TUCSON, Ariz.—KUAT, the Arizona Public Media (AZPM) station here, is now on air with a new Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark 55kW PARALLAX UHF DTV transmitter.

The station replaced its primary IOT unit on Mt. Bigelow, which had been on air for more than 20 years. The old transmitter had incurred irreparable damage during winter storms, forcing the station to operate at half power under Special Temporary Authority (STA) from the Federal Communications Commission. Comark supplied, installed and proofed the new PARALLAX HPTV-PRLX-U32 DTV transmitter to meet that station’s total power output requirement of 54.83kW, the company said.

The new transmitter consists of two rack cabinets. Each is equipped with 16 UHF power amplifiers. The PARALLAX transmitter was delivered with dual EXACT-V2 ATSC exciters (in main/standby configuration) and the liquid cooling system., Comark said.

The company also supplied the complete RF mask filter system incorporating Constant Impedance Filter (CIF) technology and the high-power external hybrids for combining both of the transmitter’s PA cabinets, it said.

“Our new 55kW PARALLAX transmitter has solid state liquid cooled design to meet our current ATSC 1.0 distribution across all of southern Arizona and is Next Gen (ATSC 3.0) ready for the future” said Chris Homer, AZPM chief broadcast engineer.

The KUAT staff and Comark coordinated shipment, offloading and placement of the new equipment in the station’s transmitter facility. Mechanical installation was completed in late May, which was followed by a turn on during which Comark performed complete proof-of-performance testing, the company said.

“Comark worked very closely with the engineering management of KUAT to provide a complete solution for their site’s unique requirements,” said Joe Turbolski, vice president of sales and marketing at the company.

“Our program management performed a detailed site survey to ensure there were no surprises during the delivery and mechanical installation. And our field services group took special care to ensure the system was installed to provide trouble-free operation for years to come.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

JOHNSTON, Iowa—Iowa PBS contracted with Comark Digital Services (CDS) for a complete upgrade to its centralcast ATSC encoding system.

Iowa PBS operates nine DTV transmitters that provide coverage of the entire state. The contract included upgrading the broadcaster’s legacy ATSC program encoders for its hub and spoke architecture and a full QoS/QoE monitoring solution. The software-based encoding solution supports ATSC 1.0 and 3.0, which will make it possible for Iowa PBS to transition in the future if desired, the company said.

CDS was responsible for program management and for supplying all of the materials for the entire project, as well as the factory integration testing, on-site commissioning and system training, it said.

Iowa PBS deployed the CDS TITAN Live encoder, which is capable of simultaneous MPEG-2, H.264, HEVC and HLS output formats.  Installed at the hub, the encoder was deployed in a 1+1 redundant configuration with AMS management of the redundancy, it said.

The architecture uses re-multiplexing to provide dedicated branded feeds to each of the Iowa PBS stations with the specific ATSC signaling / PSIP data.  For added security, CDS provided firewalls at the hub and each of the remote spoke DTV transmitter sites.  The existing fiber network connectivity was reused between the hub and the remote spoke transmitter sites, the company said.

For local test and remote monitoring, CDS deployed EdgeProbe Advanced 3, which monitor IP inputs and RF outputs to the transmitters. EdgeProbe also returns a TSoIP video sample back to the hub for confidence monitoring. CDS also supplied transport stream converters (TSoIP to SMPTE-310M) because the system needed to interface with existing legacy DTV transmitters, it said.  

CDS provided a complete confidence monitoring solution at the hub site for Iowa PBS.  Each remote spoke transmitter site returns confidence signals from the EdgeProbe that are collected and monitored via StreamProbe QoS and QoE. StreamProbe provides at-a-glance (live thumbnail mosaic) monitoring as well as ETR-101-290 monitoring. CDS also deployed GlobalViewer for the centralized management including live supervision and analytics reporting of the DTV signals from each of the transmitter sites, it said.

To prepare Iowa PBS for its future migration to ATSC 3.0, the hub was equipped with multiple MediaCast and SmartGate units. MediaCast processes live HEVC-DASH and NRT streams (datacasting, ESG, AEA) and is responsible for generating the ROUTE/MMTP signaling tables (SLT and SLS). SmartGate follows MediaCast and is the broadcast gateway that generates the STLTP which ultimately feeds the ATSC 3.0 transmitter via an IP connection. SmartGate defines the ATSC 3.0 services via PLPs. Both software products were deployed on a single server, it said.

CDS also was responsible for upgrading an existing 7GHz STL between the Iowa PBS hub site and the KDIN transmitter site. The new IPLink 3.0 system provides high-capacity, full duplex operation that supports ASI and TSoIP and is ATSC 3.0 ready for future use, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC has announced that WLII is on-air with a new Comark 19.2kW Parallax VHF band 3 transmitter.  

WLII, which is owned by Liberman Media Group LLC, serves the capital city of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

WLII-DT applied for and received a new construction permit from the FCC to increase the station’s ERP from 38kW to 160kW, which necessitated a new VHF transmitter. WLII purchased a Parallax 19.2kW single rack cabinet transmitter that includes 14 VHF Band 3 Doherty final power amplifiers and the complete liquid cooling system.  

Parallax provides the highest in class power density in the industry, Comark said. 

This transmitter was also pre-wired to accept two additional final power amplifiers in the future, should the station want to increase the power capability of this system.

The Parallax transmitter was delivered complete with dual Exact-V2 ATSC exciters (in main / standby configuration).  The system is fully upgradeable from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0.  In addition, Comark supplied a new 25kW RF mask filter system and channel combiner.  The WLII station is combined with an existing channel 7 DTV transmitter via a broadband input port.  

Comark managed the shipment, offloading, and placement of the new equipment into the existing broadcast facility.  After the mechanical installation of the new transmitter system was completed, Comark’s field engineer turned on the new transmitter, performing the complete proof-of-performance testing.  The new WLII D11 transmitter system went live on June 21st at roughly 10PM with no issues.

“We are very happy with Comark and their fantastic team.  Being on an island brought some specific challenges to the project that Comark was able to overcome. They provided a seamless on-time project completion.  The Parallax transmitter at the new 160kw level has made huge improvements in our signal and we are very pleased with the results.” states Winter Horton, chief operating officer.

“The team here at Comark provided a complete solution to replace WLII’s older VHF transmitter system as part of the station’s plan to increase their ERP”, states Joe Turbolski, vice president of sales and marketing for Comark. “We were pleased to work with the team at WLII; their new Parallax liquid cooled transmitter will provide a much better OTA signal to the viewers in San Juan.”

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark has signed a partnership agreement with Vislink that appoints Comark as an authorized reseller, integrator, and service provider of Vislink’s high quality, reliable, real time video communication solutions for NextGenTV deployments.  

Comark will be focusing its NextGenTV solutions on the North American broadcast DTV market, the companies said.

Comark re-launched Comark Digital Services (CDS) in 2018 to assist customers with navigating their migration from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0. CDS currently operates a full laboratory for equipment testing, integration, and customer demonstrations, providing market-leading solutions with best-of-breed technology and system expertise to help customers jump into the exciting possibilities offered by the new DTV standard.

With this new agreement, Comark and CDS will offer Vislink’s ATSC 3.0 ready digital video microwave system: IPLink 3.0. 

This new system allows the broadcaster to smoothly migrate from the traditional ASI transport platform to a future IP-centric system architecture. The IPLink system delivers ultra-high linear RF output performance coupled with the reliability that LDPC (1) forward error correction affords in controlling errors in data transmissions over long or unreliable microwave paths.

“We have already provided, integrated, and deployed several NextGenTV solutions to broadcast customers,” says Joe Turbolski, vice president of sales and marketing, at Comark.  “The new agreement with Vislink allows us to also supply market leading solutions for broadcasters’ IP connectivity requirements in both MFN and SFN ATSC 3.0 architectures.”

“We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Comark,” said Mickey Miller, CEO of Vislink. “Their long heritage of innovation and deep relationships in the broadcast space make them the ideal partner for introducing our IP Link 3.0 system to the widest range of broadcasting organizations. We specifically designed IP Link to help contribute to the transformation from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0 by enabling immersive and interactive experiences for viewers, as well as opportunities for more efficient business models and avenues for monetization for broadcasters.”

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC has announced the introduction of the newly improved E-Compact EC700HP-BB3 series high-efficiency air-cooled solid-state UHF DTV transmitters.  The “BB3” version is the third generation in the high-powered product line and supports the US post-repack channels 14-36.  

The EC700HP-BB3 product line is available with a single final power amplifier or up to 12 x PA’s in parallel, producing from 1.1kW to up to 13.2kW respectively.  These output power levels are measured after the mask filter. 

