ATSC 3.0

Dielectric | Booth C2613 | Website: http://www.dielectric.com/  Dielectric, a provider of purpose-engineered antennas and RF systems for TV and radio broadcasters, will exhibit its, now-shipping TFU-WB UHF antenna to simplify transitions […]

Enensys Technologies | Booths SU7813 & N328FP | Website: http://www.enensys.com NAB 2017 is the first chance to see Enensys’ ATSC 3.0 product range on show following on from its successful […]

Cable operator Midco is upgrading its multi-market SeaChange-based video-on-demand system to the next-generation SeaChange Adrenalin multiscreen capable software platform. Midco is one of the 20 largest cable television operators in […]

Triveni Digital | Booth N2031 | Website: www.TriveniDigital.com At the 2017 NAB Show, Triveni Digital will celebrate its 20-year anniversary in digital TV content delivery and service quality assurance platforms, […]

Former Media General COO Deb McDermott  and her consulting firm have been hired by Verance to bring its interactive TV and audience measurement technology to market.

Text of rulemaking that would authorize the next-generation television transmission standard (ATSC 3.0) was released late last week. Reply comments are due June 8. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai already declared himself a supporter of Next Gen TV in congressional testimony last year and when he released the draft of the rulemaking last month.

Appearing today before the Senate Commerce Committee, the FCC chairman spells out his agenda, with the next-gen standard high on his list. He says its ability to leverage the power of the internet “promises to dramatically transform broadcasting.”

John K. Hane: “As someone who has been deeply involved in planning for the rollout of ATSC 3.0, I get a lot of questions about the next-generation broadcasting standard. By far the two most common questions are ‘When will the transition start?’ and ‘When will it end?’  My answers — which often lead to quizzical looks — are ‘Very soon. And never.’ ”

With the FCC’s adoption last week of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that ultimately will lead to voluntary ATSC 3.0 over-the-air transmission, broadcasters attending the NAB Show next month who focus on audio will have multiple opportunities to get more familiar with object-based audio features like personalization and immersive sound and many chances to see and hear Dolby’s AC-4 audio codec in action. Click here  to access TVNewsCheck’s NAB 2017 Resource Guide listing of audio-for-TV vendors and products. Photo: Pac-12 Networks remote production enabled by IP. Source: Calrec Audio.

LS Telcom said today that Cavell Mertz & Associates has purchased the CHIRplus_BC Broadcast Planning Tool. Cavell Mertz & Associates is an engineering consulting firm specializing in the broadcast and […]

Smartphones have moved well beyond simple communication devices becoming a hub, enabling overall connectivity for consumers and opening doors to internet-of-things, mobile payments, virtual reality and beyond. This underscores the importance of including mobile content delivery platforms in TV station business plans. 

The proposed rules would make use of the Next Gen TV standard voluntary and would not mandate that TV sets or mobile phones be able to receive the new signals. Because of its light regulatory touch, most believe that the rulemaking will proceed smoothly through a round of comments this year and that that FCC will vote to authorize the standard by year’s end.

Low-power Telemundo station owner WatchTV has been granted special permission by the FCC to conduct ATSC 3.0 tests in the Portland, Ore., area on chs. 16, 20, 35 and 38 to gather information on the new standard.

A group of  cable network producers ask the FCC to ensure that any 3.0 rulemaking will not result in cable nets being dropped by MVPDs because they are required to carry both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 signals “for an indeterminate period of time.”

Its new study predicts significant incremental revenue for large and medium market stations that would recoup the necessary investment in three years.

NAB VP of Spectrum Policy Alison Neplokh: “Next Generation TV is all about finding new and innovative ways for broadcasters to reach the public. That’s why we think it’s very fitting that one of the proceedings FCC Chairman Ajit Pai picked to pilot the FCC’s innovative approach to transparency is a proposal to move forward with Next Generation TV.”

If smartphone users of the future are going to have access to Next Gen TV broadcasts, the government is going to have to mandate that phones have the tuners built in. However, now is not the time for broadcasters to push for it. They need to stay focused on getting the FCC to authorize 3.0. After that, they will be able to make the case for a mandate by demonstrating the capabilities of 3.0 and the benefits of mobile reception.

