ATSC 2016 Conference Heralds ‘Countdown to Launch’

WASHINGTON—ATSC 3.0, the “next-generation” television broadcast standard, appears to be on the horizon, as the Advanced Television Systems Committee will highlight to “countdown to launch” during the 2016 ATSC Broadcast Television Conference set to take place in Washington D.C. “We’re excited to offer TV broadcasters the opportunity to learn more about how best to plan a next-generation TV rollout,” said Mark Richer, ATSC president in the organization’s press release.

The conference will begin with sessions aimed to provide an overview of the ATSC 3.0 standard architecture; highlights of the standard’s layers; results from the recent PlugFests in China and U.S.; content creation with ATSC 3.0; an in-depth look at the upper layers of the standard; and previewing how interactivity will be enabled.

On the conference’s second day, attendees will hear remarks from FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly; “Broadcasting in an IP World” keynote presentation; panel discussions about the repack of stations following spectrum auction; an overview of the petition seeking FCC approval of the ATSC 3.0 transmission standard; and discussion about consumer products planned for reception of ATSC 3.0.

In addition, ATSC has planned sessions on the introduction of UHDTV service using ATSC 3.0 in Korea and the state of digital TV in Europe. Updates on advanced emergency alerting capabilities of the standard and OTT delivery are also expected.

TV Technology's Deborah McAdams will also moderate a panel during the conference. "OTT Strategies for Local Broadcasters" will take place at 3:30 p.m. on May 11 and feature Anne Schelle, Pearl, Louis Gump, NewsOn, and Bob Seidel, CBS.

Here is a look at the full schedule for the conference.

The 2016 ATSC Broadcast Television Conference will take place from May 10-11 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. Registration is now open.