LAS VEGAS—Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. and its subsidiary, One Media 3.0, will be demonstrating key enhancements to the NextGen Broadcast standard (ATSC 3.0) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week. 

Sinclair said that those enhancements are part of Sinclair/One Media 3.0’s vision of a “mobile-first” offering of video and data services as well as the delivery of significant picture quality improvements and offerings that provide a more efficient merger of broadcast and broadband capabilities. 

As part of those efforts, Sinclair will be showing the latest version of Sinclair’s Broadcast App. The App is designed to tap into the fact that viewers today are agnostic on how they receive TV programs so long as the quality is equivalent between providers. It provides a way for broadcast and broadband services to be merged so as to provide the best of over-the-air and Internet delivered content, which will be a key component of new delivery ecosystems, Sinclair said. 

Available both over-the-air and via broadband, the Broadcast App’s menuing technology allows viewers to choose content regardless of how it gets to their screens. 

During the show, Sinclair also said it will demonstrate for the first time the ability to launch the Broadcast App not only from over-the-air NextGen Broadcast (ATSC 3.0) and existing digital TV (ATSC 1.0) transmissions, but also via cable, telco or satellite services through legacy set-top boxes. 

“The beauty of the NextGen Broadcast standard is its ability to both enhance the content we deliver and do it as flexibly as possible,” explained Mark Aitken, president of One Media 3.0 said. “The hybrid nature of television today means we must make it as easy as possible for viewers to take advantage of our offerings.”

In addition, Sinclair said that it would be showing a fully mobile audio ‘Infotainment’ service that is being readied for consumer trials by several auto dealerships in the Baltimore, Md. region.

Drive testing for the system is already underway, Sinclair said. 

The infotainment service uses a single mobile receiver that brings a variety of new services into the age of connected vehicles. Those include enhanced GPS, over-the-air software updates, Infotainment (audio, video and others) and a number of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) services. 

The demo is designed to build on a recent series of webinars hosted by Sinclair focused on the automotive sector and the value an ATSC 3.0 receiver brings into mobile vehicles.

Also during CES, Sinclair will be showing the work it is doing with USSI Global in the area of electric vehicle charging that combines USSI's digital signage and managed services expertise with Sinclair’s NextGen Broadcast capabilities to provide a first-of-its-kind datacasting offering. 

A prototype EV charging kiosk will be on display at CES. This datacasting application supports multi-tenant advertising and real-time updates of local content, providing a unique personal experience, the companies said. 

“Data Delivery as a Service is the inevitable next step in the evolution of broadcasting, where we can continue to provide exceptional and enhanced video programming and, at the same time, repurpose the remaining capacity of our channels to meet the needs of data users nationwide on market-disrupting terms,” explained Chris Ripley, Sinclair’s president and CEO. “Our partnership with USSI Global opens wide the door to an enticing array of new services that enhance the choices for businesses and individuals alike.”

LAS VEGAS—Sinclair Broadcast Group and its subsidiary, ONE Media 3.0, have announced they will be demonstrating key enhancements to the NextGen Broadcast standard (ATSC 3.0) at the 2022 NAB Show between April 23 and 27. 

The demos include Sinclair's Hybrid TV Broadcast App and HDR broadcasts using the NextGen TV standard. 

Sinclair said those demos will highlight the baseline for Sinclair/ONE Media 3.0’s vision of a “mobile-first” offering of video and data services, the delivery of significant picture quality improvements and a more efficient merger of broadcast and broadband capabilities.

One key demo will be broadcasts of higher image quality. During the NAB Show, Sinclair’s Las Vegas TV station, KVCW, will broadcast an enhanced digital signal using high dynamic range (HDR). 

The NextGen Broadcast standard provides remarkable picture quality to viewers – substantially brighter highlights, darker shadows, brilliant colors and much more detail, Sinclair said. The signal delivered employs the single layer system (SL-HDR1) developed by Technicolor.

SL-HDR1 allows a broadcaster to deliver pictures in both standard and high definition simultaneously with TV sets automatically rendering the appropriate picture for that set. By using this technology, broadcasters can efficiently create and deliver content, eliminating the need for sending two separate streams, Sinclair said. 

This solution permits broadcasters to serve both newer HDR-capable screens and those without the capability, recognizing that not all viewers have the latest TV sets available. Sinclair announced that these capabilities will be used at all of its NextGen stations throughout the country.

Another key demo will be the latest version of Sinclair’s Hybrid TV Broadcast App. 

Sinclair noted that merging broadcast and broadband services to provide the best of over-the-air and Internet delivered content is a key ingredient of the new NextGen TV delivery ecosystem. 

To achieve that result, Sinclair has developed a Hybrid TV Broadcast App with menuing technology that allows viewers to choose content regardless of how it gets to their screens.

The demo will include content on demand, local weather, audio services and advanced emergency informing, Sinclair said. 

Sinclair/ONE Media 3.0 have announced that they will ease the process of distributing their version of the Broadcast App by delivering it both over-the-air and via broadband.

“The beauty of the NextGen Broadcast standard is its ability to both enhance the content we deliver and do it as flexibly as possible,” explained Mark Aitken, president of ONE Media 3.0,  “The hybrid nature of television today means we must make it as easy as possible for viewers to take advantage of our offerings. SL-HDR1 and a common Broadcast App delivered over multiple pipes to the user simplifies that process.”

MILAN—With ATSC 3.0 preparing to launch in the U.S. in the next year, Fincons Group, an IT business consultancy based in Italy, has published a white paper that highlights some of the Next Gen TV features and what lessons European broadcasters could take from them in the eventual updating of the existing Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) and future marketplace demands.

While Fincons notes that the U.S. had used HbbTV as a model for the development of ATSC 3.0, it now says that things have flipped as a number of systems in Europe have become outdated and are in need of an overhaul to keep pace with evolving technologies and to support innovation.

Topics covered in Fincons white paper include the importance of user experience and keeping up with consumer expectations; how to unlock the addressable advertising potential of Hybrid TV; AI powered OTT advertising; the impact of second screen advertising; and how to balance content and advertising.

“It is clear that next generation connected TV technology has come full circle and Europe needs to tackle new developments,” said Oliver Botti, head of international business development and innovations at Fincons Group. “European broadcasters can’t risk falling behind their U.S. competitors, meaning the time is now for savvy broadcasters to invest in developing their platforms and improving user experience to stay ahead of the curve in the European marketplace.”

The whitepaper, titled “After Laying the Foundations for Hybrid TV in the USA, European Broadcasters Can Now Benefit From Further Impulse Coming From USA ATSC 3.0.,” can be downloaded here.

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