Key improvements to the “BB3” series include:

• Dual commercial off-the-shelf GE AC to DC rectifiers in the power supply of each PA.
• Hot-swappable rectifiers accessible from the front panel of the PA chassis.
• Newly improved system controller with a simpler user interface GUI.
• Optional front panel touch screen for easier user access to the control / monitoring GUI.
• Optional outdoor cabinet for sites lacking adequate space in equipment shelter.

 E-Compact “BB3” production and transmitter testing will be performed in the company’s Southwick, MA facility to enhance product line flexibility and reduce product lead times, the company said.

The “BB3” continues to feature the latest asymmetric broadband Doherty LDMOS amplifiers (the same device as the award-winning PARALLAX series liquid-cooled UHF transmitters). The amplifier technology allows power efficiency of up to 44%. The air-cooled PA design includes automatic cooling fan speed control that provides lower acoustic noise levels during operation. The transmitters include a built-in web-GUI and SNMP for remote control and monitoring. The E-Compact also features EXACT-V2 IP Optimized DTV exciters with DualCast technology and is easily upgraded from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0, the company said. 

The compact, rugged E-Compact family is perfectly suited for broadcasters looking to replace their current older and less efficient equipment or for future ATSC 3.0 SFN systems, the company said. 

The EC700HP-BB3 transmitter will be on display at the 2022 NAB Show at Hitachi Kokusai Electric Group’s booth (C4409).

More information on the 2022 NAB Show is available here. 

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC (Comark) has announced that Christian Television Network (CTN) has ordered multiple Parallax UHF DTV transmitter systems.

CTN has been operating several older UHF DTV transmitters that were in need of replacement and inked a contract with Comark to replace the six systems with Parallax transmitters.  

All the new transmitters will reuse existing RF mask filter systems, keeping the upgrade costs to a minimum, the company reported. 

“Comark supplied our first transmitter for our first TV station in 1979, as well many other transmitters for our subsequent TV stations,” stated Chris Mavros, director of engineering at Christian Television Network. “We have had experience with some transmitters from other manufacturers, but we have chosen Comark as the company that is our preferred manufacturer to take us into the future.”

The CTN stations covered under this package include:

WRXY  D23 @ 24kW Model: HPTV-PRLX-U15

WHBR  D34 @ 19kW Model: HPTV-PRLX-U12

WCLF  D21 @ 22kW Model: HPTV-PRLX-U14

KNLJ  D20 @ 29kW Model: HPTV-PRLX-U18

WTJR  D32 @ 28kW Model: HPTV-PRLX-U18

WHNO  D21 @ 15kW Model: HPTV-PRLX-U9

These transmitter systems will be replaced between 2021 and 2023, with Comark managing the shipment, offloading, and placement of the new equipment in each transmitter facility as well as taking care of the equipment installation, final check-out, and proof-of-performance.  

Comark debuted the Parallax UHF high efficiency transmitter at NAB 2016, where it won NewBay Media’s Best of Show Award, presented by TV Tech. 

“This contract is a continuation of the great relationship between our two organizations,” said Joe Turbolski, vice president of sales and marketing at Comark. “CTN purchased several Parallax transmitter systems for their repack needs where we confirmed the product’s performance and reliability.  We’re proud that CTN has selected us as a long-term supplier for their high-power DTV broadcasting needs”

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—WSMV-TV has been a fixture in Nashville for more than 70 years and we have been very proud of our reputation as a key broadcasting presence in the community. Recently we recognized that our current RF equipment was beginning to show its years and since it was past the typical service life we began to look for something that we could depend upon again to carry our transmission without fail with a support team to back it up. 

A FAMILIAR CONNECTION

We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Comark dating back to September 2002, and there is a reason we stick with them. Our prior transmitter, an Optimum TDV2-7K50 LV two cabinet, was also supplied by Comark and for nearly two decades of operation, they provided helpful and reliable customer service. Given their reliability, we sought out our trusted partner to see what they had to offer for today’s broadcaster.

Considering all the accolades their PARALLAX series has received, we decided on an HPTV-PRLX-V6 model, a single cabinet VHF that houses six power amplifiers rated at 8.7 kW TPO rated and 6.35 kW while running. In operation we are putting out a tremendous signal at 45 dB SNR with 61 dB shoulders. We’ve also employed the EXACT-V2 exciters in the PARALLAX transmitter and we are seeing excellent synergy within the system. The front panel user interface is both simple and informative, allowing us to dig down to the individual transistor’s operating parameters.

EASY & EFFICIENT

Despite our conveniently located transmission site, there are always sweat and tears that go into the work of replacing such large and complex machinery, but the Comark and WSMV Engineering team was more than prepared. 

The turnkey installation was a breeze and we were up and running on the PARALLAX system in less than a week, ensuring that we did not experience any down time transitioning from our old transmitter to our updated system.

The PARALLAX liquid-cooled transmitter touts its cooling system as simple and effective when it comes to removing waste heat evenly with the utmost efficiency, and despite it being installed in December, we immediately noticed a difference. 

With the conspicuous reduction in consumed energy we saw a subsequent reduction in our energy bills. Within weeks of installation we recognized that our new system was helping to pay for itself with its impressive efficiency. 

The “WSM” of our call signs hearkens back to the motto of the National Life and Accident Insurance Co. that was based in Nashville: “We Shield Millions.” While National Life has resettled themselves into the history books, we seek to embody that motto with our work, broadcasting for the greater Nashville area and with the help of Comark’s equipment and customer service we can assure our service will continue uninterrupted. 

Dana Lyons is director of engineering & operations of the WSMV engineering team, using over 17 years of practical and leadership experience to lead his maintenance and operational staff in the technical department. Lyons takes great pride in the station’s operations and improvements including all IT electronics and broadcast equipment as well as building-related enhancements. He can be reached through www.wsmv.com. 

For more information, visit: https://comarktv.com/.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark has announced that the WGBH has upgraded it VHF Band 1 Parallax liquid cooled DTV transmitter for up to 47.8kW of power.

Comark supplied the Parallax transmitter on channel D5 to public media producer GBH as part of the FCC repack. 

This transmitter system was purchased in 2018 as upgradable to allow for future power increases and initially delivered as a three-cabinet system with four power amplifiers (PA’s) per cabinet (12 total) for operation at 6.2kW transmitter output power (TPO).  

After a few years, GBH applied for and received authorization from the FCC to increase the station’s ERP from 6.7kW to 34kW to better serve their community of license. 

GBH then ordered the system upgrade package from Comark that included 24 additional amplifiers and the associated materials, providing TPO capability of up to 47.8kW.  The new configuration of the GBH transmitter now uses 12 PA’s per cabinet or 36 PA’s total. 

“When we originally ordered the Comark Parallax transmitter, our FCC engineering consultant informed us that there was a strong possibility we could be granted a future increase in effective radiated power up to 50Kw,” said GBH transmitter supervisor Jon Frank in a statement. “However, we had no idea precisely what that increased power figure would be. As result, we purchased the upgradeable cabinet option with our original transmitter.  When we were granted a 34 Kw ERP, Comark's modular transmitter design allowed us to easily increase the transmitter’s power output in the field and to purchase only as many amplifier modules and combiners as we required.”

“Planning is the key. We had a lot of very detailed customer discussions during the initial phases of this system,” explained Joe Turbolski, VP of sales and marketing at Comark. “GBH had a long-term plan for their post repack D5 allocation for this transmitter system.  With Parallax, we were able to offer both the technology and the architecture that GBH required to make this project successful.” 

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—ARK Multicasting has ordered 56 E-Compact transmitters and associated field service from Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark, the company has announced.

The order includes EC700MP and EC700HP transmitters, ranging from 250W to 3.3kW power output levels. They will be used to help the LPTV broadcaster fulfill its spectrum repack obligations.

Since 2013, Comark has provided low power transmitters to the LPTV market. In that time, it has shipped nearly 500 LPTV transmitters and encoders across the country, Comark said.

The E-Compact is an air-cooled UHF DTV transmitter covering power levers from 50W to 13.2kW. Leveraging asymmetric broadband Doherty amplifier technology for a maximum power efficiency of up to 44%, E-Compact transmitters include a built-in web GUI and SNMP for remote control and monitoring, the company said.

The transmitters use hot-swappable amplifiers and power supplies, eliminating the need for interconnect cables. The product line features the Exact-V2 IP Optimized DTV exciter with DualCast technology for upgrade from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0, it said. 

“We worked very closely with ARK Multicasting Inc. over the last several months on their requirements for this repack program.” said Joe Turbolski, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Comark. “We have the manufacturing capacity, in-country customer service and field service expertise to help ARK Multicasting deploy these LPTV transmitters for the repack program.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

ORION, Ill.—WQPT has deployed a new Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark 27.5kW Parallax UHF transmitter and is on air serving the Quad Cities area of northwestern Illinois and southeastern Iowa.

