There are lots of attractive aspects to the ATSC 3.0 standard, which opens up many new, previously unavailable opportunities to television broadcasters.

The laundry list is long. It includes things like highly robust OTA delivery, support for 4K, HDR and more, zoned and/or personalized news and entertainment and even interactive TV experiences and targeted advertising delivery—to name only a few.

But the very most important aspect of the standard may be its most fundamental: the ATSC 3.0 bootstrap. Why? Because it will keep broadcasters in the game giving them access to an updated standard–even one leveraging a codec that’s more efficient than HEVC—and do so without stranding NextGen TV sets and viewers.

As TVTech contributor Doug Lung put it in a December 2015 article: “A key requirement for ATSC 3.0 is the ability to change the transmission format while continuing to support legacy receivers. This is accomplished through a framing structure that includes a ‘System Discovery and Signaling’ signal, referred to as the ‘bootstrap’ signal before each frame. This signal has a fixed physical configuration, but carries data identifying the version of the frame following it. This could be ATSC 3.0, a future ATSC 3.1 or some other variation; even one using a different waveform.” 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. It seems each day, some press release or story crosses my desk touting AV1, JPEG XS or some other video codec that promises the sun and the moon. I don’t know whether these or any others will one day offer sufficient enough reason to replace HEVC (and/or SHVC), but it is nice to know there is a mechanism for broadcasters to keep pace with others in the content delivery business.

One thing is certain, much of the success of TV going forward—whether that’s television or datacasting—will be tied to how efficiently broadcasters can use their bits. Thanks to the bootstrap, they will never again have to wait 30 years to get back into the game.

ST. LOUIS Mo.–NextGen TV has come to St. Louis with stations owned by Sinclair, Meredith, Tegna and Nexstar launching NextGen TV signals on Sept. 23.

The launch includes KDNL-TV (the Sinclair-owned ABC affiliate), KMOV (the Meredith-owned CBS affiliate), KSDK (Tegna-owned NBC affiliate), KTVI (the Nexstar-owned Fox affiliate) and KPLR-TV (the Nexstar-owned CW affiliate).

The Nexstar-owned KPLR-TV station has converted to ATSC 3.0 transmissions and will broadcast both its own programming and the programming of the other participating stations in NextGen TV format. 

The programming of all the participating stations will continue to be available in the existing DTV format. 

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and deployment efforts across the five television stations.

TV Tech has been tracking all the ATSC 3.0 deployments. For a full list of them click here. 

ATLANTA, Ga.—Gray Television is working to reimagine the local TV news experience by using NextGen TV broadcasts at its WCTV station to deliver hyperlocal news content, reports Andrew Heyward, senior research professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in a recent article.

The article notes that Gray is testing a “broadcaster app” that works with ATSC 3.0 that allows viewers to call up news videos and weather graphics from their zip code.

This allows the WCTV Gray station in Tallahassee, Florida to serve more hyper local content to all its viewers, including those in Valdosta and Thomasville in Georgia.

Gray worked with Pearl TV and Yotta Media Labs on the idea, which received $50,000 Knight Foundation program grant to help develop the custom app, Heywood reports.

“[This] approach can now be a blueprint for any TV station,” Gray CTO David Burke is quoted as saying. “And part of our deliverable to Arizona State is to document the end to end: This is what a newsroom would have to do. This is what the digital or technology guys would have to do. And then you could replicate this.”

 The full article is available here.

HICKORY, N.C.—CommScope, a global provider of in-home network solutions and NextGen TV provider Evoca, have teamed up on a new set-top box that will provide dual ATSC 1.0/3.0 service to Evoca’s over-the-air subscribers, starting in early 2022. The companies said this is one of the first times this technology combination is being made available for general consumer use.

Powered by Android TV, CommScope’s new VIP7802-ATSC will be called Pilot by Evoca and allow the service provider to leverage its broadcast network and deliver a rich TV user experience to its customers in the United States.

“Leveraging CommScope’s expertise to develop the innovative VIP7802-ATSC set top solution is enabling Evoca to offer a unique television and entertainment content offering,” said Ken Haase, Vice President, Product Management, CommScope. “Evoca will provide their subscribers with a solution that will enhance their viewing experience and will also deliver aggregated streaming content. We are excited to begin this partnership with Evoca.”

ATSC 3.0 technology is built on the same internet protocols as today’s popular streaming media platforms. It is designed to bring together over-the-air with over-the-top (OTT) content. Beginning Q1 2022, Pilot will be deployed to new subscribers on Evoca’s converged broadcast-broadband platform. Pilot is the next generation of set-top solutions from CommScope that can broadcast TV services while seamlessly connecting to the internet, providing OTT streaming services and on-demand content.

According to Todd Achilles, President and CEO, the Evoca service includes a growing lineup of high-quality, high-definition broadcast programming, including the only broadcast 4K channel in the US, as well as some of the most popular video-on-demand programming and apps, for less than $50 per month.

“Evoca TV’s Pilot provides a cost-effective way to roll out our unique Next Gen TV service to subscribers as we launch in multiple television markets,” Achilles said. “CommScope’s technology combining Android TV with the new capabilities provided within the ATSC 3.0 standard, allows us to bring the best of streaming and broadcast together for our customers. This is also a significant advancement for the industry, and we intend to make a similar product available to other broadcasters.”

In addition to deploying the Pilot set-top box in Evoca markets in early 2022, Evoca will offer the Pilot to partner broadcasters and others in ATSC 3.0 markets nationwide.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Eight stations have begun NextGen TV broadcasts in Kansas City, including the PBS station and stations owned by Hearst, Meredith, Nexstar, Scripps. 

The stations include KMBC-TV (the ABC affiliate owned by Hearst), KCTV (CBS affiliate owned by Meredith), KSHB-TV (NBC affiliate owned by Scripps), WDAF-TV (the Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar), KCPT (the local PBS station), KCWE (the CW affiliate owned by Hearst), KSMO-TV (the MyNet affiliate owned by Meredith) and KMCI-TV (an independent station owned by Scripps).

The stations noted that the launch in Kansas City followed a decade of development and months of planning and preparation by the local stations. 

KMCI-TV, owned by Scripps, and KSMO-TV, owned by Meredith, have converted to ATSC 3.0 transmissions. The two stations will broadcast their own programming in NEXTGEN TV format, as well as the programming of the other participating stations. 

All of the programming of all participating stations will continue to be available in the existing DTV format. BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the eight television stations.

TV Tech has been tracking all the NextGen TV launches around the country. To see our full list of where the services have launched and markets that are preparing to launch visit here. 

Lately I’ve seen a number of discussions about adding a frequency offset to an ATSC 1 signal to reduce interference. The issue came to light when it was discovered that at least one major manufacturer’s transmitters do not meet the manufacturer’s FCC emission mask test when the recommended co-channel ATSC offset is added. 

This month I’ll look at what ATSC has to say about frequency offsets and how they work. The ATSC 3.0 standard also includes options for not only frequency offsets but bandwidth reduction as well. 

Finally, I’ll report on my recent testing of the Hauppauge WinTV quadHD USB ATSC tuner. It uses a different tuner/demodulator chip than I’ve seen used with any other ATSC USB tuner. 

REDUCING CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE

I’m often asked what the tolerance is for the ATSC 1 pilot frequency. Many assume it is the same ±1 kHz tolerance that was used for analog TV, not including the 10 kHz offset the FCC specified in some cases. 

The correct answer is that the FCC does not specify a frequency tolerance for digital TV (ATSC 1 or 3.0) transmissions except in relation to lower adjacent analog TV stations. Excluding that case, the only requirement is that the emissions from the transmitter comply with the mask requirements in Section 73.622(h) (see sidebar). 

Back in 1998, I wrote about frequency offsets for ATSC 1 in my column; most related to analog stations. The FCC rules mandate an ATSC station must have its pilot carrier 5.082138 MHz above that of the lower adjacent NTSC station’s visual carrier. This is 22.697 kHz above the normal 309.440559 kHz offset from the channel edge, assuming the DTV signal is centered in the 6 MHz TV channel. The tolerance is ±3 Hz. (This offset won’t be relevant after July 13, 2021, when all LPTV stations must cease analog broadcasting.)

One of the offsets remains relevant—between two ATSC 1 stations operating on the same channel. This offset is defined in ATSC Recommended Practice A/64B, (section 5.1.6.1). It states:

“In the DTV co-channel interference condition, it has been found that a DTV pilot frequency offset that is an odd multiple of half the DTV segment rate provides improved interference rejection. There are several choices that meet this requirement. An offset of 1.5 times the segment frequency (i.e., 19,403 Hz) appears to provide the best performance. The frequency tolerance of the DTV transmitters should be ±10 Hz.” 

This ensures the frame and segment syncs of the two signals don’t line up. With this offset, they will alternate and be averaged out in the receiver.

Will a transmitter meet the requirements of FCC 73.622(h) with a 19,403 Hz offset? It seems it should, since when analog stations were on the air, some DTV transmitters had to meet this requirement with an even greater offset, 22,697 Hz, to comply with FCC 73.622(g). A number of devices, including transmitter exciters and external devices like the Avateq receivers display the 500 kHz shoulder levels in dB. 

However, I suspect these are referenced to the pilot carrier frequency, which, if offset, may not represent the 6 MHz channel spectrum and could show compliance when the transmitter’s emissions are actually outside that allowed by 73.622(h), which only references channel edges. 

I welcome comments from transmitter manufacturers on this question and also would be interested in any studies that show how much a precision offset reduces co-channel interference. With the repack complete, we now have stations on the same channel closer together, particularly LPTV stations, so it is important to see if offsets are worth employing to reduce interference.

ATSC 3.0 BANDWIDTH, FREQUENCY OFFSET OPTIONS

The ATSC references frequency offsets to avoid interference between ATSC 3.0 stations. According to the A/324 standard, section 10.3.3.1:

“Pilot pattern overlap always occurs when neighboring co-channel stations use the same FFT sizes, guard intervals, and pilot patterns. Even when neighboring co-channel stations use some different Physical Layer parameters (FFT sizes, guard intervals, or pilot patterns), there may be partial pilot overlap, depending on the choices of pilot patterns. Such pilot pattern overlap (both full and partial overlap) causes the sorts of channel estimation errors described above, which result in reception failure or performance degradation. To avoid overlapping pilot patterns, offset of Transmitter Center Frequencies shall be used.” 

The offset is zero or ± the 8K carrier spacing, which is 843.75 Hz. This is more important than the ATSC 1 co-channel offset because the ATSC 3.0 configurations can allow reception at low signal-to-noise ratios, which makes interference more likely where signals overlap. Obviously this will require coordination between stations, possibly over a wide area. 

If required by the ATSC 3.0 transmitter and filter, the overall occupied bandwidth can be reduced from 5.832844 MHz to as little as 5.508844 MHz (see the ATSC A/327 Physical Layer Recommended Practice section 4.2.2 for details). 

Bandwidth reduction is unlikely to be needed to handle a less than 1 kHz offset but may be needed to work with existing filters or in adjacent channel interference situations when combined with an offset. 

HAUPPAUGE WINTV QUADHD USB TUNER

After seeing support for the Hauppauge WinTV quadHD ATSC tuner was in Linux, I ordered one so I could put it to the test.  Fig. 1 shows what's inside. I haven’t had a chance to test it on the road yet so I didn’t want to risk removing the RF shield.

