ATSC 3.0 deployments are booming in the U.S. and evolving past the trial phase onto the monetization stage. While the benefits of NextGen TV have been explored extensively, the broadcast community needs a better understanding of ATSC 3.0 business continuity and post-transition strategies. 

To successfully support new business models such as datacasting services and targeted advertising after migrating to ATSC 3.0, it is important to implement redundancy mechanisms, deliver both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 services, and deploy an overarching orchestration system integrated with the billing environment.

Why Reliability is Critical Post-Transition
According to Pearl TV, the broadcaster group promoting the NextGen TV standard, 75 % of U.S households will have access to ATSC 3.0 by the end of 2023. One of the primary reasons why U.S. broadcasters have deployed NextGen TV is to deliver superior audio and video to viewers, while also enabling better TV reception.

With many stations now in the post-transition phase of ATSC 3.0,  it’s time for broadcasters to start tapping into the new business models enabled by NextGen TV. Leveraging a combination of over-the-air and broadband delivery systems, broadcasters can offer interactive content, innovative service guides, targeted advertising, datacasting services, and more. However, the successful delivery of these advanced TV offerings hinges on quality of service and reliability.

Executing Redundancy Strategies in the 3.0 Environment
Deploying an automatic switch-over system is a simple way that broadcasters can minimize service outages, reduce ad revenue losses, and keep broadcasts running smoothly. Moreover, implementing a dual broadcast chain with all of the necessary ATSC 3.0 delivery components, including encoders, monitoring systems, broadcast gateways, transmission paths, and more,  will guarantee uptime. 

In addition, monitoring NextGen TV streams in real time is vital to assuring a high quality of service. With a state-of-the-art monitoring solution, broadcasters can analyze multiple delivery points to assure a high quality of service for NextGen TV, while increasing operational efficiencies. 

Real-time monitoring systems allow broadcasters to keep an eye on ATSC 3.0 streams and create rules-based notifications to pinpoint and rapidly troubleshoot NextGen TV service quality issues for optimal viewing experiences. It’s important to choose a monitoring solution that supports both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0, as broadcasters will be delivering both services for the foreseeable future.

It is also recommended that broadcasters adopt an orchestration system to oversee the entire ATSC 3.0 broadcast chain. The purpose of the orchestration system is to simplify network operations and management through orchestration, automation, and analytics. An orchestrator also accelerates the process of configuring and monitoring different systems in the broadcast chain through a single interface. 

For example, if an ATSC 3.0 monitoring system detects an issue with the NextGen TV broadcast, it will notify the orchestration system. The orchestration system will then decide whether to switch over from the primary ATSC 3.0 to the backup. Orchestrators essentially automate the entire broadcast environment and minimize human interference in the event of a failure to reduce downtime and lost revenue.

Broadcasters have multiple redundancy deployment options. A backup broadcast system can run on-premises or in the cloud as a SaaS. Both deployment possibilities provide distinct advantages. With an on-site redundancy system, broadcasters gain additional control, while cloud implementations are faster to set up. 

Real-World Success 
ARK Multicasting is a prime example of a nationwide data delivery provider that has seen monetary success leveraging ATSC 3.0. The company has approximately 300 low-power television (LPTV) licenses throughout the United States, putting it in the ideal position to offer datacasting services to millions of households. 

ARK Multicasting’s LPTV stations offer advanced datacasting services, supporting categories such as remote learning, connected car and autonomous vehicles, cloud services and consumer edge data centers, streaming OTT providers, internet service providers, the gaming industry, and more. ARK Multicasting has been able to reliably deliver datacasting services thanks to its fully redundant system that includes a NextGen TV broadcast chain, ATSC 3.0 monitor, and orchestrator. 

To reap the most revenues in a post-ATSC 3.0 deployment environment, broadcasters must have a redundancy plan in place, including automatic switch-over systems, dual broadcast chains, an orchestrator, and state-of-the-art monitoring. By delivering reliable ATSC 3.0 services, stations can ensure an outstanding quality of service for NextGen TV and maximize monetization.

A leader in ATSC 3.0 solutions, education, standardization, and implementation, Triveni Digital is leading the charge for delivering revenue-generating, advanced ATSC 3.0 services. The company’s end-to-end ATSC 3.0 offering is fully redundant and integrated with one of the world’s leading orchestration systems, empowering today’s broadcasters as they operationalize NextGen TV.

TV TECH: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2022 NAB Show?

RALPH BACHOFEN: ATSC 3.0 is now broadcasting in more than 40 markets covering 45% of the U.S. population, and NextGen TV is expected to reach 75% of U.S. households by the summer. As ATSC 3.0 deployments ramp up, we expect NextGen TV will be a hot technology topic for attendees at the 2022 NAB Show. Datacasting applications within the ATSC 3.0 realm, in particular, will be a key trend as broadcasters look to drive new revenue streams.