WQPT, licensed to Western Illinois University, is a PBS member TV station. Its new HPTV-PRLX-U16 27.5kW transmitter consists of a single rack cabinet equipped with 16 UHF Asymmetric Broadband Doherty final amplifiers, Comark said.

The Parallax transmitter was delivered with dual Exact-V2 ATSC exciters (in main/standby configuration) and a liquid cooling system. Comark also supplied a new RF mask filter system and interconnected coax feed into the facility’s existing RF channel combiner, it said.

The company managed the shipment, offloading and placement of the new equipment into the existing broadcast facility. After the mechanical installation of the new transmitter system was completed, Comark field engineer turned on the new transmitter, performing the complete proof-of-performance testing towards the end of March 2021.

“We are happy that the final phase of a year’s long project has been completed and our viewers are able to get a stronger signal from WQPT’s two channels,” said Dawn Schmitt, interim general manager. 

More information is available on the company’s website.  

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—WSBE Rhode Island PBS has upgraded its ATSC encoding system with an OTT origin server solution from Comark Digital Services (CDS), Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark announced.  

The broadcaster has added the CDS origin server to meet the OTT streaming requirements for its main HD program. The origin server temporarily stores the station’s video collection on disk and responds to content requests from the content delivery network (CDN). 

CDS provided factory integration, configuration and testing of the origin server in its Southwick, Mass., lab facility. The server was then shipped to the station for installation and final configuration and commissioning.  

The Origin Packager provided by Hitachi-Comark is an addressable, just-in-time packager that encrypts the video content in the most popular ABR formats. Using its cache mechanism, the Origin Packager reduces encoding and storage requirements and provides high throughput to deliver content to any CDN.

“WSBE Engineering gives the highest rating to the Hitachi-Comark Sales Team and Technical Staff” States Richard Dunn, Rhode Island PBS director of Engineering.  “Their planning and support resulted in a smooth, hassle free, integration.”   

In 2019, CDS delivered a new software-based ATSC encoding system that delivers the highest possible video quality to WSBE’s OTA viewers. This flexible software-based encoding solution is capable of providing simultaneous MPEG-2, H.264, HEVC as well as HLS output formats. The HLS output format is used for streaming OTT services.  

More information is available on the Hitachi-Comark website. 

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark (Comark) recently provided Delta Media Corporation, a locally-owned multimedia company with six TV stations serving Lafayette and Alexandria, La., with new ATSC encoding system software from Comark Digital Services (CDS).

Prior to working with CDS, Delta Media relied on hardware-based ATSC encoders for their OTA stations. These systems limited the number of simultaneous HD programs and were not compatible with ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV services, the company said.

To remedy this, CDS offered its Titan Live software-based ATSC encoding technology that provides three HD and three SD programs while delivering high quality video. The CDS powered Titan Live is a future-proof encoder that delivers ATSC 1.0 while also prepared to deliver HEVC for future ATSC 3.0 usage. As a server-based encoder, additional encoding licenses can be added at any time in the future.

The encoder system is deployed on two independent 1RU, high performance, on-premises server platforms. The servers are equipped with SDI input cards and ASI output cards. GigE Ethernet interfaces assure future NextGen TV usage. Also, Virtual Machine technology can transfer licenses to cloud-based deployment.

Titan Live currently provides simultaneous encoding for Delta Media DTV stations KLWB, KDCG-CD and KXKW-LD, with plans to add KBCA as well. Delta Media also provides a dedicated IP output of the encoder system via a point-to-point Ethernet circuit to their local cable TV operator.

“The new Titan Live system has convinced me that our stations made the best decision to purchase these units” states Lee Clardy, director of Engineering at Delta Media Corporation. “The Titan Live encoder system in conjunction with two new Parallax transmitters and three Hitachi-Comark low-power transmitters, has provided significant improvements to the overall broadcast quality of our programming and prepared our stations to move forward with the coming of ATSC 3.0.”

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Edge Networks, creator of the Evoca ATSC 3.0-based OTA pay-TV service, is on the air in Boise, Idaho, the first of its planned markets, with a pair of Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark 1.5kW E-Compact air-cooled UHF transmitters for its KCBB-LD and KSBE-LD low power stations, Comark has announced.

The pay-TV provider ordered the air-cooled EC702HP-BB ATSC 3.0-enabled transmitter systems in March 2019 following a successful demonstration of the technology and on-air trials. Comark Digital Services (CDS), which is focused on helping broadcasters upgrade their headend solutions for ATSC 1.0 and their migration to ATSC 3.0, assembled best-of-breed solutions and offered its system expertise to help Edge Networks with the deployment.

“Partnering with CDS to implement ATSC 3.0 in Boise allows us to deliver an uninterrupted signal with superior picture quality directly to our subscribers,” said Edge Networks President and CEO Todd Achilles. 

The ATSC 3.0 system includes:

• SmartGate ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Gateway in a 1+1 redundant configuration; 
• MediaCast ROUTE/MMTP server in a 1+1 redundant configuration; 
• EdgeProbe Advanced ATSC 3.0 DTV transmitter monitor equipped with quad inputs; 
• Referee3 portable field receiver and RF signal analyzer; 
• VideoFlow IP-STL solution for reliable content delivery over an IP network connecting Edge; Networks’ network operations center to the broadcast tower in Boise; and 
• DASDEC-IR Intelligent Remote EAS receiver for the Boise DMA. 

“Our CDS group was formed specifically to help customers with these types of complex projects.  CDS has the high-level view of ATSC 3.0 technologies and we lined up the right partners to help get our customers on-air, successfully,” says Joe Turbolski, Comark vice president of Sales and Marketing.

“Our team and our partners worked very closely with the staff at Edge Networks to provide exactly the right solution, and we are extremely pleased to be a major contributor to this NextGen TV deployment,” he said.

More information is available on the Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark website.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—WHRO-TV, the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association pubic broadcaster serving Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News, Va.,  deployed a Comark 68kW Parallax UHF transmitter this summer as part of its TV spectrum repack work, Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark has announced.

The station’s new HPTV-PRLX-U42 68kW transmitter, upgradeable to ATSC 3.0, consists of three rack cabinets each equipped with 14 UHF Asymmetric Broadband Doherty power amplifiers. The transmitter has dual Exact-V2 ATSC exciters (in main/standby configuration) and a liquid cooling system, the company said.

The company supplied the complete RF system, which includes Constant Impedance Filter (CIF) technology and high-power external hybrids for combining each of the transmitter’s PA cabinets. Comark managed shipping, offloading and placement of the new equipment in the station’s transmitter facility, it said.

The transmitter was needed to meet the station’s Phase 9 spectrum repack deadline. While mechanical work was completed in late March to meet the phase deadline, COVID-19 delayed the station’s actual transition till July 3. Comark assisted the station in turning on the new transmitter and performed complete proof-of-performance testing in late June, it said.

“COMARK worked with the management of WHRO to provide a complete solution for their repack requirements,” said Joe Turbolski, company vice president of Sales and Marketing. “The new transmitter installation was a tight fit into the existing facility, so we performed a detailed site survey and system design to ensure there were no surprises during the mechanical installation.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

DALLAS—Ark Multicasting recently conducted a successful pilot of its last mile edge caching technology over the ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV standard.

The demo consisted of Ark caching 4K, HD and SD video files on a consumer edge device for video on-demand. The files were transmitted from a Low Power TV broadcast over-the-air environment. The consumer edge caching took place simultaneously with live linear TV seen on a Sony ATSC 3.0 TV separate from the caching device.

The files originated from Ark’s Dallas headquarters and were sent via FTP to Southwick, Mass. The pilot was conducted in partnership with Hitachi-Comark and the Comark Digital Services integration team.

Ark says that the demonstration validates many of the planned uses for ATSC 3.0. Also, “localized data caching means less buffering, faster downloads and better overall broadband,” said Ark CEO Joshua Weiss.

“It’s very exciting to see new and innovative implementations of ATSC 3.0 come to life,” added Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC. “Edge caching content in the home can serve a wide variety of purposes from relieving congestion on two-way IP networks to providing needed connectivity to rural or under-served populations. ... Kudos to Ark and Comark for their collaboration on this important use case.”

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark has released to Parallax All-In-One (AIO) DTV transmitter designed for stations not repacked in the reallocation of TV spectrum and those desiring to roll out NextGen TV service.

Parallax AIO is a simplified, compact version of the Parallax liquid-cooled, solid-state DTV transmitter introduced in spring 2015. It is intended for medium power DTV applications and is designed with the complete liquid cooling system and RF filtering inside the transmitter cabinet rather than being external subsystems, Comark said.

As a result, on-site installation time is reduced. A field engineer simply connects the transmitter’s RF output to the transmission line and two cooling hoses to the outdoor heat exchanger, the company said. 