All that’s visible is the EM28274 Empia controller and the Maxlinear/Exar XR22404 4 port USB hub, which is connected to a USB-C connector. While Hauppauge says USB-C is required to supply the power and speed for the quad tuners, the supplied cable has a USB 3 type A connector on one end and worked fine on my laptop’s USB 3.1 port in limited testing. 

Unlike most ATSC USB ATSC receivers that have a separate tuner (such as the Si2157) and a separate demodulator (like the LGDT3306), the MxL692 chip includes both, taking an RF input and producing an ATSC transport stream output. Maxlinear says the tuner has integrated channel filtering and “excellent immunity to LTE and Wi-Fi interference.”

Installation on Ubuntu requires installing the Hauppauge media tree. I had no issues with Ubuntu 20.04 and following the instructions on the web page, but note there are different instructions if Ubuntu’s hardware enhancement (hwe) kernel is installed. I recommend using the hwe kernel to get support for the latest devices. 

The good news is that the tuner works great in Kaffeine (a Linux TV viewer and recorder) and, with four tuners, multiple channels can be recorded simultaneously. 

The bad news is that the current quadHD driver does not provide usable statistics with the DVB utilities dvb-fe-tool and dvbsnoop for measuring channel power and SNR limiting usefulness for signal monitoring. I’ve listed this as an issue on the Hauppauge Ubuntu-media-tree-kernel-builder Github page. You can monitor it for updates. 

My WinTV dualHD with the Si2157 tuner required a –80 dBm UHF input level to deliver an error-free picture with an SNR of about 17.8 dB. Without changing the attenuation, I switched to the quadHD and Kaffeine did not display a picture. After reducing attenuation to get stable reception on the quadHD I found it required –77 dBm, 3 dB more than that needed by the WinTV dualHD. This is likely due to the additional losses splitting the signal to twice as many tuners. 

The tests were performed with an outdoor nondirectional vertically polarized antenna so signal quality was not pristine—I’ll be doing more testing next time I’m in Los Angeles. One plus is scanning the post-repack TV band with the quadHD takes seconds compared to minutes with the dualHD.  

The quadHD works with TSReader in Windows 10 after installing the quadHD driver available on the Hauppauge support web page. I prefer TSReader to Hauppauge’s WinTV software. Broadcast engineers will want it to check ATSC PSIP. 

The WinTV quadHD USB should appeal to enthusiasts who want to record program streams from more than two channels at the same time and to broadcast engineers that want to monitor multiple stations at the same time, perhaps using multiple instances of TSReader. I look forward to doing more testing with it and hope that, at some point, the driver will support the dvb utilities. 

As always, I welcome comments and questions. Email me at dlung@transmitter.com. I try to answer all emails promptly, but if I’m busy and the email gets buried I might miss it. If you don’t get a response within a week or so, email me again.

SIDEBAR: FCC DTV Table of Allotments (FCC Section 73.622) 

(h)(1) The power level of emissions on frequencies outside the authorized channel of operation must be attenuated no less than the following amounts below the average transmitted power within the authorized channel. In the first 500 kHz from the channel edge the emissions must be attenuated no less than 47 dB. More than 6 MHz from the channel edge, emissions must be attenuated no less than 110 dB. At any frequency between 0.5 and 6 MHz from the channel edge, emissions must be attenuated no less than the value determined by the following formula:

Attenuation in dB = −11.5(Δf + 3.6);

Where: Δf = frequency difference in MHz from the edge of the channel.

(2) This attenuation is based on a measurement bandwidth of 500 kHz. Other measurement bandwidths may be used as long as appropriate correction factors are applied. Measurements need not be made any closer to the band edge than one half of the resolution bandwidth of the measuring instrument. Emissions include sidebands, spurious emissions and radio frequency harmonics. Attenuation is to be measured at the output terminals of the transmitter (including any filters that may be employed). In the event of interference caused to any service, greater attenuation may be required.

WASHINGTON—Public television is seeking an exemption for noncommercial educational licensees from the ATSC 1.0-3.0 simulcast mandate that’s part of the FCC’s November 2017 authorization of over-the-air transmission of Next-Gen TV.

Representatives from America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service met with the media advisor in the office of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai April 26 to make the appeal.

The group, collectively called "PTV,: told the FCC that the exemption is “warranted and essential” because of the unique mission, structure, governance, finance, history, geographic layout and regulatory treatment of noncommercial educational stations.

“The regulatory certainty of an exemption will ensure that PTV stations can invest confidently in their futures knowing that they will be able to serve their local communities in innovative ways based on their unique needs and circumstances,” the group said in a document filed with the commission regarding the meeting.

[Read: Research: Americans Want Public Broadcasting To Provide Earthquake Early Warnings]

The group told the FCC that “the driving purpose” of PTV stations is to serve the public in their local communities. In 19 states, that means a PTV station serves its entire state regardless of DMA boundaries. Often such stations, like WIIQ in Demopolis, Ala., are “sited far from any potential simulcasting partners,” the document said.

Similarly, 57 university licensees are located at their parent institution, such as WUNC in Chapel Hill, N.C., and are far away from possible simulcast partners. In 89 instances, licensees serve “some of the most rural, remote, and isolated parts of the country,” such as KAWE in Bemidji, Minn., “where commercial counterparts often do not exist,” the document said.

While the PTV group asked for the exemption, it told the agency that licensees “have no interest, and nothing to gain, in leaving their viewers behind.”

PTV stations along with their community advisor will examine many factors “to determine when it is appropriate and in the communities’ best interests to transition to ATSC 3.0,” the document said. They include items, such as surveys of dual-mode receiver penetration in communities, voluntary MVPD ATSC 3.0 adoption and the availability of low-cost converter devices.

Not only would the exemption make it possible for PTV to leverage the many benefits of ATSC 3.0 to better serve the public, but it also will give the 43 percent of public stations that will be repacked –many of which are in rural locations—the confidence “to make supplemental out-of-pocket investments” in equipment with ATSC 3.0 capabilities. Similarly, those that aren’t being repacked but are working with ageing gear can confidently plan for Next-Gen TV as they replace their infrastructure, it said.

The document reminded the agency that PTV stations receive most of their revenue from individual donations and “therefore have every incentive to closely align their transition to the Next Generation standard with their audience’s needs and capabilities.” 

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

PHOENIX — LG Electronics will provide ATSC 3.0 receivers for the Pearl TV-led Phoenix Model Market Project that will serve as a testbed for Next Gen TV services, the company said.

The move makes LG the first television manufacturer to join the initiative, which is being supported by 10 TV stations in the Phoenix market. A major goal of the project is to demonstrate how 3.0 can be deployed while maintaining ATSC 1.0 service.

[Read: CES 2018: LG Electronics to Take Part in U.S. ATSC 3.0 Trials]

Branding the project “a key element of the commercialization of ATSC 3.0,” Dr. John Kim, senior vice president in the LG CTO’s office, said the initiative moves the Next Gen TV standard out of the lab and into the field. “We look forward to working with Pearl and Phoenix broadcasters on activities focused on technical, commercial, promotional and implementation aspects of the new platform,” said Kim, who also serves as president of LG’s Zenith R&D Lab in the United States.

The success of the initiative depends on the participation of various stakeholders, said Anne Schelle, Pearl TV executive director. “[T]he collaboration between LG and Perl leverages our significant respective resources and expertise to help facilitate the rapid conversion of the current ATSC 1.0 broadcast standard to the next-generation ATSC 3.0 standard.”

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

LAS VEGAS--Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group is the recipient of the 2018 NAB Television Engineering Achievement Award, which he will receive at an April 10 ceremony at the NAB Show. 

In its announcement, NAB called Aitken a “dynamic leader in the development of Next Gen TV.” Aitken has been involved in the broadcast industry’s migration to advanced services, including participation in the FCC Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service, involvement in ATSC including chairing the specialist group on mobile DTV, and with the formation of Sinclair's joint venture ONE Media, serving as its President.

TV Technology caught up with Aitken after the news, for which he said he was “honored” for the recognition. Over the course of decades of involvement with the broadcasting industry, he has worn numerous hats, getting his start with CCA Electronics, a small Massachusetts-based TV transmitter manufacturer in the mid ‘70’s. He counts Richard Fiore Sr., the founder of what was to become Comark Communications in 1976, as his mentor. “We just hit it off,” Aitken said. “Rarely in your life do you find yourself in a situation where you feel like ‘this is where I belong.’ And before long it blossomed into what I always refer to as my mentorship in this industry and into the world of radio frequency design.”

[Read: SMPTE 2014: Aitken—Broadcast Must Be More Than TV]

Early on at Comark, Aitken got to know Fiore’s business partner, David Smith (yes, of Sinclair) as well as Nat Ostroff, who became president of the company in the ‘80’s. By the end of the ‘90’s Aitken moved to Baltimore ostensibly joining Sinclair to rebuild Acrodyne, a company acquired by Sinclair to provide transmitters for the "digital transition."

Beyond Acrodyne activities, Aitken became focused on problems over the RF capabilities of the newly minted ATSC digital TV standard (at Smith’s and Ostroff’s prompting), an issue he characterized, as “Houston, we have a problem.”

“Ray Kiesel and I got handed the job of ‘we’ve got to figure out what’s wrong with this standard because we’ve got to make it work, it’s our future, we don’t have a choice,’” Aitken said. Despite Sinclair’s advocacy for an alternative to 8-VSB that would enhance mobile reception, their efforts came up short. The experience taught Aitken a valuable lesson.

“What I learned was that you must understand politics and business to understand technology, because technology in the marketplace doesn’t end up there simply based on the best engineering,” he said. “It arrives there based on business use cases.”

As a result, Aitken, along with many of his colleagues at Sinclair, became heavily involved in the development of ATSC 3.0, forming ONE Media and focusing on mobility and more efficient use of spectrum. It’s primarily due to these efforts that he is being recognized by NAB.

[Read: Q&A: Mark Aitken On Dallas Next-Gen SFN Trial]

“For me, this award is very much in line with the FCC’s elevation of the Next Gen standard and the engagement of our industry,” he said.

As for his future with Sinclair, Aitken says “I’m not going anywhere,” but he is cognizant of the importance of bringing “new blood” into the television industry. Promoting Next Gen TV is key to attracting new engineers, he said.

“Next Gen is not your father’s or your grandfather’s television,” he said. “Next Gen is so much more. I think it’s everybody’s job to sort of toot the horn.”

LAS VEGAS—More than 40 exhibitors will show ATSC 3.0 products or services next week at the 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas (April 7-12), according to the Advanced Television Systems Committee.

“With approval of the ATSC 3.0 suite of standards, the focus shifts from development of the standard itself to early deployments across the world," said ATSC President Mark Richer.

A guide to ATSC 3.0 products and services at the NAB Show from ATSC members is available online for download.

Once again, the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center (between the North and Central Halls) will be the site of the “Road to ATSC 3.0” exhibit. The focus of the exhibit will be deployment plans for ATSC 3.0 in cities within and outside the United States.

[Read: 2018 NAB Show Marks Next Gen TV’s Arrival]

“Of course, all eyes were on South Korea during the Winter Olympics and their stunning 4K broadcasts,” said Richer. “At the NAB Show, we will focus on the first stations that are signing on here in the U.S. and give attendees a look at how next-generation television is being tested and introduced.”

In the North Hall Futures Park area, two Next-Gen implementation teams will demonstrate various capabilities of ATSC 3.0. The Advanced Emergency Alert I-Team will show the end-to-end workflow of advanced emergency alerting. The Personalization and Interactivity I-Team will demo a TV program with ads and how ATSC 3.0 can be used to display alternate ad content, the press release said.

