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16 Formats 5G In tune with demand
SK Telecom’s service allows viewers to select their preferred angle when watching streamed professional baseball games
Korea is showing the world today what 5G — the ultra-fast, fi fthgeneration mobile networks — can do for the global entertainment business of tomorrow. Juliana Koranteng looks at the new platform for immersive content that is set to change the game
RANKED as the world’s largest 5G market by global research company Omdia, Korea is home to KT Corporation, SK Telecom and LG Uplus Corporation (LG U+), three leading wireless carriers that started off ering consumers 5G-distributed services early last year. Th e technology’s format is being used for a wide variety of TV genres, including live sports, live concerts, TV dramas, movies and reality shows, as well as the live esports events and video gaming so popular with Gen Z and millennial consumers. KT, which launched the fi rst nationwide commercial 5G network last year, SK Telecom and their rivals promise killer content that, in the long term, will impact on how consumers enjoy on-screen entertainment. Th is includes cutting-edge immersive AI-powered 3D holographic images that simulate real-life environments via VR and AR. And they will be accessible on 5G smartphones and laptops. “Th anks to the 5G breakthroughs, people can experience unlimited, realistic services and contents without delay, anytime, anywhere, on any device, under any circumstances,” says Kwon Ki-jae, vice-president at KT’s 5G B2C service department.
KT, SK Telecom and LG U+ have joined forces to invest a reported 34.45 trillion South Korean won ($29bn) in the infrastructure that has been responsible for Korea’s leading 5G status globally.
Kwon Ki-jae
What is 5G video entertainment?
For the uninitiated, the technology allows users to download ultra-HD videos via ultra-fast 5G mobile networks much faster than they can on the current 4G networks. According to experts, a DVD that takes 13 minutes to download on to a 4G smartphone will take just four seconds on 5G in the best-case scenario. Mobile broadcasting today is a one-to-one affair, with the viewer seeing only what the broadcaster or streaming service offers in one direction. But 5G’s greater bandwidth and low latency mean fans will be able to communicate with the content provider and other viewers in real time. The reception for live broadcasts will take place virtually without any delay on the receiving device. Using a 5G wireless device to record and broadcast a live event at a stadium, for example, will in future be comparable to broadcasting the same event via physical outside-broadcast cables today. For the audience, 4K and 8K resolution videos, normally associated with cinema-size TV screens, will be available on mobile handsets. Interactive, personalised content will be a key selling point, as the increased bandwidth will enable streaming operators to deliver multiple angles of the same shot at the same live event to millions of viewers simultaneously. Additionally, 5G-powered mobile entertainment will eventually place high-end immersive entertainment, such as VR and AR, in the consumers’ hands, freeing them of the need to be physically plugged into powerful terminals or PCs. “Future audiences will actively consume video content by hopping from one screen to another, following their own preferences. We believe that 5G will expand consumer choice and boost demand for real-time interactive content,” says Kim Hyuk, head of SK Telecom’s 5GX Media Business Group, who is also responsible for leading the strategy for SK Telecom’s broadband, fixed-telecom and media subsidiaries.
Kim Hyuk
5G TV and video: KT Telecom
5G technology might still be nascent, but the benefits were demonstrated last year in the second season of Children In A Secret Room, an original KT reality series on Seezn, its award-winning AI-powered subscription-funded streaming platform (it replaces the older IPTV platform Olleh TV Mobile). The show — described as Korea’s first multi-view reality series — features celebrity contestants, including pop star Hwang Kwanghee, seeking clues in order to escape from a locked room. For the second season, viewers were given the option to watch the action on five different screens for 24 hours, during which they could chat to and encourage their favourite participants to escape in real time. “Viewers of season two, which began on August 26, increased 1.4 times more than those of season one, and the chatting increased twofold. Approvals via the ‘like’ buttons soared 50 times, to 1.1 million,” KT’s Kwon says. Seezn’s unique selling point is its ability to offer personalised interactive 4K and 8K-resolution shows with which fans can engage seamlessly. “It can provide video content with ultra-high definition and ultra-low latency, enabling our subscribers to have immersive 5G experiences,” Kwon adds. “Moreover, we are trying to ensure that the new service is flawless in two-way communications, such as chatting between performers and fans, or among viewers, during live broadcasts by using available tools.” It remains unclear which killer content will drive 5G’s growth. KT’s portfolio already features titles including Pro Baseball Live and Musician Live. Meanwhile, E-Sports Live indicates that KT, like its 5G rivals, is targeting the next generation of competitive video-gaming fans as potential subscribers. For 5G mobile-distributed immersive shows, KT has built its Super VR 4K wireless media network. The service requires an HD headset, which launched last year and is said to be the first VR headset in Korea to connect to a smartphone wirelessly. “We launched our VR IPTV service — the first in the world — in October 2019 and our 8K VR image streaming service in March 2020,” Kwon says. “Through our Super VR service, we provide an array of travel,
performance and other immersive video content and VR games, where viewers can have first-person, 360-degree experiences.” Kwon also believes that the premium quality of the VR images will inspire content-makers to start producing high-end short-form video content featuring immersive media. “In the next five years, interactive entertainment will further increase to enable customer participation beyond merely viewing,” he says.