The transmitter can be equipped with three to eight power amplifiers in a single transmitter cabinet to deliver between 5.4 kW and 13 kW total power output (TPO). The transmitter’s power amplifiers use the latest asymmetric Doherty LDMOS FET devices, which provide broadband high efficiency operation and the equivalent output power in ATSC 1.0 (8VSB) and 3.0 (OFDM).

The Parallax AIO’s RF system is fully contained in the transmitter rack cabinet. It accommodates either six- or eight-pole variations. The system also offers a motorized RF output switch and liquid-cooled station load with a switch fully integrated into the transmitter’s controls, Comark said.

Hitachi-Comark has published a video overview and demo of the new transmitter on YouTube.  

More information is available on the company’s website. 

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark has introduced two low-power members of the E-Compact family of air-cooled transmitters.

The high-efficiency EC705LP-AT1 50W and EX720LF-AT1 125W solid-state UHF DTV transmitters are designed to meet the needs of LPTV operators during their TV spectrum repack, the company said.

Both integrate an ATSC exciter, driver and final PA into a single rack-mountable chassis. The EX720LF-AT1 also includes a slot for a backup power supply. Front-panel connection on the power supplies makes for quick service, said Comark.

The air-cooled PA includes automatic cooling fan speed control to reduce acoustic noise while operating, save electricity and extend fan life. The transmitter can be mounted in an existing equipment rack cabinet or an optional 10RU rack from Comark. 

The EC700LP-AT1 series of transmitters feature System-on-Chip (SoC) technology that integrates multiple system elements into a compact architecture delivering high processing power and offering superior reliability, the company said.

SoC embeds software such as MER measurements, IMD measurements, as well as linear and non-linear automatic digital pre-correction. 

The transmitters include front panel controls, comprehensive web-GUI and SNMP for remote control and monitoring. An optional off-air receiver is available so that these units can be operated as a translator.

More information is available on the Comark website.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark, aka Comark, has announced that it has come to terms to become the authorized reseller of the VideoFlow Digital Video Protection software suite and corresponding hardware appliances.

The VideoFlow technology is designed for content delivery over IP networks. In addition, the VideoFlow products will be integrated into the end-to-end workflow for both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV).

Comark Digital Services is a part of the company that re-launched in 2018 to help broadcasters upgrade their headend technology for ATSC 1.0 and the eventual migration to NextGen TV. CDS’ focus is on the North American broadcast DTV market.

“Partnering with VideoFlow provides several important capabilities required in current and future headend system deployments for the CDS business,” said Tim Hosmer, director of CDS at Comark. “VideoFlow has pioneered and perfected methods of protected content deliver over any IP distribution network that will be key in both existing ATSC 3.0 lighthouse scenarios as well as future SFN deployments.”

For more information, visit www.comarktv.com.  

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark has inked a reseller agreement with Airwavz.tv to integrate the company’s TvXplorer Suite into Comark’s turnkey, end-to-end NextGen TV solutions. 

The agreement appoints Comark as an authorized reseller of the Airwavz.tv TvXplorer Suite, a hardware and software test and measurement toolkit. The TvXplorer Suite includes the RedZone receiver USB stick with OTA TV tuner and demod, as well as TvXplorer companion software running on a user’s laptop computer.

The TvXplorer Suite allows broadcast engineers to dig deep into the metrics of the ATSC 3.0 signal and provides a confidence monitoring function with playback of the audio and video signal in a pop-out HD player.

Comark Digital Services, re-launched in 2018 to help broadcasters upgrade their 1.0 and 3.0 headends, will focus on the North American broadcast DTV market for ATSC 3.0 and NextGen TV solutions. CDS provides integration and system design services for TV stations.  

More information is available on the Comark website. 

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Transmitter manufacturer and RF specialist Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark and Gaian Solutions, a developer of dynamic content delivery products and solutions for the TV ecosystem, have signed a deal appointing Comark as an authorized reseller, integrator and service provider of Gaian’s software and cloud-based solutions for NEXTGEN TV, Comark said.

The deal, announced Oct. 14, calls for Comark to focus its Gaian-related efforts on the North American broadcast television market.

“We can easily provide, integrate and deploy NEXTGEN TV headend stacks to broadcast customers,” said Tim Hosmer, director of Comark Digital Services. “Gaian’s cloud suite in conjunction with a NEXTGEN TV headend stack allows broadcasters to start exploring the benefits of A/344’s dynamic interactive content and datacasting opportunities.”

Comark, which relaunched last year as Comark Digital Services (CDS) to help broadcasters transition from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0, operates a full laboratory to test equipment, integrate it and demonstrate solutions to customers using best-of-breed technology.

The agreement calls for CDS to offer Gaian’s GaiaTV3.0/Edgeplex Starter Suite for lab and field testing of NEXTGEN TV deployments and test receivers. The suite offers tools to test dynamic ad insertion, broadcast/receiver app generation, OTA signage/digital kiosks, lower-third ads as a service and automotive apps for maps, traffic and weather. The turnkey offering includes app templates and training for use with any 3.0 transmitter.

“The market is at a place where solutions that point broadcasters to revenues and new business models is the need of the hour,” said Ashwini Koppisetti, head of marketing at Gaian. “The Gaian platform addresses precisely this problem. The Gaian platform is not just a technology solution but a business and go-to-market solution with mature and proven business models featuring NEXTGEN TV solutions for broadcasters.”

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark and BitRouter have entered into a partnership agreement that appoints Comark as the authorized reseller and service provider for BitRouter’s ATSC3pro Linux-based ATSC 3.0 professional receiver product line.

The ATSC3pro product line is a reception device that can be used for over-the-air technology trials, lab testing and by early adopters of the Next Gen TV standard. It runs BitRouter’s ATSC3pak middleware, which can integrate the functionality of multiple ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuners, OTT, interactivity and mobility. It also is a video and data distribution system that uses HDMI and Wi-Fi connectivity for both legacy DTV sets, smartphones and tablets.

Comark Digital Services, which is tasked with helping its customers making the transition to ATSC 3.0, tested BitRouter’s ATSC3pro and, according to CDS Director Tim Hosmer, feel that it will “provide end users with a platform that can be used today while making it possible to add more ATSC 3.0 features in the future.”

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—ATSC 3.0 is just around the corner, expected to start rolling out in earnest in 2020, and Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark and DigiCAP have announced a partnership with an eye toward the Next Gen TV standard. Through the companies’ agreement, Comark will be the authorized reseller and service provider of DigiCAP hardware and software, with a focus on the North American broadcast DTV market for ATSC 3.0 solutions.

The DigiCAP product line will fall under the purview of Comark Digital Services, a group originally formed in 1997 and relaunched in 2018 to assist customers with migrating to ATSC 3.0. CDS operates a laboratory for equipment testing, integration and customer demonstrations.

One of the products that CDS will represent is DigiCaster, an integrated and virtualized ATSC 3.0 broadcast gateway system that combines eight different functions integrated into a unified system that runs on a COTS server or in a cloud.

It will also offer HomeCaster, which is designed for over-the-air ATSC 3.0 reception that provides in-home video/data distribution through Wi-Fi to both legacy DTV sets and tablets.

DigiCAP is a Korea-based company. Korea has had a live, nationwide ATSC 3.0 system operating for the last two years.

Comark has made similar partnership agreements with other companies for ATSC 3.0-related products, including Triveni and Enensys.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark and Triveni Digital have signed on the dotted line for a reseller agreement that covers transmission, test and monitoring systems used in ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 integrated systems.

The details of the agreement appoints Comark as an authorized reseller of Triveni Digital hardware and software, including program generators, metadata management, data broadcasting and test and monitoring systems. Through Comark Digital Services, Comark will focus on the North American broadcast DTV market for ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 technology.

As ATSC 3.0 deployments are beginning to occur, Triveni Digital’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Ralph Bachofen, points to Comark’s history in the U.S. broadcast market as a way to better address the needs of broadcasters during this new era.

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

LAS VEGAS—Comark will return to its usual area on the NAB Show floor, though will have a new booth number this year (C4409), to exhibit its latest integrated technology and software platforms with a particular focus on ATSC 3.0/NGBT deployment.

This includes the Parallax liquid-cooled, solid-state Doherty DTV transmitter that now encompasses UHF, VHF band 3 and VHF band 1. The Parallax system is fully upgradable from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0 with an implementation of a license file in the exciter, with some units already on the air in NGBT.

Part of Comark’s air-cooled UHF product portfolio is the E-Compact MP series’ new entry, the EC710MP-BB transmitter, offering a compact 1kW DTV transmitter with separate PA and PSU chassis that utilize 4RUs of cabinet space. N+1 hot-swap PSU modules are available. In addition, the transmitter is future compatible with both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0.

