Convergence TV Project demonstrates world’s first SHVC-based HD/UHD hybrid delivery at NAB

At NAB 2018, the Convergence TV project will demonstrate the delivery of a full UHDTV service using an ATSC 3.0 broadcast path for distributing a regular HD service (2K + HDR) and an ATSC 3.0 broadband path for enhancing the service from HD to UHDTV (4K + HDR).

Convergence TV is a research project powered by five French companies including TeamCast (lead), ATEME, Broadpeak, Motion Spell, TDF and two academic research institutes, namely, INSA Rennes and Telecom Paristech.

With the use of scalable HEVC (SHVC) for audio and video compression, no simulcasting will be needed. The broadcast path delivers the HD signal while the broadband path delivers only the enhancement signal from HD to UHD.

Both paths are fed from a single SHVC encoder providing the base layer signal to the broadcast chain and the enhancement layer to the broadband chain.

Two receivers show the service enhancement. There are a regular ATSC 3.0 TV set displaying the basic HD HDR service and a PC based hybrid receiver prototype able to combine the base and enhancement layers thanks to a SHVC decoder.

The regular ATSC 3.0 TV set will show the backward compatibility of the approach, as a regular HEVC enabled TV set can decode the SHVC base layer without requiring specific upgrade. It will illustrate a business case where regular broadcast HD service delivery (2K) can be enriched to UHD (4K) – and monetised – through an optional broadband connection.

Samsung supports the project by providing the ATSC 3.0 TV set for the backward compatibility demonstration. Being fully UHD and SHVC compliant, this TV set is reportedly another world first through its ability to display UHD services when both the base layer and enhancement layer are distributed through the broadcast path.