To demonstrate the mobile TV aspect of the Next-Gen TV standard, an autonomous bus service will link the Central and South Halls, showing mobile reception of terrestrial 3.0 signals. “We fully expect ATSC 3.0 to be entertaining passengers in self-driving vehicles, and for this technology to be used for providing other data services to riders—whether in an autonomous vehicle or on-the-go with future mobile devices,” said Richer.

For more information on the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

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

PHOENIX — Five broadcast technology vendors, including Dielectric, Enensys, GatesAir, Harmonic and Triveni Digital, will help television broadcasters in Phoenix make the Pearl TV-led ATSC 3.0 Model Market Initiative a reality.

Stations owned by E.W. Scripps Co., Fox Television Stations, Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, Tegna, Telemundo Station Group and Univision are taking part in the initiative, which will test advanced business models made possible by Next Gen TV.

The initiative also will demonstrate that it is possible to transition to Next-Gen TV while maintaining legacy ATSC 1.0 DTV service.

“We are delighted to announce the first group of technology suppliers who will help make the Phoenix model market a reality,” said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle in a press release announcing the participation of the companies. “This is just [the] first round of key broadcast equipment vendors who are now at work to create an over-the-air ATSC 3.0 deployment.”

[Read: 2018 NAB Show Marks Next Gen TV’s Arrival]

The Phoenix model market will provide an open test bed for all of the stakeholders in the TV ecosystem, according to a press announcement. Several objectives are planned for the initiative, including: confirmation of basic TV service parameters and performance; determining the appeal of HDR and immersive audio to consumers; assessing TV application features and implementation requirements; testing interactive and addressable ad functionality; and determining consumer device and service appeal, the announcement said.

The initial technology deployment supporting the initiative includes:

• Dielectric UT8D7F-3K filter, a 3 kW low-loss, high-efficiency, eight-pole, UHF bandpass filter;
• Enensys ATSCheduler, an ATSC 3.0 broadcast gateway that encapsulated MMT and ROUTE IP streams into an ATSC 3.0 multiplex, allocating data to different sub-frame and physical layer pipes and managing SFN synchronization;
• GatesAir Maxiva AXTE-3 UHF air-cooled TV transmitter for ATSC 3.0 transmission in Phoenix;
• Harmonic Electra X ATSC 3.0 encoding and statistical multiplexer media processor to deliver multiple HEVC programs over DASH;
• Triveni Digital GuideBuilder XM signaling, announcement and transport generator and StreamScope XM advanced monitor and analysis system, both part of the company’s Broadcast Services Management Platform.

All participating vendors will be exhibiting at the 2018 NAB Show, April 7–12, in Las Vegas. Dielectric will be in booth C2613; Enensys will be in booth SU6521; GatesAir will be in booth N3703; Harmonic will be in booth SU610; and Triveni Digital will be in booth N1427.

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

LAS VEGAS—The world’s newest digital television delivery standard, ATSC 3.0, has now come of age, getting the FCC’s official nod last November, and cheered with a champagne toast by industry leaders at the International CES. The standard, which has already been deployed in South Korea, was further showcased in February when it was used to transmit the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in sparkling UHD and HDR.

After years of buildup during the development process, ATSC 3.0 officially makes its debut at the 2018 NAB Show, with numerous presentations devoted to both technical and non-technical aspects of the standard, a special ATSC 3.0 exhibit, real-world mobile reception demos, and some of the first-ever ATSC 3.0-specific products on display on the exhibit floor.

THE ATSC 3.0 ’ROAD’ BECKONS

Show visitors arriving through the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central Hall will be greeted with the ATSC’s “Road to ATSC 3.0” showcase with experts on hand to answer questions and discuss the early 3.0 deployments in U.S. television markets.

“Look for the ‘Road to ATSC 3.0’ exhibit as you enter the Grand Lobby of the Convention Center, the NAB Mobile ATSC 3.0 Shuttle in front of the complex, and various technology demos taking place in Future Park in the North Hall,” said Dave Arland, ATSC spokesperson.

Mark Richer, ATSC president, extended his own invitation to the exhibit.

“I’d encourage anyone curious about what’s coming to stop by the ‘Road to ATSC 3.0’ exhibit for an update on the Cleveland test stations, the Phoenix Model Market project, WRAL in Raleigh, and the ongoing work by Sinclair Broadcasting and others to light up ATSC 3.0 in Dallas and other markets,” he said.

Pearl TV, the consortium of station groups focused on developing services for Next Gen TV as well as deploying the standard, will be represented at the exhibit by Anne Schelle, managing director for the group, who discussed the next steps for ATSC 3.0.

“The industry needs to begin commercialization and develop agreed-upon industry service profiles and deployment guidelines,” she said. Last year, Pearl TV and several network partners collaborated on a Model Market in Phoenix that serves as an industry test bed for service development and consumer testing. “Details [about this] can be seen in the ‘Road to ATSC 3.0’ exhibit,” Schelle added.

A DOUBLE HIGH-TECH OPPORTUNITY

Also being featured is the NAB Mobile ATSC 3.0 Shuttle, which will await attendees just outside the LVCC. Riders will get to experience two cutting-edge technologies: ATSC 3.0 with its ability to provide rock-steady UHD television reception in moving vehicles, and a ride around the LVCC complex in an autonomous self-driving vehicle.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, LG Electronics and NAB are sponsoring the mobile demo in cooperation with Keolis, which operates the Las Vegas ‘Strip’ bus system, and the autonomous Navya shuttle, according to Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology for Sinclair.

“The bus route is around the parking lot and between the convention halls,” Aitken said. “The ATSC 3.0 signals viewed in the bus are being transmitted from an experimental Channel 45 installation located south of Las Vegas on Black Mountain, which is being operated by Sinclair’s KSNV.” (These 3.0 transmissions can also be viewed at the ATSC exhibit.)

[ATSC 3.0 Transition Strategies]

In addition, according to Aitken, ONEMedia/Sinclair will demo ATSC 3.0 at the Wynn, in conjunction with South Korea Telecom, showcasing dynamic ad insertion and the synchronicity aspects of ATSC 3.0 running on MMT.

TRANSMISSION CONSIDERATIONS

With many broadcasters preparing to deploy the Next Gen TV standard, plenty of exhibitors will debut new equipment, offer demonstrations and provide advice.

At minimum, the 3.0 move will involve transmitter plant changes, and there’s plenty to check out in this area.

GatesAir will show its Maxiva range of ATSC 3.0-ready transmitters, including the ULXTE for high-power UHF, UAXTE for low-to-mid-power UHF, and VAXTE low-to-high power transmitters across low and high-band VHF, according to Rich Redmond, the company’s chief product officer. “All are outfitted with our Maxiva XTE software-defined exciter,” he said.

Redmond added that broadcasters wishing to move to 3.0 may need to consider a new transmitter, even if their ATSC 1.0 DTV transmitters haven’t reached end of life status.

“The ATSC 3.0 digital waveform has a higher peak-to-average ratio than ATSC 1.0, which limits some transmitters’ capability to achieve the same power levels in ATSC 3.0 you can in ATSC 1.0,” he said.

Hitachi-Comark is ready to equip broadcasters with everything needed to produce the sparkling true-to-life video delivered by ATSC 3.0, according to Joe Turbolski, director of sales operations at the company. In addition to transmitters and an ATSC 3.0 exciter, the Hitachi Kokusai Group, in conjunction with key partners, will offer a complete “glass-to-glass” 3.0 technology demo, allowing broadcasters to visualize ATSC 3.0’s full capabilities.

“‘Glass-to-glass’ refers to the demo’s scope, which includes image capture via Hitachi HD-HDR cameras, software-based HEVC encoding, and finally ATSC 3.0 RF transmission, reception, and monitoring,” Turbolski said.

Rohde & Schwarz will launch what it says is the world’s first IT server-based exciter solution for ATSC 3.0 broadcasting according to Erik Balladares, vice president of the company’s U.S. broadcast and media division. The R&S SDE900 “was developed around a pure software-based approach, which will ensure that future evolutions of the standards are supported, and provide the most flexibility to broadcast network operators,” he said.

Updates on the testing of single frequency networks for ATSC 3.0 in the Dallas area will be discussed at the NAB Show and stations considering deploying SFNs may want to explore new antenna technologies in the Central Hall and outside exhibits.

Martin noted that broadcasters selecting Dielectric antennas for the ongoing repack won’t have to worry about another such purchase when transitioning to 3.0, as the “FutureFill” feature is built into the company’s repack antennas and can be “turned on” as needed to enhance reception across their coverage areas.

Jampro will be on hand with its “Futurization Technology,” which the company says is “based upon years of proven use by one of the largest broadcast network operators in the world.”

[ATSC 3.0 Marches On]

The company’s JUXD broadband panel targets broadband, multichannel applications where the polarization ratio has not been fully decided.

MONITORING THE SIGNAL

Monitoring of these next-generation signals will be an essential part of the transition, and there’s also plenty to see in this area.

Triveni Digital will have plenty of ATSC 3.0 gear at its booth in the North Hall.

“As broadcasters transition to ATSC 3.0, the ecosystem becomes more complex, increasing the chance for video and audio quality issues,” said Ralph Bachofen, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Having an ultra-portable analysis platform like Triveni Digital’s StreamScope Portal II, which simplifies troubleshooting of DTV transport streams in both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 environments, is critical.”

Triveni is also demonstrating other ATSC 3.0 analyzers and associated gear.

Qligent will introduce Vision-ATSC, a new cloud-based solution that will simplify the transition from 1.0 to 3.0, according to Ted Korte, the company’s COO. “Since it evaluates both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 signals with the same hardware platform, broadcasters can use it to establish a baseline of ATSC 1.0 performance, and provide monitoring and oversight throughout the ATSC 3.0 transition for greater operational continuity,” he said.

The 2018 NAB Show will offer broadcasters a gateway to next-generation ATSC 3.0 television broadcasting, providing an opportunity for both learning about the technology from those professionals who helped to develop it, and for interacting with the companies who have created the equipment to deliver it. It behooves anyone interested in the future of television to spend as much time as possible in the exhibit halls and presentation rooms this year.

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

In an era of cybersecurity intrusions, Next Gen TV developers are looking at how to secure the all-IP ATSC 3.0 signals, which are a potential delivery vehicle for Internet of Things (IoT) services. Whether to fixed devices in the home, smart cars in transit, wearable products, public-space advertising or “smart city” capabilities (such as transit routing and in-vehicle infotainment), local opportunities abound, as IoT enthusiasts continue to demonstrate.

Although the emerging fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology is angling for a dominant role in IoT applications, some broadcasters see significant roles for Next Gen TV—and they recognize that security and privacy are crucial to establishing IoT services.

In addition to the wireless telco visions for IoT, Dish Networks is expected to use its spectrum assets by building a dedicated IoT network. When Dish Co-founder Charlie Ergen resigned as CEO in late 2017, he said he’d concentrate on building a NarrowBand IoT (NBIoT) network using spectrum Dish acquired in a $6.2 billion spending spree that created a near-nationwide footprint in the 600 and 700 MHz bands.