Rounding out Comark’s slate of products is the Exact-V2 DTV exciter, an IP optimized exciter platform that is ready for ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 thanks to a DualCast technology that migrates it from 1.0 to 3.0 with a license upgrade.

Comark also has plans for a full ATSC 3.0 Glass-to-Glass demo where a 1080p60 HDR camera feed will be received live and then fully processed and transmitted through to an ATSC 3.0 enabled DTV set on display. ATSC 3.0 reception via a home gateway for signal redistribution to mobile devices will also be highlighted,

Visit Comark at booth C4409.

To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

DALLAS—Construction and connectivity work on the ATSC 3.0 Single Frequency Network (SFN) being installed in the Dallas-Fort Worth Designated Market Area, American Tower announced in January.

The SFN, a collaboration of American Tower, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Univision Local Media, Nexstar and Spectrum Co., consists of four existing American Tower sites located around market in both metro and suburban sites to maximize signal strength across the DMA.

“The construction phase went quite smoothly,” said Ed Tiongson, Director, Product Innovation for American Tower. “With these ATSC 3.0 deployments, it’s critical to draw on expertise to synchronize SFN towers effectively, including integrating the network components, such as antennas, transmitters, and radios for optimum signal delivery.”

[Read: Dallas ATSC 3.0 SFN Buildout Nears Completion]

The towers, electrical power, fiber network and transmitter buildings at sites in Fort Worth, Denton and Garland, Texas, were upgraded for TV. A pre-fab building was also added in Garland, and a point-to-point microwave link between the Denton and Fort Worth sites was also installed, the company said.

The work included upgrades to networking, internet exchange, fiber and data center connectivity as well as three-phase power. Comark transmitters and exciters also were added at each site, the company said.

The main transmission tower site in Cedar Hill, Texas –currently the main 1.0 transmission site—received an upgrade of ATSC 3.0 transmission equipment, rounding out the four-site SFN, American Tower said.

With the 3.0 SFN infrastructure in place, validation testing of RF design and link budget will begin. Evaluating operational workflows is also on tap. “Once the RF measurements are validated, we will be able to scale for additional sites in the future as business needs dictate,” said Jim Leifer, Senior Manager, Broadcast Operations at American Tower.

March 1 is targeted as the date the SFN will light up, said Mark Aitken, Sinclair vice president of Advanced Technology and President of ONE Media LLC, in a recent Q&A with TVTechnology.

“The holdup on this one is the MVPD notification process, and the FCC is a stickler on making sure we run out the 120 days,” said Aitken.

For comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

NEW DELHI—ENENSYS/TeamCast and Comark are demonstrating a single platform that supports ATSC 3.0 and DVB-T2 at BES (Broadcast Engineering Society) Expo India, Jan. 17-19 at the Pragati Maidan exhibition and convention center.

The platform, which uses Comark’s Exact-V2 1RU exciter and ENENSYS’s release of a new TeamCast version of its ATSC Digital Exciter with support for 3.0 and DVB-T2 waveforms, gives broadcasters the opportunity to explore both standards.

“The support of both ATSC 3.0 and DVB-T2 waveforms on a single platform will enable broadcasters to experiment with both second generation standards with the maximum flexibility,” said Eric Pinson, terrestrial market manager at ENENSYS Group. “This also might motivate more innovation for new services in the future that would expand the maximum benefit of the different and complementary standards.”

In the view of Joe Turbolski, vice president of sales and marketing at Comark, having access to both standards will allow broadcasters to maintain their existing service while taking a closer look at the new opportunities made available by another standard.

“Adding this capability to our DTV exciter not only allows broadcasters to now deploy DVB-T2, but also to be able to test ATSC 3.0 as necessary, preserving their investment,” he said.

See the demo at BES Expo India, booth #41.

More information is available on the Comark, ENENSYS and TeamCast websites.

CLEVELAND—NAB and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) have deployed a fully integrated ATSC 3.0 Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark demo system at the Tribune Broadcasting-owned WJW-TV in Cleveland, the company announced today.

Comark Digital Services (CDS) delivered, installed and activated the ATSC 3.0 demo system after initially integrating it at the company’s lab in Southwick, Mass. The system was shipped to the transmitter site in a short portable “fly-pack” equipment rack.

The demo system, capable of transmitting UHD content from WJW with Comark’s Titan Live HEVC software-based encoder, includes a ROUTE encoder, an Enensys Broadcast Gateway, a Triveni Digital GuideBuilder, an EXACT-V2 DTV exciter and 3.0 test and monitoring equipment. The system drives a Comark DCX-3H three-tube IOT-based transmitter operating on DTV Channel 31 originally deployed in 1999.

“Having already provided ATSC 3.0 solutions to Dish Networks, the OneMedia Dallas SFN and PBS member station WKAR, CDS has been set up with the experience and integration capability just for these types of projects,” says Dick Fiore, Comark president and CEO.

More information is available of the Comark website.

For comprehensive coverage on ATSC 3.0, visit TV Technology's ATSC3 silo.

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GARLAND, TEXAS AND HUNT VALLEY, MD.—Earlier this year, TV Technology first reported on the combined effort of several broadcast related organizations, including Sinclair Broadcast Group, its ONE Media innovations division, and American Tower, in building the world’s first single frequency network (SFN) using ATSC 3.0 technology in the Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) television market. The plan—which was devised last fall—is to deploy the new transmission technology initially on an experimental basis, and when the last bit of data has been gleaned and reports prepared, to move forward on finalizing the SFN as a permanent component of the television delivery infrastructure for viewers in that market.

The original projection was to have the entire system operational by NAB Show, but as this is a “first initiative” there were the and “lessons learned” associated with such a pioneering venture.

However, the project continues to roll out, and a visit to one of the SFN sites in late April revealed that the physical infrastructure is almost completely in place and ready to take to the air.

Peter Starke, American Tower’s vice president of broadcast, and Jerry Folk, the company’s broadcast construction manager, hosted the tour of the Garland, Texas SFN facility and offered insight about the project.

VERY DIVERSE TRANSMISSION FACILITIES

“American Tower and Sinclair feel like this site is probably going to be typical of installations for wireless sites where you have a shelter with limited space and power,” said Folk. “We purposely picked three different types of existing tower sites for this trial installation. The tower in Garland is a small guyed tower with a 40-inch face [and home to cellular service and a low-power FM station]. There is also a 1,000-foot high 11-foot face guyed tower, [a former TV broadcast tower] in Ft. Worth, and an old 200-foot self-supporter in Denton that was originally an AT&T wireline site, built in the 1950’s [and] capable of withstanding an atomic blast.”

Folk further explained that the trial sites were also selected on the basis of electrical power available, as each has a different source, ranging from single-phase 240V to three-phase 208/120 and 480/277V supplies.

“This was a factor, as we wanted to see what might work best for the ATSC 3.0 equipment and Comark transmitters chosen for the trial, although we expect that single-phase 240V power will be the most commonly available service for SFN sites,” said Folk.

The test sites also reflect a full range of equipment containment structures.

“There’s [this pre-fab] shelter here in Garland, an existing TV transmitter building in Ft. Worth, and an old AT&T ‘bomb shelter’ with nine-inch concrete walls in Denton [Texas]. With the tower, shelter and electrical service differences, this adds up to three totally different scenarios,” said Folk. “An important element of this project [is] to define the many variables and resulting requirements to be able to anticipate needs across a wide variety of sites.”

Starke noted that all three facilities were under American Tower ownership or jurisdiction.

“We own two of them and have management rights for the third—the former WBAP-TV transmission site in Ft. Worth,” he said.

READY BY THE FOURTH

When asked about the project’s progress, Fred Baumgartner, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s director of next-generation implementation, observed that while the “brick and mortar” elements had come together nicely and on schedule, clearing regulatory hurdles and making sure all the necessary paperwork reached the right people took time.

“The transmission gear is pretty well in place,” he said, noting the Garland facility was ready for turn-on. “The Ft. Worth site installation was also just finished and that only leaves Denton.”

Baumgartner noted that of the three sites, Denton had been the most challenging.

“We encountered a zoning issue there,” he said. “We wanted to put the antenna on top of the old AT&T microwave tower, but local ordinances wouldn’t allow us to go far enough above the top deck to place an antenna there. Also, we found we’d have to run reduced power at this site to stay within the primary station’s signal contour. It even required a last-minute change in antennas.”

In commenting on the non-physical aspects of the project, Baumgartner observed that this is where “The long pole in the tent is getting the various transmission agreements in place with the stations involved and in getting notifications out to the various Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs) involved. We have to get the message to the front line technicians, and that means we have to call these folks and speak directly to the engineering departments, as the notification that says they need to retune and make service changes goes to the front office, but usually doesn’t reach the engineers who have to make the system changes.”

Baumgartner observed that the final transmission gear should be in place in Denton by the end of June and ready to go. “Everything seems on track, and we expect to light the SFN up on the Fourth of July when we have the connectivity.”

