ETRI Webzine

- 2,000 MPEG and ATSC International Standard-essential patents, with Future Technology Royalty revenues Expected to Reach KRW 100 billion
- Applied to over 5 billion devices worldwide, with an economic value of KRW 1.3 trillion
- Successful model for international standardization at research institutes, realizing a virtuous cycle of technology, standards, and revenue

Korean researchers, leveraging world-class expertise in next-generation media compression and broadcast transmission technologies, are leading international standardization efforts while generating substantial technology revenues and contributing significantly to the global industry.

The Media Research Division of Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) is a world-class research organization with more than 80 PhD-level researchers. Over the past 20 years, it has been continuously developing core fundamental technologies in video and audio compression, as well as broadcast transmission, focusing on MPEG and Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard bodies.

Through these efforts, the company has secured more than 2,000 patents in major international standards in the media field, including ▲ High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)¹⁾, ▲ Versatile Video Coding (VVC)²⁾, ▲ Unified Speech and Audio Coding (USAC)³⁾, ▲ Three Dimension Audio (3DA)⁴⁾, ▲ Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH)⁵⁾, and ▲ Broadcast transmission technology (ATSC 3.0), with cumulative royalty revenues exceeding KRW 100 billion.
1) High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC, H.265): A high-efficiency video compression standard jointly developed by the ITU-T and ISO/IEC international standardization bodies, it offers up to 50% higher compression efficiency compared to the previous standard, H.264/AVC. It can effectively compress high-resolution content such as 4K and 8K video, making it advantageous for saving network bandwidth and storage space, and is widely used in streaming, broadcasting, storage media, and various other applications.
2) Versatile Video Compression (VVC, H.266): A versatile video compression standard jointly developed by the ITU-T and ISO/IEC international standardization bodies, it is the latest video compression standard offering up to 50% higher compression efficiency than the previous standard, H.265/HEVC. Efficiently compresses 4K, 8K, and other high-resolution video, 360-degree videos, screen content, and more, and is used across various fields including streaming, broadcasting, and AR/VR.
3) Unified Speech and Audio Coding (USAC): A high-efficiency audio compression standard developed by the ISO/IEC international standardization body (MPEG), this coding technology enables speech and audio to be encoded within a single codec. It delivers high audio quality even at low bitrates (12-64 kbps), and is widely used in streaming and broadcast content services.
4) Three Dimension Audio (3DA, MPEG-H 3D Audio): The next-generation audio coding standard established by the ISO/IEC international standardization body (MPEG), it is an advanced audio codec system that supports channel-based, object-based, and Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA)-based audio. It can dynamically reconfigure audio according to the listener’s location or playback environment, enabling personalized spatial sound experiences. It is currently adopted in Korea’s UHD broadcasting and ATSC 3.0 broadcast standards and being used in actual services.
5) Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH): A media streaming standard developed by the ISO/IEC international standardization body (MPEG), it automatically adjusts video quality according to network conditions to provide an uninterrupted viewing experience. Unlike traditional streaming methods, it is based on HTTP, ensuring high compatibility with existing web infrastructure. By dividing content into segments and transmitting multiple bitrate versions, it allows user devices to select and play the optimal quality for their conditions. This technology is a core component in various global services and standards, including YouTube, Netflix, and MPEG-H.

Furthermore, as these technologies are expected to continue being utilized across global industries in the coming years, the researchers anticipate that additional royalty revenue exceeding KRW 100 billion would be possible in the future.
In particular, the audio compression standards Unified Speech and Audio Coding (USAC) and Three Dimension Audio (3DA) were ranked second in the world in MPEG’s official quality assessment in 2008 and 2014, respectively. This achievement demonstrates the international competitiveness of ETRI’s R&D.

At the 144th MPEG meeting held in Hannover, Germany, in 2023, ETRI reaffirmed its technological leadership in AI-powered media processing by taking both first and second place worldwide in the ‘Feature Compression for Video Coding for Machines (FCVCM)⁶⁾’ category.

In addition, ATSC 3.0-based next-generation broadcast transmission technology was adopted as the core technology for Brazil’s next-generation broadcast standard “TV 3.0” and was recognized as an official standard by the SBTVD⁷⁾ Forum in July 2024. The VVC and 3DA compression technologies, which were also adopted, are expected to serve as core infrastructure for the Brazilian broadcasting ecosystem.