Kevin Gage, executive vice president, strategic development and chief technology officer at Sinclair-owned ONE Media LLC, told TV Technology that medical data companies have approached ONE Media “looking to pair with 3.0 to develop hybrid solutions” for keeping in touch with IoT sensors, monitoring devices and other applications. He said it was especially encouraging that new ventures are looking to broadcast bandwidth for spectrum solutions.

“We haven’t had a robust start-up community in broadcasting,” Gage observed about the legacy relationships of TV stations. “Our goals with 3.0 are to support the security needs of any new business or industry that wants to make use of 3.0 as a delivery or communications service.” He emphasized that ONE Media’s objective is to “adapt already proven and approved security solutions from new industries to 3.0.”

‘INTERNET OF THREATS’?

At the same time that the IoT business cases are being built, legislators and regulators—from Capitol Hill to the Federal Trade Commission to the National Institute of Technology and Standards, among others—are accelerating their efforts to figure out how and what they should do to assure secure use of IoT systems. On overlapping days, NIST ran its second annual workshop on “enhancing resilience” of IoT and other parts of the “communications ecosystem” while the FTC’s third annual PrivacyCom conference again featured warnings about smart TVs in the privacy/security scenario, Barely a week earlier, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) were talking up their Cyber Shield Act of 2017 (S.2020 and H.R.4163) at a Capitol Hill seminar sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute.

Collectively, the policymakers explained that they want to make sure consumers can trust IoT products and services. Markey and Lieu’s legislation would create a voluntary cybersecurity “seal of approval” (probably administered through the Commerce Department) for IoT devices; one objective is to create product labels (physical or digital) to show consumers that products—ranging from baby monitors to phones, laptops and other networked items—are safe from intrusions.

At the AEI event, Markey warned that every IoT device (which he repeatedly called “Internet of Threats”) is “something that can be compromised ... in ways that people don’t think about but they should.” He said the proposed legislation would “create a roadmap of improvements for manufacturers and their devices.”

SPECTRUMCO AFFIRMS NEED FOR SECURITY

SpectrumCo LLC President John Hane acknowledged that “some IoT applications require extremely high levels of security.”

“We expect to support industry standard security and authentication protocols, and proprietary solutions of our customers,” said Hane, who in February was hired to run Spectrum Co., LLC, the ATSC 3.0 spectrum consortium founded by Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Nexstar Media Group.

Hane said SpectrumCo’s platform will be able to enhance security in several ways. “One of the biggest challenges of IoT security is updating the firmware of so many devices in so many locations,” he said. “As vulnerabilities are found, they have to be patched, and fast. SpectrumCo’s low-band broadcast platform will allow our customers to update devices at a small fraction of the cost of cellular updates. Even where wireless or wired connections already exist, a redundant path can provide an additional layer of security.”

READY FOR IOT CYBERSECURITY CHALLENGES

Against this backdrop and the growing promise for IoT systems, ATSC 3.0 developers believe the new standard is ready to handle security challenges, according to technologists who have worked on Next Gen TV.

“ATSC 3.0 specifies use of encrypted data on the internet," said Adam Goldberg, principal of AGP, LLC and chair of the Technology Group 3 Specialist Group on ATSC 3.0 Security. “It also specifies use of cryptographic code signing which allows devices to verify that software updates (or other software) was created by trusted parties and not by hackers.”

Goldberg also pointed out that the 3.0 standard’s A/360 (“Security and Service Protection” layer) calls for use of Transport Layer Security for encrypted internet communications, “with an eye toward greenfield implementations.”

“This is useful for IoT,” Goldberg added because A/360’s code signing “is rather vital for IoT” implementations such as online updates.

Dr. Richard Chernock, chief science officer of Triveni Digital and chair of Technology Group 3, which guided 3.0 creation, also acknowledged the potential massive scale of IoT.

“IoT implies the need to communicate with a very large number of devices,” Chernock said. “When the same information needs to be sent, then broadcast economies-of-scale come into play. Sending common information to millions of devices takes no more resources than sending to hundreds of devices. This is useful for things like firmware updates.”

CHALLENGES EXPECTED

At the NIST workshop, Lisa Carnahan, Manager-Interoperability Group at NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory, urged the IoT industry to identify a model to manage and reduce cybersecurity risks, focusing on the need to align IoT security with consumer expectations and other market considerations. Warning that “the alternative is regulation,” Carnahan emphasized the value of inter-industry collaboration to understand and agree upon the approach to security protection.

Overall the NIST workshop focused on botnet threats and was part of a “conformity assessment process” as the agency prepares a report to the White House on automated threats to IoT and other systems. Other NIST speakers emphasized that the government prefers voluntary industry protections rather than regulatory mandates.

Chris Boyer, assistant vice president for global public policy at AT&T, urged the industry to create security guidelines for IoT devices, modeled on another NIST framework for cybersecurity standards. He cited the “need to do something similar to what we did for the NIST Framework for IoT, that we can promote internationally.”

“I think it’s very important to get our arms around how we deal with IoT in the U.S., because other countries are aggressively pursuing IoT standards and guidelines,” Boyer said.

As with many IoT conferences, the NIST program eventually moved toward the “liabilities”—that is, who in the value chain would bear the burden of problems created by IoT flaws or security intrusions.

[Disney Studios Partners With Accenture to Assist With StudioLAB]

Meanwhile, the Consumer Reports/Consumers Union presentation focused less on IoT than on other data-related aspects of TV technology. The presentation repeated the CU mantra that there should be greater protections from the data-collecting capabilities of smart TVs.

Katie McInnis, Consumers Union’s Washington office, explained that, “as more consumer devices contain smart or connected functionality, these devices may collect or share information in ways consumers may not expect — or otherwise limit or compromise a consumer’s control over their purchases.”

She also offered a peek at the results of the television study that Consumer Reports Online will publish later this year.

“While we will not be scoring the televisions using traditional Consumer Reports ratings,” McInnis said in prepared remarks, “we will indicate which televisions performed generally better or worse according to our metrics.”

At the AEI seminar, Rep. Lieu also called for a cautious approach to IoT regulation.

“The reason we’re not very specific in this statute is [because]... when it comes to technology, government should have a very light touch,” Lieu said, emphasizing his expectation that that industry will “self-regulate.” He explained that the voluntary program established by the proposed legislation would rely on a commission of diverse experts to set standards.

Gary Arlen is president of Arlen Communications LLC, a research and consulting firm. He can be reached atwww.ArlenCom.com

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

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COLUMBIA, MD.—The latest in a continuing series of ATSC 3.0 compatibility testing sessions, or “Plugfests,” took place in Columbia the week of March 5-9, with a focus on making sure all the pieces fit together in the portion of the transmission standard covering studio-to-transmitter links (STL) and single frequency networks (SFN).

As explained by testing leader, S. Merrill Weiss, chair of the ATSC’s STL and SFN Small Group and president of the Merrill Weiss Group LLC engineering consultancy, this round of testing is necessary to ensure everything fits together and functions properly as U.S. 3.0 deployment begins.

“The part of the system we’re testing is pretty much from the Physical Layer all the way up to the top,” said Weiss, noting that a complete end-to-end ATSC 3.0 system had been set up for the testing work.

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

“We’re using the latest versions of some of the standards, so all of the standards from the Transport Layer, at least, and probably parts of the Application Layer down through the Physical Layer, are included.”

Weiss explained that evaluation of the STL standard (A/324) was essential to ensure successful ATSC 3.0 performance at TV stations with remotely located transmission facilities.

“What makes the STL standard different from some of the others is that we’re trying to pass signals to transmitters over real-world, long-distance circuits—many of which may be less than perfectly reliable—and the [ATSC 3.0] transmission system more or less expects the delivery to be perfectly reliable; otherwise, the transmitters may have to mute for a brief period of time until [uncorrupted] data starts up again.

WHAT GOES ON AT A ‘PLUGFEST’?

“A Plugfest has several purposes,” said Weiss. “One is to prove that the standard works. Another is to find either errors in the standard or to identify places that could be written better because people may interpret them differently. It’s also to prove that the various equipment that is being built to operate with the standard works correctly.

"In the early development of the equipment there can be either mistakes made or there can be things that are obvious to the people who wrote the standard, but not obvious to the people who come at it independently and perhaps were not part of writing of the standard,” he added. “You end up with equipment that should connect together through a protocol, but something gets missed and the protocol doesn’t quite work as intended. Plugfests help find such things long before equipment gets anywhere near a broadcast operation.”

[Test We Must!]

‘IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S ALL OVER’

In light of the FCC’s decision last November to allow broadcasters to begin broadcasting in ATSC 3.0, coupled with the champagne toast at the January Consumer Electronics Show by ATSC, NAB and CTA heads celebrating the completion of the

standard, will this latest Plugfest ring down the final curtain on such events?

“No; not at all,” Weiss said. “All that [the FCC’s decision and CES ceremony] said was that the standard was ready to be released; it didn’t say it’s finished. We hope it never will be finished, so it can continue to be developed over time and keep broadcasting current with the ongoing development of technology.”

He observed that the overall standard encompasses some 20 documents, with each of those laying down a great deal of technical information and, as nothing is perfect, especially early in its existence, mistakes or problems of one sort or another are bound to be encountered.

“There have already been a number of updates to some of the standards,” said Weiss. For instance, when A/324 was published earlier this year it had some changes in it from the candidate standard and some of the systems were built to the candidate standard and didn’t include those updates.”

He noted that the week’s Plugfest testing had identified some equipment falling into this category and much of it already had been updated for further testing during the event.

“You have to understand, too, that there was a need to get systems on the air in time for the Olympics in South Korea before certain parts of the standard were completed,” added Weiss. “The updates that have happened since then are now getting folded back into that equipment. One of the things we’re trying to accomplish is to help find where changes need to be made.”

THE TESTING FACILITY

Physical space at Plugfests such as this one is typically divided into two areas or “sides,” with one portion allocated to exciters, schedulers and other transmission gear, and the other area containing demodulators and monitoring gear. Computers, prototyping setups, programmable logic arrays and a wide variety of test and measurement equipment are spread across both sides. The facility is reminiscent of a well-equipped university computer lab. A hushed stillness prevails within the room, interrupted only by an occasional instruction from the event coordinator when it’s time to enter another testing mode.

In addition to the participants from ATSC 3.0 equipment development and manufacturing entities, the guest list at this latest Plugfest also included representatives from two major supporters of the new DTV transmission standard, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, with headquarters in nearby Hunt Valley, Md., and Capitol Broadcasting Company, owner and operator of WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., which has been airing ATSC 3.0 signals on an experimental basis since June 2016.

As explained by Matt Brandes, WRAL-TV’s transmitter chief engineer, neither his company nor Sinclair were actively involved in the week-long testing, but had sent representatives to assist with the Plugfest equipment setup and teardown.

“WRAL and Sinclair provided the networking infrastructure for the Plugfest, as well as some test equipment,” he said.

[CES Marks ATSC 3.0's Prelude]

Weiss noted that Sinclair’s contribution of a network emulator was especially welcomed, as it allowed Plugfest participants to simulate real-world STL conditions in which data packets can be dropped, bit-errors added and other such transmission path signal “stressing” can take place.

“The network emulator provides us with a variety of ‘stresses’ we can put on the data,” said Weiss. “This is another important aspect of what we’re doing.”

INTERPRETATION OF THE STANDARD

Brandes added that Plugfest events also provide an opportunity to get a close-up look at 3.0 tweaks and changes that could impact his operation.

“We like to keep an eye on the standard and get information in advance so you can do the upgrades and still stay on the air,” he said. “It could be that you do an upgrade and then all of a sudden nothing works. Receivers become blind to what you’re transmitting.”