And out of all the technical challenges encountered, lack of connectivity to the transmission sites appears to be the largest one. “We don’t have all of the fiber that’s needed in place yet,” said Baumgartner. “And that’s something you really can’t do yourself. We are putting an interim microwave system online to ensure timely connectivity.”

In elaborating on the requirement for backbone connectivity, American Tower’s Starke stressed its importance in setting up a realistic test of ATSC 3.0’s capabilities. 

A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY ON ALL FRONTS

And while this unanticipated difficulty in obtaining site connectivity seems at first to be a big hurdle, it’s almost fortuitous that it did occur, as that’s what this first implementation of a real-world ATSC 3.0 SFN is all about—a learning laboratory for determining where the hurdles are and how to head them off in other such rollouts of this technology.

American Tower’s Starke elaborated on some of the other information to be gleaned in this trial installation.

“The trial test has different facets to it; it’s not all about driving the van around and figuring out what the signal strength increase and signal strength density is, it’s also about site construction—what’s it going to cost for broadcasters to go out and build SFN sites. We’re looking at efficiencies of scale, because it’s going to be difficult and costly, especially at the beginning of the 3.0 rollout, for stations to build out SFN sites on their own. We’re looking at how you can convert existing towers—wireless towers—into broadcast towers, and a lot of wireless sites have a limited amount of land. A wireless site typically has a 100 by 100-foot compound and that’s it. Most of the wireless carriers drop in their own shelters and mechanicals, So, there’s really no infrastructure to support broadcast and we know broadcast transmission is a lot different in terms of what’s needed. That’s the other trial here—you can’t go out and build new towers all over the place. The regulatory cost on the wireless side of the business has created a lot of regulations in a lot of municipalities. One of the things that municipalities look for before they approve a new tower is whether you can collocate on an existing tower, so we have to look at that too.”

Starke also noted that such technical items as determination of optimum SFN operating power was also a checklist item.

“Sinclair and Univision haven’t filed for final ERPs yet, but there is a consulting engineer working to determine what power levels are needed,” he said. “Part of a trial is the ability to turn up and turn down ERPs. The licenses that Sinclair is filing for will improve coverage within the licensed contour as provided for by current DTS regulations. The concept here is to figure out what the optimal ERPis for each of the SFN areas to achieve a proper contribution for the individual SFNs.”

He said a preliminary determination of operational ERP has indicated it would fall in the neighborhood of 100 kW Horizontal, with approximately 30 kW additional delivered in the vertical plane.

So, what happens when all the operating points have been optimized, data collected and the final reports issued? Will the sites be dismantled and written off as just another page in TV history?

“Not so” say both Starke and Baumgartner, pointing to the very considerable amount of money and time being invested in the project. When the repack phase hits the DFW market, these sites will simply be returned for their final channel. All the SFN site components have been constructed as “All UHF Band”, and can be easily optimized for final channel assignments.

READY FOR COMPANY

As constructed, in addition to a transmitter and ATSC 3.0 encoder/exciter, there’s also a large combiner/filter network to allow multiple TV carriers to share the broadband antenna.

“We keep talking about these sites as a trial test, but we’re actually building them out to go commercial,” said Starke. “It isn’t going to be build, test, and then tear down. They will eventually go commercial. Depending on ERP or antenna input power, each could handle up to possibly 10 to 12 stations.”

He observed the initial DFW SFN trial calls for the airing of programming from Cunningham Communication’s KTXD-TV outlet (RF Ch. 46) and UniMás’s KSTR-DT (RF Ch. 48). (Sinclair has no broadcast properties in the DFW market). Starke noted that since both stations fall above the latest TV broadcast spectrum upper bound, they will be moving to lower channels (RF Ch. 34 & 23) as the nationwide repack initiative reaches the DFW market. (Interestingly, there’s another television operation mixed into the broadband antenna shared by the KTXD-TV and KSTR-DT SFN transmitters, and this one—Ch. 56 (722-728 MHz)—will not be moving as it’s owned by Dish Network, which secured this slot in the earlier 700 MHz spectrum auction.)

“These will be the stations converting to 3.0, and we’ll have a hosting station down in Cedar Hill [the principle DFW TV transmitter location] to keep their 1.0 signals on the air,” said Starke.

THE CHANGING TV BROADCAST LANDSCAPE

So, what will be the future of over-the-air television? Will the tall stick and high-power model established some 80-years ago prevail, or will broadcasting move to a low-power distributed transmission platform?

Starke thinks it will be combined set of existing tall towers augmented by smaller sites for the near future; and as American Tower now owns and maintains a large number of U.S. cellular and broadcast tower sites, one of the reasons for partnering with broadcasters in this seminal ATSC 3.0 SFN Pilot.

“People [describe] towers as wireless towers and broadcast towers, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s being operated there,” said Starke. “Here we are taking this wireless site and turning it into a broadcast tower. Part of this trial involves how you can convert existing towers—wireless sites—into broadcast towers. So that’s the other trial here—you can’t just go out and build new towers all over the place [to accommodate new broadcast operations].”

“Another thing is that back in the day, TV stations used to brag about who had the tallest tower, the highest ERP, and the largest coverage. You really don’t see that anymore. Now [with cable and satellite distribution], it’s all about distribution of content. In the future, with ATSC 3.0 it will be all about high QoS service area and advanced services.”

Starke noted another factor that may drive the future chapters in the over-the-air television operations guide.

“If you think about the industry and the role of RF engineers in this industry, we all know it’s an industry where graduates coming out of college today aren’t saying ‘hey, I want to be an RF engineer,’” said Starke. “It’s been a challenge for the last 10 years or so to find qualified staff to run transmitters. Previously, RF engineers may have been running only one transmitter in a market and now, all of a sudden, RF engineers have many transmitter sites to operate. American Tower sees this as something we may want to investigate down the road—actually providing a complete transmission service.”

Even though the current repack is playing heavy on the minds of TV station engineering and management personnel right now, a lot of industry eyes and ears will be glued on this DFW ATSC 3.0 SFN deployment project as it continues to roll out.

“We are very open to working with just about anyone and sharing what we know and learn,” remarks Baumgartner in closing. “As much as our schedules will allow, we would be happy to show broadcasters what we are doing here and at the ONE Media NextGen labs outside Baltimore.”

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

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SOUTHWICK, MA. — Hitachi-Comark is rushing numerous Comark Parallax and E-Compact UHF transmitters to broadcasters in Puerto Rico so they can accelerate their Spectrum Repack timetable that has been impacted by Hurricane Maria.

The Puerto Rican stations to receive new Comark transmitters include: WNJX, WTIN, WAPA, WVSN, WCCV, WMTJ, WQTO, WJWN, WSJN-CD, and WQSJ-CD. Equipment production is underway, and shipments are expected to reach both repack and non-repack stations in time for their scheduled installations.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, one of the most destructive storms to hit the island, affected DTV broadcasters were facing the prospect of rebuilding their facilities twice over the next year. Earlier this year, the FCC granted their request to accelerate the repack schedule, enabling them to move directly to their new repack channels.

(Since most were originally slated for Phase 3 of the FCC’s repack process, they weren’t even scheduled to begin testing until April of 2019, with completion by June 21, 2019.)

[Read: WGBH/WBGY Taps Hitachi-Comark Transmitters for Repack]

On several occasions, Comark sent field teams to the island to survey the broadcasters’ facilities and draft individualized site construction plans to get them on the air on their post-repack channels. Comark also handled program management, shipping logistics, and on-site labor for installation and proof-of-performance testing.

Designed for high-power, broadband requirements, Comark Parallax solid-state transmitters are high efficiency, repack-ready liquid cooled systems offering Doherty performance and a future proof design. They’re available up to 27.5 kW transmitter power output (TPO) per rack cabinet, or up to 100kW with multiple cabinets.

For low-to-medium power requirements, Comark’s E-Compact high efficiency, air-cooled UHF DTV transmitters provide asymmetric broadband Doherty, solid-state amplifier technology, requiring less energy to deliver more power. With its 950W 3RU amplifier chassis, the compact, rugged E-Compact is available in TPO levels from 850 W to more than 10 kW.

While the transmitters will operate in ATSC 1.0, they can be upgraded to the ATSC 3.0 DTV broadcast standard in the future.

For comprehensive news and information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.

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SOUTHWICK, MASS.—Comark is going to be providing its services to Bahakel Communications, after the company signed a Master Purchase Agreement with Comark for new transmitters and services to help with the repack.

As part of the MPA, Comark will help Bahakel install new transmitters and associated services at its six DTV transmitter facilities. Comark will be responsible for providing delivery, program management, on-site installation/proof-of-performance testing and extended warranties on each of the transmitters. Comark is also tasked with providing system design services/site surveys for all of the repack stations to ensure a smooth installation process.