TVT: What will be your most important product news?

BACHOFEN: A major highlight at the 2022 NAB Show will be our SkyScraper XM Datacasting System for ATSC 3.0. SkyScraper XM supports standard content distribution and private NRT distribution applications over ATSC 3.0, with optimized data delivery features such as Opportunistic Data Insertion and statistical multiplexing over hybrid over-the-air and broadband delivery systems. We will demonstrate the SkyScraper XM system with a variety of receivers, showcasing its unparalleled scalability and efficiency for delivering advanced, revenue-enhancing datacasting services. 

We are also bringing the new StreamScope XM ATSC 3.0 Monitor to the 2022 NAB Show. The ATSC 3.0 professional monitoring, auditing and logging system plays a pivotal role helping broadcasters deliver a high quality of service for NextGen TV, while increasing operational efficiencies.

TVT: How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?

BACHOFEN: Our SkyScraper XM content distribution system is one of the industry’s first NextGen TV datacasting solutions. It has been successfully deployed by leading broadcasters and universities with living ATSC 3.0 labs in North America, including the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, the largest college in Canada. Our SkyScraper XM system is built upon decades of datacasting innovation from the ATSC 1.0 environment.

TVT: How has the Covid pandemic affected your company's business over the past two years and how will it impact how you exhibit at this year's show?

BACHOFEN: Thankfully, the COVID-19 global health crisis did not significantly alter the way we operate as a company. The biggest impact was not being able to visit with customers and partners in person, due to travel restrictions. We found innovative ways to work with our customers remotely to ensure a smooth ATSC 3.0 transition.

While we look forward to meeting everyone face to face at the 2022 NAB Show, our company is committed to the safety of our employees and customers; therefore, we’ll likely send fewer people to the show than in previous years.

Broadcasters in the U.S. are rapidly migrating from ATSC 1.0 to NextGen TV. With ATSC 3.0, broadcasters have the ability to transform the television experience, offering better reception, higher quality video and audio, interactivity, innovative service guides, datacasting and a host of other exciting new features to viewers and business partners. 

However, the transition to ATSC 3.0 is complex, especially concerning the intricacies of channel sharing agreements. Stations in a local market must work together to determine the details of service level agreements, network clearances, hosting agreements and more. Once the legalities are agreed upon, there are still several challenges broadcasters face from a technical standpoint. 

As a leading provider of ATSC 3.0 solutions, with a comprehensive understanding of the ATSC 3.0 environment and extensive real-world deployment expertise, Triveni Digital has gained significant practical experience in NextGen TV. Let’s look at the essentials of ATSC 3.0 deployments and key discussions that need to take place in a channel sharing environment.

EXAMINE INTERMARKET DISTRIBUTION VARIABLES

An important conversation that needs to take place between TV stations is who does what. Stations need to decide who will distribute what programs within the designated market area (DMA) and in what quality before they can proceed with delivering NextGen TV. This is essential for establishing Service Level Agreements (SLAs), bandwidth utilization, rating measurement and translation tools. It’s common for one station to act as host and receive downstream information from other stations. Beyond choosing the host station, determining the intermarket distribution variables can be challenging for various reasons. 

One issue is bandwidth limitations. A common scenario is for station A to have a subchannel that will be distributed by station B. This begs the question whether station B has enough bandwidth to distribute the subchannel and at what quality of service. Will the subchannel be available in HD? Will it be 720p or 1080p? 

The conversation might then evolve into how to get programs from one station to another. A reliable communication such as fiber link or microwave is recommended. If the stations are not already connected, they could utilize an internet service provider to transport uncompressed audio and video over the network from point A to point B.

CHECK TRANSMISSION READINESS

In a channel-sharing environment, it’s critical to ensure the transmitter is ATSC 3.0-ready. While some stations may have already upgraded their transmitters during the repack, it’s still necessary to check with transmitter and exciter vendors to confirm licenses are up to date for ATSC 3.0 service delivery. If this step is forgotten during the preparation time frame, the launch of ATSC 3.0 services could be delayed.

During this phase, broadcasters should also test whether facilities are equipped to handle the power levels required for ATSC 3.0 transmissions. A common situation is for a low-power broadcaster to become an ATSC 3.0 host station. To extend their reach to more households, the station must increase its transmitter power.

CONFIGURE THE ATSC 3.0 BROADCAST CHAIN

Correctly installing and configuring the ATSC 3.0 broadcast chain is another essential step. The ATSC 3.0 broadcast chain comprises a wide range of equipment, including an ATSC 3.0 transport stream encoder, video/audio encoders, packagers and a broadcast gateway/scheduler. It’s important during setup to deploy a broadcast stream analyzer, stream verification software and more. In the deployment phase, an end-to-end service monitoring solution is needed. 