He agreed with Weiss that additional work was necessary in refining parts of the standard that could be misconstrued due to ambiguous wording.

“A lot of the stuff we’re finding is more due to interpretation of the standard than a defect in the standard itself—it’s how it’s read by different people. So that’s when they need to go back and clarify the wording to make it more obvious as to what they’re trying to do. There are a couple of places where it seems like assumptions may have been made. It leaves enough room for different interpretations.”

“The issue is that the technology can be right,” added Weiss. “but the explanation of it may not be precise enough to make sure that everybody gets it right.”

[FCC Approves Next-Gen TV for OTA Broadcasting]

The March 2018 event marks the fifth ATSC 3.0 Plugfest. Previous testing sessions were conducted in China, Korea and Hunt Valley, Md. The current testing involved 28 individuals representing some 16 broadcast equipment manufacturers or other entities involved in the production or deployment of the 3.0 standard. Participants journeyed from as far away as South Korea, Germany, France, Denmark and Canada. It was hosted by Rohde & Schwarz USA at its Columbia, Md., facility.

Companies participating in this latest Plugfest include AFT, Aircode, ATbis, Avateq, Clever Logic, DekTec, DigiCAP, Enensys Technologies, ETRI (South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute), GatesAir, KaiMedia, Lowasis, ProTelevision Technology, Rohde & Schwarz, TeamCast and Triveni Digital.

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

WASHINGTON—March 5 marks the official launch of the new ATSC 3.0 next-gen broadcast transmission standard, at least in terms of the FCC's authorization of the new voluntary rollout.

WRAL-TV Raleigh, N.C., a pioneering station in the delivery of next-generation TV, has already kicked the tires on ATSC 3.0 with the a test last month providing the first Winter Olympics broadcast in 4K HD.

The FCC still has some decisions to make about how the service will be rolled out, though it has already determined that it will be voluntary, that stations will initially have to simulcast both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 with in-market TV station partners (ATSC 3.0 is not backward compatible).

The Advanced Television Systems Committee, which came up with the technical standard, will be led by Madeleine Noland of LG Electronics, who is succeeding Triveni Digital's Rich Chernock atop the ATSC Technology Group.

['2018 Guide to ATSC 3.0' Ebook Now Available]

There is still more standards work to be done, said ATSC president Mark Richer, but the race to next-gen TV has officially begun.

The standard will allow for targeted advertising and alerts, video-on-demand, interactivity—it is an IP-based standard—and more.

The new standard, which was championed by broadcasters, emergency alert groups and the Consumer Technology Association, is expected to drive sales of 4K TVs—their higher-resolution pictures can be delivered by the new standard—and give broadcasters a competitive foothold in the interactive, targeted advertising, IP world.

A politically divided FCC voted 3-2 on Nov. 16, 2017, to allow for the voluntary rollout of the standard. That came over the objections of Democrats on the commission and in Congress, who argued that it was a gift to Sinclair or a rush to a standard that could leave viewers paying for the change through new TV's or equipment of higher cable prices.

ATSC 3.0 will allow TV stations to do geo-targeted ads and emergency alerts, video on demand and other interactive services using a broadband return path for viewers with internet access and provide those high-high definition 4K pictures.

While most of the rule took effect Monday, three portions did not because they require information collection, which must first get the OK of the Office of Management and Budget per the Paperwork Reduction Act, which requires new regs that entail new information collection to be vetted to make sure those are not overly burdensome.

So, the portions of the rule that will not become effective until OMB signs off on their info collection (and that sign-off is also published in the Register) are those dealing with simulcasting agreements between stations (sections 73.3801, 73.6029, 74.782)

[Redefining Television]

As part of the rule, stations in a market that want to roll out the transmission standard can join forces (a kind of Jack Spratt arrangement), with one transmitting both station's signals in ATSC 3.0, and the other both signals in the current ATSC 1.0 format—ATSC 3.0 is not backward compatible (it requires a new set or adapter), so the FCC wants to make sure that—for at least the first few years of the rollout—signals are available in both formats.

Broadcasters will have a chance to make a case for flash-cutting to ATSC 3.0 rather than simulcasting and Low Power TVs will be allowed to flash cut without simulcasting. MVPDs must continue to carry ATSC signals but don't have to carry the new 3.0 signals. Broadcasters can combine retrans negotiations for new ATSC 3.0 and existing 1.0 signals, which cable operators had opposed.

This story first appeared on TVT's sister publication B&C.

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

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—2018 is poised to be a big year for ATSC 3.0 and you can read about everything that has occurred and what is to come in TV Technology’s latest ebook, “2018 Guide to ATSC 3.0.”

The celebration of Next Gen TV’s official launch at January’s CES conference, what WRAL-TV has been working on in relation to the standard and a behind-the-scenes look at Sinclair/ONE Media’s ATSC 3.0 test lab are all covered by TVT’s industry experts.

To read the complete digital edition, click here.

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

RALEIGH-DURHAM, N.C.—WRAL-TV, with the help of NBCU and NAB, put on quite a display of Next-Gen TV last night at the State Club near the station’s studios.

Ostensibly, the reason for the gathering was to view NBCU’s 4K UHD HDR coverage of the Winter Olympics from PyeongChang, South Korea, being transmitted over-the-air by WRAL on Channel 39.

Jim Goodmon Jr. presenting during Next Gen TV Monday in Raleigh, N.C.

But there was far more to this event than a demo of Ultra HD. This was a public showing of a complete ATSC 3.0 ecosystem that is as well suited to delivering 4K HDR as it is to serving up mobile television, interactivity and advanced emergency alerts. In other words, next-generation TV today is delivering on its many promises—not simply in South Korea where it has been deployed to deliver that nation’s coverage of the Winter Olympics over the air in 4K, but also here in the United States.

“I think what you are seeing… is the standard has now been completed,” said NAB CTO Sam Matheny during an interview in the hallway outside the event. “It [ATSC 3.0] was finished in January. Here we are in February broadcasting the world’s largest sporting event in a demonstration like we have tonight.”

Inside, WRAL Director of Engineering and Operations Pete Sockett walked the roughly 75 people in attendance for the VIP Next Gen TV event through the demonstration. WRAL broadcasts ATSC 3.0 to Raleigh from an elliptically polarized antenna affixed 1,740 feet in the air on one of its towers in a nearby rural community, according to Sockett.

“It’s a 40kW transmitter that’s covering all of Raleigh,” he explained. “To put that into perspective, this signal is 40kW; WRAL’s main signal is a million [watts ERP].”

MORE POWERFUL & EFFICIENT

ATSC 3.0’s OFDM modulation scheme is so much easier to receive than ATSC 1’s 8VSB –even at the comparatively low power WRAL is using—that the new standard will make it possible for broadcasters to reach viewers over-the-air using smaller home antennas, on the road and even in their basements, he said.

[Next-Gen TV Using Olympic Stage as Showcase]

On two tables arranged side-by-side, the demo illustrated how the standard enables different physical layer pipes (PLPs), to deliver a high data rate bitstream to a Samsung 4K UHD HDR television using a simple Mohu Leaf antenna and a much lower data rate bitstream to deliver a highly robust 1080p signal to ordinary media tablets equipped with a Next Gen TV dongle and antenna from South Korea’s ETRI electronics institute.

“This is PLP 1, which is the enhancement layer of LDM [at] 19.5Mbps HEVC,” said Sockett during a one-on-one interview as he pointed to the Samsung UHD television. “PLP 0 [which was being received by the dongle-enabled tablets] is a robust, lower data rate [of] 4.5Mbps throughput, which is running our regular WRAL [content] HEVC encoded [and] AAC audio,” he said.

Sockett added that he has received a robust mobile signal with a tablet outfitted with a dongle supplied by ETRI (a South Korean government tech research group) at 70mph as he has driven home from the station. Jim Goodmon Sr., CEO and chairman of the board of Capitol Broadcasting Company, interjected at the conclusion of Sockett’s presentation that ATSC 3.0’s robust signal will one day put over-the-air television on mobile phones.

Recounting the failure of Mobile DTV, Goodmon reminded the room that the first go broadcasters had at delivering TV to mobile devices depended upon a separate signal, not the core ATSC 1.0 transmission, because the main signal was not sufficiently robust to be received by cell phones and other mobile platforms.

“We came up with a new plan and created another signal, and guess what the networks said,” recalled Goodmon. ‘The networks said, ‘Guys, that’s another TV station. You can’t put our stuff on that mobile signal.’”

However, with ATSC 3.0, the same type of decoder chip used in a television will be available to cell phone makers to receive the same Next-Gen TV signal, he noted. Jimmy Goodmon Jr., president and COO of Capitol Broadcasting Company, reiterated his father’s comments in an interview outside the event.

“It [the separate A/53 and A/153 signals] created a complicated, a bit convoluted, unknown ecosystem,” he said. “Mobile DTV didn’t take off because we couldn’t get the content. If we would have gotten the content out there, the chip makers would have made the chips, and I think people would have put the chips in the phones.”

The tablet portion of the demo also featured an ATSC 3.0 gateway taking in the off-air signal from a Mohu Leaf antenna and retransmitting it as a Wi-Fi signal to an ordinary media tablet.

AWARN ENABLED

Elsewhere in the room, the latest developments in advanced emergency warning (AWARN) enabled by ATSC 3.0 were on display. Created by NAB and LG for the demonstration, the setup illustrated how AWARN could be used to better inform the public in an emergency through the use of rich media informing viewers what to do and where to avoid.

“We can send all of this information [over the air]. None of this needs the internet,” said Sockett, who also pointed out how much more flexibility the new system offers over existing EAS. “Say there is a missile warning and you want to stop the missile warning—we can actually stop it,” Sockett said, referring to the recent missile false alert in Hawaii.

Pete Sockett, and the rest of the event, highlighted some of ATSC 3.0's capabilities in relation to NBC Olympics' broadcast.

At the ATSC 3.0 interactivity demo, So Vang, vice president of advanced technology for NAB, showed off the latest interface his tech team has created to give users access to Next-Gen TV’s hybrid broadband-broadcast interactivity. In keeping with the evening’s Winter Olympics focus, Vang presented an on-screen tote board used to track the medal count of nations and individual athletes that pulled data from the internet. He also showed the Next-Gen TV connected to an ATSC 3.0 gateway retrieving WRAL weathercasts from the internet, on-demand WRAL content, a WRAL-specific electronic program guide and a user account screen that allows individuals to set up their unique preferences.

[ATSC 3.0 Rollout Can Begin Next Month]

Rounding out the demo area was an ATSC 3.0 signal analysis ecosystem with equipment from a variety of companies including DekTec, Triveni and Rohde & Schwarz. “When we first started this a year and a half ago… there was a lot of guessing going on,” said Sockett. “Well this community is growing up as well, and it’s really made a difference.”

ATSC 3.0 transmission isn’t limited to Raleigh and South Korea, however. Sinclair Broadcast Group has been testing SFN transmission in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and has announced plans to do a full SFN test rollout in Dallas. NAB and CTA are on-air from a Tribune station in Cleveland; and the Pearl TV consortium is setting up a model ATSC 3.0 market in Phoenix.

“There are other stations we have talked to that have intentions of going on the air [with ATSC 3.0],” said NAB’s Matheny. “So, what I think you are starting to see is people saying, ‘OK, the standard is done. What can we do to begin deploying it?’”

