broadband on their UHD multiscreen services from initial launch to recent expansions. Audiences are clearly voting with their subscriptions for the crisp, lifelike images of 4K video.

Elemental at BroadcastAsia 2016

At the 2016 BroadcastAsia Show (May 31 - June 3, Booth 5A4-01), Elemental will showcase its suite of software-defined video solutions in both on-premises and cloud-based deployments, including new video ingest, processing and delivery capabilities. Highlights include high dynamic range, 4K UHD video encoding; live broadcasting from the cloud, server-side ad insertion, and multiscreen monetization. See Elemental at BroadcastAsia in booth 5A4-01, Level 5.

About Elemental

Elemental Technologies, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) company, empowers media companies to deliver premium video experiences to consumers. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company pioneered the use of software-based video processing to distribute and monetize video over the internet. As the leader in software-defined video solutions, Elemental powers video infrastructure for more than 850 top-tier media franchises worldwide and helps pay TV operators, content programmers, broadcasters and enterprise customers bring video content to any screen, anytime - all at once. Elemental solutions are deeply integrated with AWS services, giving video providers the ability to quickly, easily and economically scale workflows on-premises or in the cloud.

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