The six stations impacted by the repack and set to receive the new transmitters are WAKA, WBMM, WCCB, WFXB, WBBJ and WOLO-TV.

The transmitter that will be installed at each of these stations is Comark’s Parallax UHF high efficiency unit. Parallax is a liquid-cooled solid-state transmitter that has up to 27.5 kW TPO per rack cabinet, with multiple cabinets able to provide up to 100 kW. It features Doherty technology; vertical high-gain power amplifiers that provide 2 kW per PA module for UHF, 1.6 kW per PA module for VHF band 3; and can dualcast ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0.

LAS VEGAS—Hitachi-Comark has a new VHF Band 1 (54-88MHz) version of its PARALLAX solid-state, liquid-cooled DTV transmitter to promote at the 2018 NAB Show. It supports RF power levels from 4.0 up to 41kW and shares the same architecture, including cabinet, distributed control system and user interface, as their UHF and VHF Band 3 models.

Hitachi-Comark will also show its E-Compact transmitters, which are optimized for the U.S. spectrum repack and upgradeable to ATSC 3.0. The series now incorporates the latest air-cooled broadband, asymmetric Doherty amplifiers, which feature 888E LDMOS devices and utilize 950W high-efficiency PA blocks. The transmitters are available for 10kW or greater TPO.

Also at the booth will be the EXACT-V2 DTV exciter, which is fully optimized for ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 RF-performance, with 7 GigE ports. The exciter’s “DualCast” technology allows migration from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0 with a simple license upgrade.

For ATSC 3.0, the exciter supports MFN/SFN, multiple PLPs and TDM or LDM. The QoS-1000RT RF Layer Monitoring Receiver is also available for ATSC 3.0 via a simple upgrade. The receiver, which is a cost-effective, real-time tool for ATSC DTV RF signals, is available in either a 1RU chassis or portable tabletop versions, and features a web-based GUI, coupled with high-precision, near-real-time metrics.

Comark Digital Solutions (CDS), powered by Titan Live ATSC software based encoding, can replace aging ATSC1.0 encoder systems, including channel-sharing requirements, while supporting ATSC 3.0 requirements. CDS supports any resolution from SD to 4K, MPEG2, H264 and HEVC codecs, and HDR, for ATSC 1.0, ATSC 3.0 and OTT output.

The 2018 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 9-12. Hitachi-Comark will be in booth C4309. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

Read up on all of TVT's NAB Show Sneak Peeks and other 2018 NAB Show news here.

SOUTHWICK, MASS.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark today announced a partnership with ATEME Corp. to become an authorized reseller and service provider of Ateme ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 hardware and software encoding solutions.

“After careful evaluation of the encoding market and extensive product testing in our encoding systems lab at the Southwick, Mass., facility, we decided to work with Ateme.” said Dick Fiore, Comark president and CEO. “The Ateme Titan encoding solution offers best-of-breed encoding, flexibility of implementation and a future-proof upgrade path for next-gen broadcast television deployments.”

Under the agreement, Comark will focus on the North American broadcast DTV market. The company will also offer integration and system design services for stations.

[Putting Next Gen TV to the [Full] Test]

Comark has an extensive history in DTV encoding dating back to the formation of Comark Digital Services to offer MPEG-2 solutions to broadcasters during the early days of the analog-to-digital transition.

“We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with Comark to our Titan software encoding,” said Walid Hamri, Ateme vice president of business development. “It’s enabling Comark to provide an end-to-end, flexible solution for the DTV market, ready for next-gen TV broadcast.”

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

LAS VEGAS—Here’s an extended preview of some of the products that will be on display from eight exhibitors:

Broadcast Pix

Take control anywhere with the BPswitch family of integrated production switchers. Broadcast Pix leads the industry with its control-over-IP capabilities. Produce your live programming from a traditional control room, or use a customizable browser-based interface on your mobile device.

With the BPNet IP ecosystem, powered through the ioGates cloud-based media management platform, BPswitch delivers secure, full-motion video and complete access to all your sources and workflow tools. And because it only requires a typical internet connection, BPswitch is a cost-effective solution for remote unmanned studios. Get up to 22 SDI inputs and 12 outputs, with eight channels for clips and graphics and four customizable BPview multi-view outputs.

Every BPswitch system includes NewBlueNTX 3D motion graphics with hundreds of title styles and templates, plus clip stores, device control, file-based macros, integrated streaming to Facebook Live and other CDNs, and more.

www.broadcastpix.com
Booth: SL8320

Comark

For over 45 years Comark has been a trusted partner of TV broadcasters. For NAB 2018, Comark is announcing the availability of the Parallax solid state liquid cooled DTV transmitter for VHF Band 1 (54-88MHz).

This new model is available to support RF power levels from 4.0 up to 41kW. The new Band 1 version of Parallax shares the common architecture (cabinet, distributed control system, user interface) with the UHF and VHF Band 3 models. It provides the highest reliability and efficiency, while keeping the cost of ownership low. Parallax is manufactured, serviced, and supported out of the company’s MA facility.

www.comarktv.com
Booth: C4309

Florical Systems

Florical introduces a new integrated playout solution called FéniX. The server features SDI and IP I/O options on the same box. Includes integrated MC switching, branding, and DVE effects. The FéniX is powered by Harmonic technology and Florical's enterprise automation suite creating the most comprehensive system on the market.

www.florical.com
Booth: N2524

Fluotec

Fluotec is an award-winning manufacturer of professional LED lighting for Television, Video, Photography and Digital & Film Cinema

For more than two decades the Fluotec vision has been to create precision luminaires that deliver pure white lighting. Fluotec’s sustainable and efficient LED technology has already saved millions of dollars in energy costs for hundreds of television studios around the world.

Fluotec presents “The CINELIGHT Studio Long Throw,” three Models of Constant Output Tunable LED Panels for use in high altitude studios.

These professional fixtures sport very High CRI & TLCI Indexes for accurate rendering of skin tones and stage colors and step-less Halodim 0-100 percent dimming for precise control in a studio lighting environment

Pure White Light = Energy & Cost Savings.

www.flutec.net
Booth: C161

IHSE USA

The Draco tera compact XV matrix for ultra-image 4K is offered in eight to 80 user-configurable I/O ports to support a full range of video formats up to 4096x2160@60Hz and 30bit 4:4:4 color depth. The matrix supports the full line of innovative draco ultra series KVM extenders using Fraunhofer’s Lici codec with low latency and perfect pixel-for-pixel performance. Using the 490 series DisplayPort extender units, users can either create a stretched desktop of 8192x2160 across two 4K displays or run in “clone” mode to show full 4K applications on two screens.

www.ihseusa.com - http://www.ihseusa.com/products/kvm-matrix-switch-compact-xv-fiber.html
Booth: SL10216

Myers

ProTrack empowers broadcast networks, affiliates and independent media companies to acquire, schedule, monetize and distribute content with greater efficiency than ever before. It consolidates all of the roles and responsibilities that go into linear and non-linear distribution, so media facilities can optimize their content and associated opportunities.

ProTrack is a proven solution that provides a single source for critical business data across multiple distributors, departments, technical systems and distribution channels. No matter how much disruption is occurring in the industry, our flexible, adaptable technology platform stays one step ahead—giving you the right data, at just the right time, from a single, centralized source.

ProTrack is built to keep pace with change, making it easier to scale up operations to cater to a growing customer base, cut costs, and monetize content.

For updates on all the Myers products coming to the NAB Show in April, please follow @MyersInVegas on Twitter.

www.myersinfosys.com
Booth: N3711

Primestream

At NAB 2018, Primestream will demonstrate new solutions to capture, edit and transcode live IP streams, a cloud-based review and approval system, robust 4K workflow, public APIs to easily integrate into the Xchange platform and a new centralized configuration management portal for quick and easy installations.

Primestream will also highlight VR/360 asset management, an updated Adobe Premiere Pro extension panel that features a new versioning system, as well as improvements to archival workflow with leading cloud and tape storage providers. The next generation Dynamic Media Management platform is built for ease-of-use with powerful features needed to manage the most complex sports, enterprise and broadcast workflow.

www.primestream.com/nab
Booth: SL12111

TSL Products

With over 1,000 global installations, TSL Product’s TallyMan Advanced Broadcast Control System provides broadcasters with reliable, user-oriented control and dynamic data display. TSL continues to enhance TallyMan’s capabilities with new features and protocols allowing operators to integrate a broad range of broadcast equipment into automated workflows. TallyMan now offers Ember+ protocol support, enabling engineers to intuitively integrate all Ember+ capable third-party devices.