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

RALEIGH, N.C.—There isn’t a bigger showcase than the Olympics to give viewers a taste of the much anticipated next generation television standard, ATSC 3.0.

A WRAL news broadcast reports on the media bus that is demonstrating Next Gen TV capabilities.

ETRI (The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute), a South Korean government-funded research institution, is showcasing Next-Gen TV by providing ATSC 3.0 receivers onboard a shuttle bus that carries international media throughout the coastal Olympic region. The ATSC 3.0 signal can be received with no cable and allows for the transmission of 4K video, provides immersive sound and object audio and can add interactive features to involve viewers in the broadcast. The bus’ ATSC 3.0 capabilities are allowing writers and reporters to keep up with the games as they travel from location to location.

[Report: South Korea Adopts ATSC 3.0] 

South Koreans are familiar with the technology already, as Korea TV began broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 in 2017. LG has also been selling TV sets with ATSC 3.0 chips in South Korea.

It’s not just in PyeongChang that ATSC 3.0 is being demo-ed. WRAL-TV, which has two news crew at the Games, is among the broadcasters viewing the demonstration aboard the media buses. The Raleigh, N.C.-based station, which began broadcasting ATSC 3.0 in 2016, is planning a demo built around NBC's coverage of the Winter Games. The NAB, NBC Universal, Samsung and LG/Zenith are also participating in the event. The demonstration will take place Monday, Feb. 19, in Raleigh.

In November 2017, the FCC voted to allow the voluntary rollout of ATSC 3.0 and as a result the forecast for consumer devices in the U.S. to receive the new signal is by 2019.

['All' LG 4KTVs in South Korea Soon to Feature ATSC 3.0] 

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

Nov. 16, 2017 could go down in the annals of the U.S. television broadcast history as a fateful day for our industry. Whether that fate leads to a reinvigoration or the death knell of broadcasting is up to us. With the official approval of ATSC 3.0 aka Next Gen TV, we enter a new era.

To paraphrase the late Tom Petty, the waiting isn’t the hardest part of this transition. Rather it was the development of the standard over the past five years that required the dedication of hundreds of engineers to create the most advanced broadcast standard in the world. But one could also surmise that the hardest part is upon us now—marketing a new technology to a public barely aware of its existence or its potential.

At the 2017 CES, LG introduced new TV sets with dual ATSC 1.0/3.0 tuners for the South Korean market. Will we see them for the U.S. market at the 2018 show next month?

Whatever you think of how the move to DTV was conducted, there was at least an acknowledgement that a government-backed transition was essential to maintaining a system that provided free access to news and information, especially during times of crisis. The ability of broadcast to operate and provide widespread information to the public during emergencies when cellular networks can break down provides an advantage that no other current communications technology can match.

Next Gen TV enters a market saturated by a plethora of media choices, some of which were still on the drawing board when development of the standard began half a decade ago. During the move to digital, broadcasters were required to publicize the transition to the public and had the backing of mandates. Now, apart from certain public service obligations and rules that require duplication of programming and information to maintain a basic service on ATSC 1.0, our industry has a lot more freedom to chart its own course.

After the FCC vote last month, the various groups involved in the development of the standard issued their usual congratulatory comments, but one statement stood out among the others as a precursor to how we could see this transition unfold. LG Electronics, one of the key players in developing the standard, said, “When there is a critical mass of ATSC 3.0 commercial broadcasting in the United States, we will be there.” Likewise, Samsung, which was also involved in the standards process, told TV Technology that “Samsung engineers played a leading role in the development of the standard, and we are well-positioned to implement it in cutting-edge consumer devices as the market develops.”

While it’s no surprise that these consumer electronics giants would take a cautionary approach towards developing ATSC 3.0-compatible devices in the near future, LG’s “critical mass” comment should serve as a warning to broadcasters that the burden is on us to provide the market for ATSC 3.0 and that the technology will have to stand on its merits alone and not rely on government mandates. At this stage “if you build it, they will come” applies more to the consumer electronics manufacturers than it does to consumers.

Will next month’s CES provide any clues on the availability of Next Gen TV devices? Most likely not; as Gary Arlen reports in his show preview, there will be plenty of “meetings” but don’t expect to see much in the way of marketable devices yet. And that makes sense; the future of ATSC 3.0 won’t rely on dedicated hardware products but rather the integration of the service into existing platforms. Despite its promise of higher resolutions and improved audio, the traditional living room television set will not necessarily play a key role in the success of ATSC 3.0.

What will play a key role is local broadcasters who will have to make the decision on whether to get onboard now or wait for the market to develop. Publicizing the potential of ATSC 3.0 will be crucial and it was somewhat disappointing that, at least in Washington, the local television stations decided that the vote for a new standard was not important enough to mention on the evening news.

While FCC Chairman Ajit Pai touted the vote as “historic,” it’s important not to forget the warnings from the dissenting commissioners. Concerns over privacy and a lack of backward compatibility that could require consumers to purchase new TV sets are legitimate and deserve careful consideration. It’s up to us to prove that such concerns will be addressed and resolved over the course of this transition.

In a final note, I would be remiss without acknowledging the individuals who helped lead this massive technological undertaking. There are far too many to mention here but it must be noted that Mark Richer, president of the ATSC and Dr. Richard Chernock, who lead the Technology and Standards Group played critical roles in managing the process and ensuring that deadlines were met. Congratulations to them, the ATSC staff and members and hundreds more involved.

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

WASHINGTON—The FCC today by a 3-2 vote along party lines authorized broadcasters to begin on a voluntary basis over-the-air transmission of next-generation television based on the ATSC 3.0 standard.

The action is widely seen as a critical milestone in the years-long effort to introduce a new over-the-air television standard that is more efficient and better positions TV broadcasters to compete in today’s digital media environment.

“Today is a promising day for consumers, an exciting day for technological innovation and a historic day for the broadcast business,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement before the commission vote to authorize ATSC 3.0.

Authorization “open[s] the door to substantially improved, free over-the-air broadcast television service and fiercer competition in the video marketplace,” he said.

The vote requires broadcasters choosing to begin voluntary ATSC 3.0 transmission to partner with another broadcaster to simulcast ATSC 1.0 service to ensure OTA viewers of legacy DTV maintain their service.

In authorizing next-gen TV, the agency is requiring 1.0 simulcasts to deliver “substantially similar” programming as the 3.0 channel for five years. However, the vote provides for certain exceptions, such as ads, promos for upcoming programs and programming features that takes advantage of new 3.0 capabilities.

The FCC vote maintains mandatory carriage rights of the legacy DTV simulcast on cable and satellite TV systems, but does not require it for broadcasters’ next-generation TV service.

The vote adds ATSC /321:2016 system discovery and signaling (bootstrap) and A/322:2017 physical layer protocol standards to the FCC rules for the purpose of interference calculation. The new rules require broadcasters use A/322 only for their primary streams and opens the possibility of sun-setting the requirement after five years.

The vote imposes the same public interest obligations required of existing TV broadcasts on next-generation TV service. It also requires broadcasters to provide on-air notifications to educate viewers about next-gen TV deployment and simulcasting.

LPTV and translator stations will be allowed on a case-by-case basis to seek waivers to the simulcast requirement if no viable simulcast partner is available.

In opposing authorization, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn took issue with the lack of backwards compatibility of the next-gen TV standard with ATSC 1.0. Consumers’ existing TVs and cable equipment “will not be able to receive a next-gen signal.”

“If you are an over-the-air viewer, you will either need to purchase a new television set or some sort of converter, and if you are a pay TV viewer you would need to purchase a new set-top box,” she said.

While acknowledging “there is a lot to be excited about” when it comes to next-gen TV, such as UHD pictures, immersive audio, advanced emergency alerts and innovative interactivity, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel echoed Clyburn’s concern about the lack of backwards compatibility with ATSC 1.0 and the cost to consumers.

“I think the way the FCC plans to proceed is no great boon for consumers: it’s a tax on every household with a television,” she said, calling upon the agency to go back to the drawing board and find “a less disruptive way to facilitate broadcast innovation.”

However, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Reilly took issue with viewing ATSC 3.0 as a tax on consumers. “I believe this item [the ATSC 3.0 authorization rulemaking] has taken great care to ensure that is not the case,” he said. “Indeed, if this is a consumer tax, so is every new tablet or smartphone a consumer decides to purchase.”

The “parade of horribles and hypotheticals” some have offered up over the past few weeks that will stem from next-gen TV authorization are “divorced from reality because broadcasters have every incentive in the world to make sure their viewers do not lose signal during and after any transition to 3.0,” said O’Reilly.

In his comments before the vote, Commissioner Brendan Carr pointed out the FCC has been “moving steadily away from dictating” use of specific technologies in the standards setting process. He pointed to the wireless sector as an example where the agency has adopted flexible-use licenses and other market driven advancements that steer clear of using specific devices.

“Today, we move slowly in that direction by allowing broadcasters to use a new standard for next-generation TV known as ATSC 3.0. By granting their request, we give broadcasters the freedom to innovate,” he said.

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

WASHINGTON—The television broadcast industry took another important step in its quest to introduce Americans to next-generation television on Thursday, Oct. 26, with the Federal Communication Commission’s release of a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at authorizing a voluntary transition to ATSC 3.0-based over-the-air broadcasting.

“This will open the door to a very exciting future for broadcast television in the United States,” said Advanced Television Systems Committee President Mark Richer.

The commission is tentatively scheduled to take up the R&O and FNPRM at its Nov. 16 Open Meeting.

The Report and Order would authorize ATSC 3.0 transmission on a voluntary basis; require broadcasters choosing to transmit next-gen television to partner with another broadcaster to simulcast ATSC 1.0; require the simulcast channel to transmit “substantially similar” programming (expect for ads, promos for upcoming programs and programming features taking advantage of ATSC 3.0 capabilities) as aired on the ATSC 3.0 channel for five years; maintain mandatory carriage rights on cable and satellite systems for the legacy DTV simulcast but give no mandatory carriage rights to next-gen TV service; and add the ATSC A/321:2016 system discovery and signaling (bootstrap) and A/322:2017 physical layer protocol standards as part of the agency’s rules for the purpose of interference calculation.

Further, the R&O would apply A/322 only to a broadcaster’s primary video stream. The agency would sunset the requirement after five years from the effective rules date unless the agency chooses to extend it.

The sunset provision is the way the agency chose to balance the competing interests of broadcasters, who sought to be free to innovate, and CE companies, which wanted to nail down A/322 to make it certain that consumers buying next-gen TVs will be able to receive ATSC 3.0 signals.

The FCC does not propose to incorporate any other individual standard making up the ATSC 3.0 suite of standards into its rule. At their own choosing, individual broadcasters are free to choose, but not required, to use other standards in the 3.0 suite.

The R&O also would exempt LPTV and translator stations from the simulcasting requirement and allow case-by-case waivers if a station has no viable simulcast partner, according to an FCC fact sheet on the agenda item. Additionally, no next-gen TV tuner mandate will be imposed on new TV receivers.

In its FNPRM, the agency will seek comment on exceptions and waivers to the requirement that ATSC 3.0 broadcasters partner with a local TV station to simulcast ATSC 1.0 as well as whether full-power TV stations should be allowed to use vacant TV channels to encourage next-gen TV use. The Further Notice also tentatively will conclude that local simulcasting should not change the “significantly viewed” status of a next-gen TV station for the purposes of cable and satellite carriage.