Television broadcasters around the country today are testing the ATSC 3.0 audio watermark as part of their ATSC 1.0 (A/53) transmission. Not only are the tests aimed at offering them greater insight into who is watching and how internet-connected TV services are used by viewers, but they also offer the chance for participating broadcasters to come out of the chutes running once the next-gen TV standard is finalized and approved by the FCC. Above, NAB’s So Vang at an ATSC 3.0 interactivity demo at the 2016 NAB Show.

The new technology, CEO Pat LaPlatney says, “will help us continue to enhance our services to the communities and families that rely on us” in times of crisis.

ATSC 3.0 technology — the audio and video transmission standard TV broadcasters are hoping to eventually migrate to — carries with it the promise of many new features, including delivering enhanced broadcast TV to mobile devices. But that means, at some point, new receivers will be needed in those devices, and that process will take time.

Public television leaders need to get up to speed fast on ATSC 3.0, the proposed new broadcast TV transmission standard that the FCC will prioritize this year, according to Marc Hand, CEO of Public Media Co., a nonprofit consulting firm.

The commission releases a draft of its proposal for authorizing the voluntary deployment of the Next Gen standard, prior to the vote set for Feb. 23. The action is the first part of a new pilot program announced today by Chariman Ajit Pai to increase agency transparency by making documents public prior to voting by the full commission.

The yin and yang of consumer electronics and the broadcast TV industry means CES 2017 is the place to be in January for broadcasters who want a perspective on what will be on the minds and in the hands of their viewers in 2017. One look at this year’s CES schedule reveals just how big OTT and mobile are in content distribution and just how important the next-gen TV standard is to keeping TV broadcasters in the game.

Tests conducted in Cleveland this summer revealed that ATSC 3.0 can support multiple simultaneous services modes, such as high-data-rate HD and 4K, and highly robust signals for mobile delivery. Wayne Luplow of Zenith R&D Labs recently presented the findings at the IEEE Broadcast Symposium and submitted them to the FCC. Above, engineers inside the van used for the comparison testing of 3.0 versus Mobile DTV (A/153) reception.

The head of Sinclair Broadcast Group makes a powerful argument for ATSC 3.0. He believes it will spawn many enhancements and businesses that will more than justify the “immaterial” cost of implementation, especially the ability to deliver targeted advertising. There’s room for skepticism, but not enough to stop broadcasters from moving briskly ahead with the technology.

Phil Kurz, TVNewsCheck’s technology editor, urges FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai to advocate to the incoming Trump Administration for ATSC 3.0 receivers in mobile phones at some future date as a way to promote public safety for all Americans — not just those in front of their next-generation TVs.

At last week’s TV2020 conference, TVNewsCheck Editor Harry Jessell sat down with station group heads Jack Abernethy of Fox, Pat LaPlatney of Raycom, David Smith of Sinclair  and Perry Sook of Nexstar for a nuts-and-bolts discussion of the money-making potential of ATSC 3.0. Abernethy liked the technology, but was skeptical about the business models. However, the other three said adopting the new technology is a no-brainer. Said Sook: “It’s the next technological evolution of our business. I think it’s just a matter now of how fast we can roll things out.” Watch the session above.

Among the many new options the next-gen TV transmission technology could offer TV stations are the ability to sell regional and national ads in addition to local ones; datacasting as a B2B service; OTT video offerings that could compete with cable and satellite; as well as a much more powerful Advance Warning and Response Network.

Panelists agreed that the proposed transmission standard holds the potential for producing new kinds of audience data that advertisers are looking for today, allowing stations to join the ad industry evolution toward “geo-targeted” data.

Stations need to make sure they consider their future ATSC 3.0 needs alongside any changes that the post-incentive auction spectrum repack will require.

Speaking on the future of television, engineers are enthusiastic about the potential for the new transmission system to create an “unprecedented” viewing and listening experience and offer stations greater capability and flexibility.

The trade group’s CTO Sam Matheny explains what needs to happen before the next-gen standard gets the green light from the FCC and said he expects it all to happen by 2017-18.

But three other major stations group heads led by David Smith of Sinclair expressed unqualified enthusiasm for implementing the new broadcast standard, saying it will transform broadcasting into a fast-growing business again. “It’s essential for this industry to survive to have ATSC 3.0 in the marketplace as fast as possible,” said Smith.

Accenture Strategy’s Mike Chapman feels the next-gen ATSC 3.0 technology is rich in potential for broadcasters because it will allow them to participate fully in the new media world — creating ancillary platforms, transporting more data and developing new revenue streams from new services such as ad insertion.