TSL’s updated TallyMan Virtual Panel more effectively enhances operational workflow and flexibility for outside broadcast and transmission facilities with several new control features integrated into the panel’s customizable, drag-and-drop interface. New source selection architecture allows users to access presets at the touch of a button. Operators can also take advantage of improved sliders, rotary encoders and X-Y control to better steer robotic cameras, adjust gain on audio devices and tweak levels on color correctors.

www.tslproducts.com
Booth: N5615

SOUTHWICK, MASS.—As stations are preparing for the FCC repack, the Meredith Local Group is doing so by ordering new transmitters from Hitachi Comark. The Comark Parallax transmitters are heading to six Meredith stations that are affected by the repack—KSMO, WHNS, WNEM, WPCH, WFSB and WGGB.

Parallax

The Parallax units are DTV transmitters and vary from 10kW to 65kW depending on the stations’ new Transmitter Power Output levels. Comark will deliver each Parallax transmitter with Exact-V2 exciters, which are software upgradeable to ATSC 3.0; liquid cooling systems; and RF mask filter systems. Comark will manage the shipment and offloading/placement of the transmitters to each facility as part of its Master Purchase Agreement. The company will also provide Meredith with system design services/site surveys.

Parallax transmitters are designed to offer up to 27.5kw TPO per rack cabinet; efficiency with wideband Doherty technology; vertical high-gain power amplifiers that provide 2kW per PA for UHF and 1.6kW per PA modules for VHF band 3; asymmetrical Doherty, providing the same power in 8VSB and OFDM; and hot-swap AC to DC rectifiers.

Three of the transmitters are expected to be delivered in 2017.

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo. 

LAS VEGAS—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC (Comark) is preparing a live glass-to-glass ATSC 3.0 demo—from image capture through RF transmission and reception—for the 2017 NAB Show. The exhibit will feature the company’s ATSC 3.0 Starter solution, which integrates HEVC encoding of SD, HD and UHD programs, the Broadcast Gateway and a simple user interface for system configuration.

The ATSC 3.0 Starter works with the EXACT-V2 exciter IP-optimized platform featuring 7 GbE ports. It’s compatible with the STL interface (A/324) and offers an optional built-in ALP encapsulation and dualCast technology, which can be upgraded from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0. During the demo, the company’s Z-HD5500 studio and field production cameras will capture video, and its QoS-1000 RF testing and monitoring solution will monitor the transmitter’s RF output.

Parallax

Comark will also display its new Parallax medium to high-power liquid cooled, solid-state transmitter, available in UHF and now VHF band 3. With the highest RF output power capability and power density on the market, the Parallax stacks up to 16 VHF power amplifiers (PA) in a single rack cabinet and delivers up to 23kW.

Power levels can be scaled higher with multiple cabinets or scaled back to as few as 3x1.6kW amplifiers for 4.3kW output power. The VHF PA’s utilize Doherty LDMOS technology that delivers up to 50 percent efficiency, with an equivalent output power in ATSC 1.0 (8VSB) and ATSC 3.0 (OFDM).

Parallax can be controlled and monitored via an optional Wi-Fi connection using a smart phone or digital tablet, and the control system enables Comark’s customer service group to remotely diagnose transmitter operations and perform remote software updates.

The 2017 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 24-27. Comark will be in boothC4309. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

CLEVELAND—The National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Technology Association are preparing a field test for ATSC 3.0 in Cleveland and have announced they will be utilizing transmitter and exciter technology from Hitachi-Comark and TeamCast as part of the process.

TeamCast ATSC 3.0 exciter

The field test will use an experimental broadcast license provided by the FCC at a terrestrial station located in Cleveland and owned by Tribune Broadcasting’s WJW-TV. The general performance figures for the ATSC 3.0 transmissions are expected to assist U.S. broadcasters as they are going through the repacking process associated with the incentive auction.

An existing Comark transmitter has been selected and turned on for this trial. The transmitter includes an ATSC 3.0 high-end excited from TeamCast and radiates a 30kW ERP signal on channel 31.

The ATSC 3.0 field test is planned for the coming months.

For more on this subject, visit our ATSC 3.0 silo.

SOUTHWICK, MASS.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC has a long standing history in the broadcast TV market. Comark started more than 40 years ago manufacturing RF components for UHF transmitters and branched out to design and deliver full TV transmission systems. Hitachi-Comark has been involved in many innovations that have revolutionized the market. It is the only transmitter manufacturer to win multiple technical Emmy awards including for the Klystrode tube transmitter and for Digital Modular Adaptive Precorrection (DAP).

Over the last 18-24 months Hitachi-Comark has been preparing for the upcoming FCC spectrum auction and UHF channel re-pack with a full portfolio of equipment and services. For DTV transmitters, Hitachi-Comark and its sister organization Hitachi Kokusai Linear have introduced two highly efficient Doherty solid state UHF transmitter designs; PARALLAX and E-Compact. These solid state technologies perfectly complement the company’s market leading DCX Paragon MSDC-IOT transmitters.

So why is there an industry wide push towards Doherty? The answer is two-fold. First, Doherty amplifiers are more efficient than Class AB amplifiers. Doherty achieves higher efficiency by using LDMOS devices biased in both Class AB (carrier amp) and Class C (peaking amp). The Class AB device amplifies the average power level and the Class C device amplifies just the peaks of the digital waveform. Driving the Class AB device higher towards saturation improves efficiency; having the Class C complements the power amplifier with ample peak power capability to avoid signal compression and other non-linear distortions.

PA module from Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark’s Parallax transmitter

The second reason Doherty is gaining popularity is that a properly designed Doherty amplifier can achieve equal power ratings in both ATSC 1.0 (8-VSB) and ATSC 3.0 (ODFM). Amplifiers are peak power limited. ATSC 1.0 has a peak to average power ratio between 6-7dB. So a 25kW transmitter (measured in average power) has to accommodate peaks that are in excess of 100kW! Amplifier requirements for ATSC 3.0 are even more onerous. OFDM has a typical peak to average ratio of 10dB. So that same 25kW transmitter (also measured in average power) has to accommodate peaks of 250kW! A typical amplifier needs to be de-rated by 15-20 percent when switching from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0; 25kW will be de-rated to ~20kW. Properly designed Doherty amplifiers, like those used in the PARALLAX, contain ample Class C peaking amplifier capacity. This allows equal average power rating in both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0, preserving investment now for use tomorrow.

ATSC 3.0 and FCC re-packing will cross paths during the next few years and Hitachi-Comark has been working hard to deliver products and technologies that are on point and ready for deployments. After involvement with live ATSC 3.0 demos at the CES and NAB shows last year, Hitachi-Comark released the EXACT-ATSC exciter. EXACT features “DualCast” technology that is easily upgraded via firmware from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0; protecting investment today for use tomorrow. The EXACT-ATSC exciter was even used in the Sinclair/ONE Media ATSC 3.0/SFN trial in the Baltimore-Washington DC trial that began in March of this year. And Hitachi-Comark is hard at work on other key ATSC 3.0 building blocks that will be simple to use yet take advantage of the powerful capabilities of ATSC 3.0.

Visit www.comarktv.com to learn more about Hitachi-Comark and its RF technology and associated products.

Joe Turbolski is Director of Sales Operations at Comark Communications.

SOUTHWICK, MASS.—Harpswell Community TV is replacing its analog transmitter system with a new LPTV system from Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark. The DTV transmitter allows the commercial-free, PEG TV station to broadcast both HD and SD programs to the Harpswell, Maine community.

Harpswell Community TV's Dave Chipman and Donna Frisoli.

The station received a LPTV-8000 1 kW average power digital solid-state UHF transmitter from Hitachi-Comark, featuring an EXACT-ATSC exciter and 50V DC LDMOS air-cooled amplifier technology, which is built on a 1RU rack-mount hardware with ATSC firmware. EXACT-ATSC exciters also feature DualCast technology that can be upgraded from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0.

Hitachi-Comark also provided the station with a LEX-2210 multi-program encoder/multiplexer. The system has a 2RU hardware platform loaded with the appropriate license file to configure the desired number of HD and SD programs.

SOUTHWICK, MASS.—Two Maryland Public Television stations, WMPB in Baltimore and WMPT in Annapolis, have upgraded their existing digital TV transmitters for Comark’s new EXACT-ATSC digital TV exciters.

The EXACT-ATSC exciters were designed as drop-in replacements for existing Comark transmitters, but they are also able to operate in a standalone mode with third-party transmitters. Built on a 1RU rack-mount hardware platform with ATSC firmware, the EXACT-ATSC features DualCast technology that will be able to upgrade from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0.

The exciter also features high performing Digital Adaptive Precorrection. DAP automatically corrects both linear and non-linear system distortions inherent to all DTV systems. In addition, simple control and monitoring is included with a front panel backlit LCD display, can be remotely controlled via a built-in GUI, and has the option of a SNMP client to incorporate with a third-party NMS.