The proposal applies to a commercial TV station that relocates its 1.0 simulcast channel. These channels would not be allowed to seek significantly viewed status in new communities or counties. Nor would such a station lose significantly viewed status for counties and communities it qualified for before its move to a 1.0 simulcast channel, according to the FNPRM and R&O.

Mark Richer

The Advanced Television Systems Committee is “dotting the i’s and crossing the last few t’s” and expects to have the ATSC 3.0 suite of standards complete by the 2018 International CES in Las Vegas, said Richer.

Both the ATSC A/321 and A/322 are already approved and completed standards.

The FNPRM and R&O reflects a recognition that for the broadcast industry to thrive in the future it must not, by rule, be confined simply to delivery of video programming over the air, said Mark Aitken, VP of Advanced Technology for the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

“It totally leaves open opportunities outside of those seen as traditional TV broadcasting,” he said. “Automotive, IoT [the Internet of Things], broad based alerting and messaging all are possible,” he said.

NAB released a statement from President and CEO Gordon Smith in regards to the FCC ATSC 3.0 proposal:

“NAB thanks Chairman Pai and FCC staff for supporting a new, voluntary transmission standard for broadcast television. Next Gen TV will reinvent free and local TV, offering tens of millions of viewers ultra HDTV, live and local broadcasting on mobile devices, emergency alerting that will save lives and targeted advertising that will grow U.S. jobs and commerce.

“Notably, a transition to Next Gen TV requires broadcasters to use no additional spectrum. Just as American broadcasters led the world in a consumer stampede to high definition television two decades ago, we are ready to usher in a new era of broadcasting that will be pro-consumer and pro-innovation. NAB thanks the bold vision and tireless work of countless broadcast engineers and consumer electronic advocates involved in the ATSC process. We look forward to working with the FCC to ensure that broadcasters have maximum flexibility to bring the historic benefits of Next Gen TV to consumers.”

“This has been a major effort by the industry—a lot of extremely smart people and a lot of investment by the companies who supported those people—to make this happen,” said Richer. “It’s exciting personally, and the members are thrilled about where we are.”

Aitken sees the Nov. 16 agenda item to authorize ATSC 3.0 as a personal career milestone, he said.

“I have been working for this for the last half of my career—since before I came to Sinclair. Getting to this day of authorized a world class television standard is quite gratifying,” he said. 

The R&O and FNPRM are available online. 

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

(Editor's Note: The story has been updated to include quotes from Mark Aitken of Sinclair Broadcasting Group)

WASHINGTON—NAB wants to know if it was April Fools’ Day when Verizon submitted a letter to the FCC urging regulatory restrictions on broadcasters that choose to deploy services using the Next Generation TV transmission standard, ATSC 3.0. Patrick McFadden, NAB’s associate general counsel, filed an ex parte with the FCC on Tuesday, Oct. 24, in response to the Oct. 19 letter from Verizon that it says required FCC protection from local broadcasters to ensure Verizon is not “forced” to incur costs associated with carrying Next Gen signals during retransmission consent negotiations.

“It is amusing that Verizon attempts to portray itself as the powerless little guy when dealing with local broadcasters,” wrote McFadden, citing Verizon’s $250 billion in assets. “It is absurd to suggest that a company with that kind of size, revenue and market power can be “forced” by its programming partners to agree to unacceptable terms in voluntary, free-market negotiations.”

McFadden also calls it a “farce” that Verizon is saying it is concerned that subscribers need to buy new equipment to receive Next Gen signals, but that the company charges a set-top box fee to view HD content included in subscriptions.

“Verizon undoubtedly has a motive to hamstring such innovation by imposing needless and unreasonable regulatory burdens on broadcasters,” wrote McFadden. He poses that one reason for this could be that Verizon is testing its own 4K television service. “Restricting the ability of broadcasters to deliver a competing 4K service, which will require adoption of a new transmission standard, could be one strategy for stemming Verizon’s losses of pay-TV subscribers.

“We urge the commission to reject Verizon’s needlessly burdensome proposals for shackling its competitors in the market for programming delivery,” McFadden finished.

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

WASHINGTON—Next generation television is garnering a lot of attention, but one area that the National Association of Broadcasters does not understand getting attention is an alleged tuner mandate. NAB has issued an ex parte communication to the FCC saying that it and its fellow petitioners have not sought a tuner mandate for the Next Gen TV standard for either fixed or mobile devices.

Despite this, NAB says that six different parties representing wireless interests have come out and publicly opposed such an idea. The parties include Motorola Mobility; T-Mobile USA, Inc.; Ericsson; Nokia; Ethertronics, Inc.; and Qualcomm Incorporated.

“In light of the fact that NAB has never sought or suggested a tuner mandate, it is curious that some key players in the wireless industry display such great fear over the potential of increased competition for mobile video delivery,” wrote Patrick McFadden, NAB’s associate general counsel in the ex parte. “Why else would this list of companies fear a ghost? If anything, the Commission should recognize that this advocacy demonstrates the potential of Next Gen TV to create real competition in the marketplace. Indeed, it may be one of the strongest arguments for moving forward to approve the use of Next Gen TV as quickly as possible.”

The ex parte communications was sent to FCC Secretary Marlene H. Dortch.

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

AMSTERDAM—The trio of Sinclair Broadcast Group, One Media and TeamCast were singled out during the Innovation Awards Ceremony during IBC 2017 to honor the work the three had done on the Next Generation of Broadcast Platform project. The project received the Highly Commended award in the Content Distribution category.

Kevin Cage, One Media (far left), Mark Aitken, SBG (center right) and Eric Pinson (far right) receive the award for the Next Generation of Broadcast Platform project.

Conducted by Sinclair, with the support of One Media and TeamCast, this project reconsiders the traditional way of deploying and operating a Terrestrial Broadcast Network. Some differences include the “small cell” network topology approach and the implementation of a standard agnostic and centralized transmitting technology, as implemented by TeamCast.

The concept was put to the test with an ATSC 3.0 Single Frequency Network experiment in Baltimore, which began in March 2016. A first deployment began during the second quarter of 2017 with the addition of a third transmitter to help refine the field experiment and acquire the experience for a nationwide deployment.

IBC awarded the trio the award on Sept. 17.

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

CLEVELAND—Triveni Digital this week announced it has joined with NAB, the Consumer Technology Association, Tribune Broadcasting and other technology companies in setting up an operational ATSC 3.0 test station at Tribune’s WJW in Cleveland. The test station will serve as “a neutral laboratory” in the words of Lynn Claudy, senior vice president of technology for NAB. It will test “anything and everything” related to the next-generation television standard.

Triveni Digltal's StreamScope XM MT at the ATSC 3.0 Test Station WJW-TV in Cleveland.

All broadcasters and technology vendors are welcome to participate in the 3.0 test station to evaluate and experiment with the new capabilities enabled by ATSC 3.0, he said. “With companies like Triveni Digital spearheading this effort, the industry will be well-prepared to go on-air with ATSC 3.0," said Claudy. The test station is using Triveni Digital’s GuideBuilder XM signaling and announcement generator to ingest schedule updates from listing services, apply them to relevant services and output program and service guide data to multiplexers.

The setup will make it possible for WJW to test delivery of advanced electronic programming and service guides and localized emergency alerts. The company’s StreamScope XM MT is deployed to analyze ATSC 3.0 streams and data structures to detect and resolve errors quickly.

“We got our part on the air about a month and a half ago and have been working on integration with other vendors,” says Ralph Bochofen, vice president of sales and marketing for Triveni Digital in Princeton, N.J. “We have been working closely with the Harmonic team on the encoding and packager side. On the gateway side, we have been working with Enensys. We are the plumbing in between.”

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

BALTIMORE & PORTLAND, ORE.—Second rounds of ATSC 3.0 single frequency network testing are ready to begin on both the East and West Coasts of the United States, but an objection filed with the FCC by a wireless carrier may mean bumps in the road for Sinclair Broadcast Group as it awaits commission approval to expand its Baltimore-Washington, D.C., corridor trial.

Digital modulation and RF specialist TeamCast, OneMedia 3.0 LLC, and Sinclair announced on Sept. 6 phase two of 3.0 SFN tests in Baltimore-Washington. The second phase includes the addition of a Comark Parallax transmitter in Washington to the existing SFN setup, which uses a GatesAir transmitter in D.C. and an Acrodyne IOT transmitter in Baltimore. There’s a catch, however.

The second phase of OneMedia’s ATSC 3.0 SFN test includes the addition of a Hitachi-Comark Parallax transmitter in Washington, D.C., to its existing SFN setup.

“The second channel of our SFN has been delayed due to an objection filed by one of the wireless carriers,” said Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology at Sinclair. “The transmitter is installed in Washington and ready to go. But until we get past this impasse, there won’t be a second channel.”

Phase two of the test was to involve the existing transmitters, which operate on Ch. 41, and the new 3.0 transmitter operating on Ch. 43. The setup currently is being fed by a TeamCast ST2L 3.0 exciter from a NOC in Baltimore although the new D.C. transmitter remains off air for the time being.

“We put a lot of time and money into it [ramping up phase two of the SFN text],” said Aitken, who declined to identify the wireless carrier and the reason for the objection.

‘REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE’

In September 2015, the FCC granted the broadcast group Special Temporary Authority to initiate the first phase of its 3.0 SFN tests.

Phase two testing is important to Sinclair because it will allow the group to gain real-world experience with 3.0 channel bonding—something that is a key part of its plan for national deployment of the next-generation television standard.

Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group

“Our [3.0] launch model assumes a minimum of two 6MHz channels being virtually bonded to provide a seamless consumer experience,” said Aitken.

Separately from the Washington-Baltimore SFN test, Sinclair is working with “a large well-known partner” to “build out and deploy SFNs,” he said. “We will soon be announcing a project in a top 10 market where a complete [3.0] multichannel, multisite SFN will be built and deployed for the purposes of putting together consumer market trials.”

The Sinclair SFN deployment has been shortlisted for an IBC 2017 Innovation Award in the Content Distribution Category.

‘LIGHTHOUSE’ TEST

In Portland, Ore., WatchTV has been conducting what company president Greg Herman described as “a large scale 3.0 test” involving five of its stations to—among other things—test the viability of the “lighthouse concept” that would leave one ATSC 1.0 channel on air to serve existing viewers with legacy DTV while at the same time rolling out next-gen TV service.

“We filed at the end of 2016 for an experimental license and received it with some negotiations with the FCC,” explained Herman. “We have the resources to apply multiple channels to it [the WatchTV SFN test], and not just one channel.”

For its test, WatchTV is maintaining one ATSC 1.0 channel and has put four 3.0 channels on air, as well as two gap fillers for two of the next-gen TV channels, he says.

WatchTV is using the TeamCast Vortex II ATSC 3.0 exciter for its Lighthouse tests.

WatchTV, which is using the TeamCast Vortex II ATSC 3.0 exciter, has tested all ATSC 3.0 modulation schemes, including QPSK and QAM constellations, and tested indoor as well as mobile reception, he says. For the mobile test, WatchTV assembled a special transportable 3.0 receiver in a Pelican case, said Herman. “We found out that 3.0 is astoundingly good,” he said.

Indoor off-air reception was equally impressive, he added. “With an indoor antenna, several of the low-power stations [in Portland] operating at 15 kW are non-receivable in 1.0,” he said. “However, with 3.0 at 9kW, signals are eminently receivable.”

