LG Electronics, Harris Fast-Track Mobile Digital TV Development Means MPH(TM) System...

LG Electronics, Harris Fast-Track Mobile Digital TV Development Means MPH(TM)
System Ready for Market Deployment
Broadcasters Predict Mobile DTV Will Generate an Additional $2 Billion
Annually

LAS VEGAS, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Leveraging their respective leadership
positions in broadcast equipment and consumer electronics, Harris Corporation
(NYSE: HRS) and LG Electronics, Inc., said today that their MPH(TM) in-band
mobile digital television (DTV) system is both deployment-ready and uniquely
suited to rapid marketplace adoption by the nation's broadcasters.
Developed by LG Electronics, its R&D subsidiary Zenith, and Harris, the
MPH system provides robust over-the-air DTV signals to mobile, pedestrian and
handheld devices. This innovative technology allows consumers to watch their
favorite programs from local broadcasters, as well as local news, weather and
traffic information, even when traveling in fast-moving vehicles or using
handheld devices away from home.
Harris, which accounts for an estimated two of every three DTV
transmitters sold and installed in the United States, will be showcasing the
features and benefits of MPH at the annual National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) convention, which begins here this weekend. Among other
things, Harris is launching new MPH broadcast equipment for broadcasters to
deploy MPH mobile DTV services quickly.
Similarly responding to broadcasters' sense of urgency, global technology
leader LG Electronics expects to introduce by next year a range of consumer
devices -- from handheld digital TVs and mobile phones to DTV-ready notebook
computers -- capable of receiving and displaying MPH mobile DTV. LG will
demonstrate these products at the NAB show as well.
For broadcasters, mobile DTV has the potential to create lucrative new
revenue streams. A study commissioned by the NAB predicted that, assuming an
industry standard is set by early 2009 and universally adopted, "broadcast
television could reap an additional $2 billion in annual revenue by 2012."
The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), an alliance of U.S. commercial and
public broadcasters, is vigorously promoting the development and early
deployment of mobile DTV, and the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC)
is pursuing an aggressive standardization process expected to yield a single
terrestrial mobile/handheld DTV standard by early 2009.
"MPH in-band mobile DTV marks a rare opportunity for broadcasters to
increase their viewership as well as their bottom-line," Harris Broadcast
Communications President Tim Thorsteinson said. "This technology has proven
itself time and again in grueling real-world field tests not only in major
U.S. metropolitan areas, but also in media markets from Canada to Argentina.
Harris, which led the way in building the new digital broadcast
infrastructure, is uniquely qualified to help broadcasters weave mobile DTV
into their existing transmission capability, and to do so swiftly and
seamlessly."
LG Electronics President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Woo Paik said,
"MPH promises to create major market opportunities for consumer electronics.
We envision a host of new, MPH-driven products such as DTV systems for moving
vehicles and DTV-capable computers, not to mention the replacement market for
the millions of analog handheld TVs that will go dark when U.S. broadcasters
go all-digital next February. We at LG see MPH as a logical extension of our
seminal contributions to the field of digital transmission technology."
The MPH team has been actively involved with the progress that ATSC has
been making in the areas of transport protocol, user interface (middleware),
service features and video/audio encoding -- all of which will be demonstrated
within a mobile vehicle, as well as in the Harris and ATSC booths during the
NAB convention.
MPH in-band mobile DTV technology, under development for nearly three
years at the LG Electronics DTV Laboratory in Seoul, South Korea, and at LG's
Zenith lab near Chicago, builds on two key ATSC standards, also developed by
Zenith: the robust Enhanced VSB (E-VSB) system and 8-VSB (Vestigial Side
Band), the proven modulation system at the heart of the ATSC DTV standard
currently used by more than 1,600 U.S. DTV broadcasters and in every DTV
receiver sold in the United States. To help commercialize its technology
concepts for the broadcast industry, LG Electronics turned to long-time
industry leader Harris Corporation, whose extensive systems integration and
research capabilities contributed significantly to the broadcast system's
development.
About LG Electronics
LG Electronics, Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology
innovator in mobile communications, consumer electronics and home appliances,
employing more than 82,000 people working in over 110 operations, including 81
subsidiaries around the world. LG Electronics USA, based in Englewood Cliffs,
N.J., is LG's North American subsidiary. In the United States, LG Electronics
sells a wide range of consumer electronics (digital display and digital media)
products, mobile phones and digital appliances under LG's "Life's Good"
marketing theme. LG's U.S. R&D subsidiary, Zenith, based in Lincolnshire,
Ill., is a long-time leader in consumer electronics technologies and a pioneer
in digital HDTV. Zenith merged with LG Electronics in 1999. For additional
information, please visit http://www.LGusa.com.
About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology
company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries.
Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual revenue of almost
$5 billion and 16,000 employees - including nearly 7,000 engineers and
scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured
communications(R) products, systems, and services. Additional information
about Harris Corporation is available at http://www.harris.com.
SOURCE LG Electronics, Inc.

Dave Glidden of Harris Broadcast Communications, +1-513-459-3639,
david.glidden@harris.com; or John Taylor of LG Electronics USA,
+1-847-941-8181, jtaylor@lge.com