Configuring the ATSC 3.0 broadcast chain is important to ensure that ATSC 3.0 delivery components, such as multisubframe and multi-PLP delivery, as well as interactivity, work smoothly. Here are a few tips for configuring the ATSC 3.0 broadcast chain:

• ATSC 3.0 stations should define the number of services within the MODCOD (modulation and coding). This involves configuring the broadcast chain to ensure RF is optimized for each transmission.  
• Consider that there are multiple physical layer pipes (PLPs) in an ATSC 3.0 channel sharing environment. Some broadcasters may want to handle their own PLP to maintain control over their broadcast, which needs to be defined. Additionally, stations may want to create a second PLP to use in a more robust (i.e., mobile) environment in the future. This should be outlined clearly between all of the channel sharing stations to guarantee optimal bandwidth use. 
• Furthermore, stations must examine their PSIP generators and configuration. By moving ATSC 1.0 programs to other ATSC 1.0 lighthouses, PSIP configuration changes are needed, and additional PSIP licenses might be necessary. To move one program from station A to B, PSIP needs to be modified. 
• It’s up to each station to decide if they want to implement content security or signing. Those stations that choose to implement content security and signing have to perform a test with an encryption company and the ATSC 3.0 broadcast chain provider to ensure it works smoothly and accurately.  
• Another vital question for stations to ask is whether they want to support optional broadcast applications, such as virtualization or interactivity. When ATSC 3.0 is more commonly deployed, these applications will allow stations to fully personalize and brand their broadcast transmission. 
• Lastly, to optimize bandwidth usage, utilizing an encoder and packager that supports statistical multiplexing, in coordination with the transport stream encoder, may be advantageous in the transition phase. As stations add more services, subchannels and data delivery in the future, statmux will continue to be essential for boosting bandwidth utilization efficiency. 

TEST SYNCHRONIZATION AND TIMING

Synchronization and timing are imperative in the ATSC 3.0 environment since the entire workflow is IP-based. There are many stations that currently rely on GPS. However, GPS isn’t effective if the equipment is running in the cloud. Even a slight difference between the two clock references can cause the lip sync or EPG timing to be off, resulting in service degradation. To confirm the broadcast gateway and exciter are in sync, stations need an accurate clock reference. An NTP or PTP external synchronization reference will avoid timing issues that can affect service quality. 

CONCLUSION 

The final step for ATSC 3.0 channel sharing stations is to test ATSC 3.0 service delivery. At least one of the stations involved in a channel-sharing agreement should have an ATSC 3.0 broadcast stream analyzer to monitor the real-time behavior of ATSC 3.0 service delivery, as well as verify that broadcast applications are showing up properly. 

The ATSC 3.0 environment is infinitely more complex than ATSC 1.0, but the result is highly rewarding: ATSC 3.0 stations can support innovative service guides, addressable content delivery, interactive program enhancements and data broadcast applications. By partnering with a technology provider that offers interoperability with third-party technology vendors and experience in NextGen TV deployments, stations can streamline the transition and start delivering better TV. 

Ralph Bachofen is vice president of sales and marketing at Triveni Digital.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Rapid acceptance of IP video is driving many changes to traditional test and measurement equipment. There will always be the need for familiar quality control devices like waveform monitors and vectorscopes, but studios and content creators today also need the ability to examine the data they generate — and that data is increasingly distributed at blindingly fast speeds.

Couple that with the LCD/LED and microprocessor revolutions, and a lot of today’s test gear looks nothing like what was used 20 or 30 years ago. As dedicated video distribution facilities (think SDI) are replaced by IP networks, test gear manufacturers are sprinting to keep up with the new measurement realities — often coming up with innovations in the size, capabilities and performance of the latest test and measurement products.

“The test requirements for SDI systems are relatively well known and documented,” said Ian Valentine, business director for the video product line for Beaverton, Ore.-based Tektronix. “However, as the industry transitions to IP-based technologies, a whole series of new measurements is required to understand what is happening on the network during the transmission of packets containing video, audio and metadata. This includes packet loss, packet jitter, RTP sequence errors, and packet timestamp delay factors to mention a few.”

IP VIDEO TRANSPORT STANDARD

The recently developed SMPTE 2110 standard for IP transmission of professional video, audio and data is a big reason why there is a need for IP test gear in a television environment.

“There are a whole series of measurements around the timing of video, audio and data against PTP [precision time protocol] to keep the network synchronized,” Valentine said. “Timing is particularly important when dealing with the SMPTE 2110 standard where the video, audio and data essence is all sent in separate streams. Being able to test the integrity of the separate data paths is essential to ensuring that transmission reliability is maintained.”

With 12G-SDI and the latest high-speed Ethernet networks, even the most mundane basics have to be reconsidered. Take, for example, the BNC connector.