5G TV and video: SK Telecom
SK Telecom subscribers have been able to access its 5GX Multiview shows since 2019. The service allows individual viewers to select their preferred angle, from close-ups to bird’s-eye views, when watching streamed professional baseball games, live football, golf tournaments, esports competitions, the KBS show Music Bank, and the Idol Star Athletics Championships series from broadcaster MBC, plus immersive experiences in VR and AR. SK Telecom’s Kim predicts 5G will also influence on-location live broadcasting: “The wireless shooting/producing/distributing process using 5G is the only alternative that can replace the legacy fixed-line broadcasting infrastructure, especially for events such as a marathon or golf tournament, where you need to cover a wide area with mobility.” The company’s 5GX MediaLenz, scheduled to launch this year, uses AI to extract any data related to a show (the meta-data), from statistics to background information, spontaneously for the viewer. Kim adds: “It provides various information on a video, such as casting, location, background music and the filmographies of the cast. We use AI technology to automatically extract metadata from a video, and offer them on the right scene, in the right context, even without our audience turning on the service while watching.”
5G + LG U+
LG U+, the third major player in Korea’s 5G telecoms space, is investing heavily in 5G VR/ AR and other immersive content, while also expanding its efforts internationally. It recently joined a global initiative called XR Alliance with other international telecoms conglomerates. The other participants include China Mobile, Canada Bell and Japan-based KDDI. Canadian immersive-content production house Felix & Paul Studios is also involved. In August, LG U+ announced the launch of what is said to be the world’s first mass-produced 5G-powered AR glasses with Nreal, the Chinese MR tech specialist.
5G, gaming and comms
Korea’s telecoms goliaths see 5G networks supporting the fast-growing video-gaming market, which research company Newzoo says will be worth almost $160bn by this year’s end. KT recently unveiled GameBox, a cloud-computer game service that enables gamers to play large files of data-heavy video games on 5G smartphones (they have traditionally been played on powerful desktop PCs and consoles). GameBox comes at a time when global tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft are in the throes of launching cloud-based gaming services (respectively called Arcade, Stadia and the forthcoming Project xCloud). Meanwhile, SK Telecom has joined forces with Microsoft to offer a Project xCloud 5G mobile-gaming service in Korea. Furthermore, Korea’s 5G telecoms triumvirate will be using their new ultra-rapid networks to enhance consumer communications. For example, KT’s award-winning Narle is a “social videotelephony” service that allows groups to meet socially via their 3D avatars. It is expected to be a hit during the pandemic, since it enables fans to meet and greet their idols at a time when social-distancing makes physical contact impossible. SK Telecom has introduced a similar venture in VR called Virtual Social World.
State of the 5G market
By June this year, Korea boasted more than 7.4 million paying 5G subscribers, according to the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT (information and communications technology). With a population of just over 51 million, Korea has more than 69 million mobile-phone connections and has always been a pioneer in mobile-content development. A 2019 survey by the Korea Information Society Development Institute concluded that 90%-plus of those questioned already watched on-demand streaming-TV shows on their smartphones. Korean electronics-manufacturing conglomerate Samsung not only shipped more than 6.7 million units of its Galaxy 5G mobile devices worldwide last year, accounting for a 53%-plus global market share, but it is already working on 5G-powered tablets and 5G 8K TV sets.
The future
The next phase for growing 5G penetration in Korea includes marketing campaigns to inform the public about the benefits of the new technology. As SK Telecom’s Kim Hyuk says: “We are currently using our PR channels, such as TV commercials, press releases and corporate social media, along with 5G experience zones in our shops where people can walk in and have hands-on experience on 5G devices and services. We are trying to have our customers fully understand the distinctive features of 5G by providing easy and intuitive user experience and interfaces.” KT’s Kwon adds: “When 5G becomes widespread as a technology for everyday life, we expect to see a steady rise in high-definition content and VR/AR services and contents. We expect this will be 5G’s strength as well as its indispensable factor.” 068_RM MIPMARKETS_SUPP KOREA
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