WatchTV recently submitted its test data to the commission and filed to renew its experimental license, Herman told TVT. For the second phase of its 3.0 SFN testing, WatchTV may add as many as five more gap fillers, he said.

But even if that were to never happen, Herman said he is sold on ATSC 3.0. “This is a really, really good system. It is impressive, and the people like Dr. [Rich] Chernock [chief science officer of Triveni Digital and chairman of ATSC Technology Group 3] and the rest did a hell of a job.

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

WASHINGTON—The Consumer Technology Association is joining the Advanced Warning and Response Network. CTA will collaborate with the AWARN Alliance and its Advisory Committee in the second half of the year to focus on technical and operational details of the advance alerting system.

The AWARN Alliance is creating a system that can deliver geo-targeted, rich-media emergency messages to a wide range of devices compatible with the emerging television transmission system known as “ATSC 3.0,” to include 4K Ultra HD television sets, tablets, smartphones, and connected cars. AWARN alerts will provide a major upgrade to the alerting systems now available to the American public.

Television broadcasters and consumer technology companies are planning for the voluntary adoption of Next Gen TV transmission, based on the ATSC 3.0 technical standard, pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission.

“Having CTA assume a leading role in the AWARN Alliance is a major step forward for advanced emergency alerting. CTA represents the device makers that are essential to creating the Next Gen TV ‘ecosystem’ that is the backbone for delivering the new alerts. CTA also brings enormous technical and operational know-how in helping us create the voluntary roadmap to an end-to-end system,” said John Lawson, executive director of the AWARN Alliance.

And from CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro: “The AWARN Alliance represents the market-based innovation that CTA embraces,” said CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. “CTA and the Alliance have already joined forces with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) in requesting the FCC adopt minimal new rules for the voluntary implementation of Next Gen TV. We are happy to extend that support to help bring to life one of the key public benefits of Next Gen TV: advanced emergency alerting with AWARN.”

Next Gen TV was launched in South Korea on May 31 and is on track for initial launches in the U.S. in the 2018-19 timeframe, assuming that the FCC rulemaking concludes this year as expected.

Examples of the rich media alerts enabled by the AWARN system include photos, surveillance video, storm tracks, inundation maps, evacuation routes, airborne chemical plume models, and safety instructions. The system also can provide shelter locations, hospital wait times, and other recovery information after a disaster, even if cellular networks and the electric grid are down. In addition, the system can deliver Blue Alerts and safety information such as highway hazards.

The AWARN Alliance membership includes commercial and public broadcasters who reach over 85 percent of U.S. households, the National Association of Broadcasters, LG Electronics, the Interactive Television Alliance, and a growing number of U.S. and Korean technology companies and service providers.

A new AWARN Advisory Committee of major alert originators was just announced. The Committee includes The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Weather Service, and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials.

Members of the AWARN Alliance, as of July 18, 2017:

Broadcasters (Commercial)
Capitol Broadcasting Company
Pearl TV*
Sinclair Broadcast Group

Broadcasters (Public)
Kentucky Educational Television
KPBS/California State University-San Diego
UNC-TV/University of North Carolina
WKAR/Michigan State University
WNET/New York

Technology Companies
Aircode
Airwavz
LG Electronics/Zenith
Lokita Solutions/DigiCap
ONE Media
Monroe Electronics/Digital Alert Systems
Triveni Digital

Associations
Consumer Technology Association
Interactive Television Alliance
National Association of Broadcasters

Service Providers
AEA Implementation Team
Convergence Services, Inc.
MHz Networks
Wiley Rein, LLC

* Pearl TV is a business organization of U.S. broadcast companies whose membership, comprising more than 220 network-affiliated TV stations, consists of nine of the largest broadcast companies in America including: Cox Media Group, the E.W. Scripps Company, Graham Media Group, Hearst Television Inc., Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, Raycom Media and Tegna.

Richard ChernockWASHINGTON—“The goal is in sight!” might well sum up the feelings of standards group members and others who convened at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to review and celebrate their work during the ATSC’s May 16-17 “Next Gen TV” conference.

Madeleine Noland, chair and vice chair of several ATSC 3.0 standards groups, perhaps best captured the spirit by proclaiming in her first-day welcoming address that“the standard is neigh-on finished.”
The ATSC 3.0 “Skyscraper” model depicts the amount of progress made in developing the new standard.

Click on the Image to Enlarge

Richard Chernock, chair of the standard’s TG3 technology group, on day two of the conference further reinforced the fact that the standard is nearing completion with a special “Finishing the ATSC 3.0 Skyscraper: General Contractor’s Report,” in which he described the project in terms of the construction of a 23-story high-rise structure, with each building level corresponding to one module of the standard. As illustrated in the drawing Chernock used in his presentation, 15 of the standard’s elements are now considered “finalized.” Three others have been elevated to the “proposed standards” level, and four have achieved “candidate” status, leaving only a single component—the A/323 Physical Layer Uplink/Downlink—in “draft” form.

(As it stands now, the standard is sufficiently complete to allow Korean broadcasters to launch ATSC 3.0 service at the end of May.)

MOBILE: TELEVISION’S NEW FUTURE

A common theme at the conference centered around the rising consumption of video content on small screen mobile devices. Brian Markwalter, senior vice president, research and standards for the Consumer Technology Association, reported that studies commissioned by his organization showed a significant increase during the past year in ownership of viewing devices other than conventional television sets by U.S. households. Another study flagged a significant rise between 2012 and 2016 in the viewing of video content on such devices as smart phones, laptops and tablets, while also showing a falloff in the viewing of content on conventional television receivers during the same period. In another presentation (“Checklist for ATSC 3.0 Implementation”), GatesAir’s Rich Redmond stressed the importance of transmitting a vertical signal component in order to reach mobile devices.

Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, also acknowledged the growing use of handheld devices for consuming video, stating that his company believes this is where television’s future lies.

Mark Aitken (Photo Credit: ATSC)
“We see ATSC 3.0 as a bridge to what we have consistently pointed to as a ‘mobile first’ opportunity for broadcasting,” he said. “It’s the mobile side [of the standard] that we see the most potential in, and it’s the mobile side that we are going to explore intensely.

“We look at mobile and think of ourselves as being the new mobile wireless carriers. Mobile, we believe, will become the economic enabler for massive investment in television. We’re underscoring dozens of reasons that we see mobile as the true opportunity. Our vision of a ‘mobile first’ future is in taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity with a repack and major recapitalization in the industry to move in this direction.”

Aitken observed, however, that a problem now exists in obtaining satisfactory ATSC 3.0 receiver performance in mobile environments, as the integrated circuits being used in these receivers were really designed for fixed receiver applications.

More than 200 persons packed the Ronald Regan Building’s Pavilion room for the 2017 ASTSC annual meeting.
“This is the reason that Sinclair is investing millions of dollars into the development of its own ATSC chip set,” said Aitken. “And that chip set is being built and designed fundamentally from the ground up as a ‘mobile first’ chip set.”

In response to a question from the audience, Aitken stated that to get the ball rolling on the mobile 3.0 front, Sinclair was willing to supply the chips being developed for this purpose to manufacturers who would agree to use them in their mobile products.

“We will put millions of chips into the hands of suitable device manufacturers free of cost,” he said.

THE TRANSITION TO IP
While the main focus of the conference was the ATSC 3.0 standard itself, the program also included discussions and presentations addressing the movement from SDI-based television plant infrastructures to all-IP environments. The conference also discussed methodologies broadcasters might employ in rolling out high dynamic range and expanded color gamut technologies, production of content for such HDR and ECG broadcasts.

Attendees also focused on the FCC’s stance on advanced television implementation, the value of low-power television operations in connection with the 3.0 transition, an update on the joint NAB/CTA Cleveland, Ohio field testing facility, single-frequency networks, virtual reality, 5G’s potential and the U.S. television broadcast spectrum repack.

LECHNER AWARD PRESENTATION
The ATSC annual meeting wrapped up with the presentation of the organization’s Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor Award, which this year went to the NAB’s Skip Pizzi, who chairs the ATSC 3.0 System Requirement and Program Management Specialist Group.

Skip Pizzi (center), winner of this year’s Bernard J. Lecher Outstanding Achievement Award, poses with the ATSC’s board chairman Richard Friedel (L) and its president, Mark Richer (R).
“Skip Pizzi is an outstanding leader with remarkable technical and management skills,” said ATSC president Mark Richer in presenting the award. “His enthusiasm and commitment has helped to facilitate the rapid development of the next-generation broadcast television standard.”

The 2017 ATSC Next Gen TV conference attracted more than 200 attendees from nine countries including India and Korea.

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ALEXANDRIA, VA.—ATSC 3.0 will be a suite of about 20 separate standards. The first one—describing the “entry point” into the physical layer (aka “Bootstrap”)—has been finalized and approved, and is posted on the ATSC web site. Known as A/321, it is the core physical layer specification.

The detailed description of the physical layer is found in A/322, “Physical Layer Protocol.” This is a very large (250+ page) and complex document. A/322 describes the RF/transmission system of the physical layer waveform. It enables flexible configurations of physical layer resources to target a variety of operating modes. The intent is to signal the applied technologies and allow for future technology adaptation. A/322 is currently at the Proposed Standard stage, with final approval expected this summer.

At this writing, more than a dozen other documents that describe various elements of the ATSC 3.0 system are at the Candidate Standard (CS) phase, where implementation experience is gained and the document is expanded and clarified as needed. The bulk of all ATSC 3.0 specifications have been made public for review and trial implementations. All ATSC Candidate Standards can be downloaded from the ATSC web site. See Table 1.

Table 1: ATSC 3.0 Document Status

SPECIFIED PROCESS

Working Draft documents in development include specification of the STL system, optional RF return path, runtime environment, and security provisions. In addition, a document is under development that describes the overall ATSC 3.0 system, and the components necessary to make it work.

Like any standards development organization (SDO), ATSC has a specified process for document development. Fig. 1 illustrates the major steps.

Fig. 1: ATSC document development process

The path taken by a standard from concept through to completion can vary. In general, however, the process is as follows:

1.A Specialist Group (usually with the assistance of a designated ad-hoc group of experts) develops the specification and approves it by consensus, at which point the document is forwarded to the parent Technology Group.

2.The Technology Group votes by ballot to elevate the document to Candidate Standard (CS) for a specified period of time. A two-thirds majority is required for approval. Comments are considered.

3.At or before the close of the CS period, the Technology Group votes by ballot to elevate the document to Proposed Standard. A two-thirds majority is required for approval. Comments are considered.

4.The ATSC Membership votes by ballot to approve the document. A two-thirds majority is required for approval. Comments are considered.

5.The completed document is posted on the ATSC web site as a Standard.

REACHING CONSENSUS

Reaching consensus is a key part of standards development. Consensus requires that under due process procedures, substantial agreement has been achieved among members. Substantial agreement means much more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity.

The timeline for moving a document from one step to the next varies, depending on the document itself. For most of the ATSC 3.0 specifications, a time span of about two years is probably typical. The majority of work occurs during initial document development. After that, the CS phase is probably the second most time-intensive part of the process. The intent of this multi-level approval process is to make certain that the specification is technically correct and addresses the user requirements identified before work began on the project.

Work in ATSC is open to all with a direct and material interest in the work. All ATSC Standards, Candidate Standards, and Recommended Practices can be downloaded at no charge from the ATSC Web site.

Jerry Whitaker is Vice President for Standards Development at the Advanced Television Systems Committee. 

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