The ATSC 3.0 standard was also adopted as the next generation broadcast standard for North America in 2017. ATSC 3.0 offers ultra-high definition (UHD), interactive services, personalized services, and more compared to the existing ATSC 1.0. In Korea, it was first introduced to terrestrial UHD broadcasting in 2017, and in the U.S., it was introduced to NextGen TV mainstream broadcasting in 2020. Since then, it has spread as a next-generation broadcasting standard.
This achievements in international standardization have translated into royalty revenue, which has been reinvested into challenging fundamental technology research, creating a virtuous cycle. The economic value of ETRI’s technologies in media codecs over the past six years is estimated at approximately KRW 1.2915 trillion.
6) Feature Compression for Video Coding for Machines (FCVCM): A standard currently being developed by the ISO/IEC international standardization body(MPEG), this video coding technology is designed to efficiently support machine vision tasks. It targets a distributed computing environment (Split Computing) in which some processing is performed on the device and some on the server. By combining AI-based feature compression transformation methods with conventional video coding techniques, it delivers high compression efficiency and recognition performance. It is currently undergoing international standardization as MPEG-AI Part 4 FCM (Feature Coding for Machines), with the goal of completing standardization in January 2027.
7) SBTVD (Sistema Brasileiro de Televisao Digital: Brazilian Digital Television System) forum: As the Brazilian digital TV standardization body, it is the official organization overseeing discussions and meetings related to digital TV in Brazil, and also serves as a technical advisor to the Brazilian Digital TV Development Council, the government agency responsible for regulating the system. Official adoption of the ATSC 3.0 standard by the SBTVD in July 2024, followed by the finalization of the ATSC 3.0 standard by the Ministry of Communication (MCom), the Brazilian government, in December 2024, pending presidential approval by enforcement decree.

ETRI’s technologies are currently embedded as chips or software in over 5 billion devices worldwide - including smartphones, TVs, set-top boxes, and in-vehicle systems - enabling people to seamlessly enjoy services based on these technologies in their daily lives.

Currently, ETRI is focusing on the development of sixth-generation compression technologies, Beyond VVC⁸⁾ and Post USAC⁹⁾, and is accelerating R&D on future media technologies for the efficient delivery of ultra-high-definition content in metaverse, XR, digital twins, and generative media, including spatial sound, volumetric video, and AI-based compression. In particular, these technologies are also gaining attention as core solutions for the storage and transmission of AI-generated multimodal content.

“We will continue to secure technological sovereignty based on our proprietary innovations in the global media market through a structure that connects technology development, international standardization, industrial adoption, and patent monetization,” said Tae Jin Lee, Assistant Vice President of ETRI’s Media Research Division.

ETRI’s media technology has achieved balanced success in terms of technological excellence, economic impact, and industrial influence, clearly demonstrating that Korea is securing technological sovereignty in the global media market through its unique technologies.

ETRI is currently working on ▲ Development of Transceiver Technology for Terrestrial 8K Media Broadcast ▲ Development of Receiver Chip for ATSC 3.0 Mobile Broadcast ▲ Development of Audio/Video Coding and Light Field Media Fundamental Technologies for Ultra Realistic Tera-media with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information & Communication Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP).
8) Beyond VVC: A term that encompasses next-generation video compression technologies beyond the VVC standard, it is expected to improve compression efficiency by incorporating AI-based techniques in addition to traditional signal processing-based approaches The ITU-T and ISO/IEC international standardization bodies are currently preparing joint standardization efforts, with the goal of supporting next-generation applications such as ultra-high-resolution video, AR/VR, and real-time streaming.
9) Post USAC: The term refers to the next-generation audio compression technologies beyond USAC, this codec technology is designed to enable immersive audio experiences that seamlessly traverse the physical and virtual worlds. In order to deliver hyper-realistic presence in multi-party audio communication, there is a growing need to develop new audio codec technologies that can simultaneously achieve low latency and high audio quality.

Jung Won Kang, Director
Media Coding Research Section
(+82-42-860-5137, jungwon@etri.re.kr)