“As the industry transitions to IP-based technologies, a whole series of new measurements is required.” —Ian Valentine, Tektronix

“The BNC connector that the industry has used for more than 50 years is a spring-loaded bayonet — and using the real-time eye capabilities of the Phabrix Qx, you can see that this technology is right on the limit simply by touching and waggling the BNC connector and cable,” said Prinyar Boon, product manager for U.K.-based Phabrix. “Around 10mV signal amplitude variation is typically observed per connection. Return loss requires serious consideration and the extremely high rise and fall times specified can result in significant eye degradation with small changes in geometry. The good news is that correctly designed interfaces are very robust and reliable, and will operate at all SDI rates from SD through to 12G.”

‘DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL’

BNC connectors are just the tip of the iceberg.

“At a very high level, going from 3G-SDI to 12G-SDI is the same, only faster — but the devil is in the detail,” Boon said. “However, the bandwidth change from 3 GHz to 12 GHz, or more typically 1.5 GHz to 12 GHz, means that 12G-SDI is much harder to implement. Components, printed circuit board material, stack buildup and physical layout all have to be remodeled, reselected and re-optimized. Even the bond wiring within an IC [integrated circuit] now has a significant impact on performance, and the latest generation of ICs are looking to use flip-chip technology to overcome this.”

Once the signal leaves the broadcaster’s facility and heads toward the viewer, IP distribution networks outside the studio are different in many ways from those inside.

“The main idea is to take a holistic view to analyzing the end-to-end content delivery chain, looking at the whole picture to determine the ‘cause-and-effect’ of any issues rather than simply isolated parameters here or there,” said Ted Korte, chief operating officer for Melbourne, Fla.-based Qligent. “Each method of content distribution — from ATSC 3.0 broadcasts to OTT delivery — has its own vital metrics, but it’s important to evaluate everything ranging from low-level quality-of-service metrics [which are very signal-specific] to humanly-perceivable QoE metrics.”

One popular way of television distribution has long been the cable TV industry, which has adopted hybrid-fiber/coax technology to deliver both traditional cable TV channels and broadband service. The standard for interleaving cable TV and bidirectional data on the same network is called DOCSIS (data-over-cable service interface specification), which is now up to DOCSIS 3.1 Full-Duplex.

[Read: NAB Show Product Review — Signal Processing & Analysis]

With cable networks supporting bandwidth from 0 Hz to 1.2 GHz, it is a tough job to test and validate their performance. Rohde & Schwarz is one company that has a test set that can be used to test and maintain performance on DOCSIS cable networks, going up to 1.8 GHz for downstream signals to the home.

WHAT’S IN THE FUTURE?

There is a lot going on with technology in the television industry, so what looks to be one of the trends for test and measurement gear in the next couple of years?

“From [our] perspective, ATSC 3.0 will gain momentum over that timeframe,” said Ralph Bachofen, vice president for sales and marketing at Princeton, N.J.-based Triveni Digital. “This, of course, will include HDR and other advanced technologies and protocols as part of the migration. This makes it critical using a flexible test and measurement solution that can adapt based on market changes and advanced applications.”

On the production side, it’s clear that 4K is the target standard for production and its associated test devices.

“We see a demand for UHD/4K 3G- and 12G-SDI based systems,” Boon said. “With the 2018 Winter Olympics, Royal Wedding and 2018 World Cup all being shot and now distributed live in UHD HDR, there is clear proof that the technology is viable. Simultaneously shooting live productions in both conventional standard dynamic range [ITU-R BT.709] and HDR [ITU-R BT.2100] with wide color gamut poses its own set of challenges. This is particularly true with a mix of SDR/709 and HDR/2100 sources, be they cameras, replay systems or graphics devices.”

Every part of the production chain will need to be monitored to maintain the pristine quality to which viewers have become accustomed.

“Successful production of HDR/WCG content requires the right tools and new measurement techniques,” Valentine said. “Camera setup, for example, is more crucial than in the past given the risk of creating issues (e.g., noise in dark areas) that can’t be fixed in post-production. New techniques are also required to monitor the various camera log formats and conversion to PQ (perceptual quantizer) or HLG (hybrid-log gamma). HDR/WCG content production is the future.”

This is just a quick look at the corner of the industry dedicated to test and measurement, but it demonstrates how new standards bring new methods to examine and maintain the quality of those standards.

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TV TECHNOLOGY:What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trend at the 2018 NAB Show?

RALPH BACHOFEN: For broadcasters, the biggest trend is ATSC 3.0. The next-generation broadcast television system was approved in October 2017 and we are already seeing broadcast television stations successfully rolling out ATSC 3.0 broadcasts without disrupting service to existing TV viewers.

At the 2018 NAB Show, you can expect to see technologies that offer support for ATSC 3.0, allowing broadcasters to deliver innovative services, such as modernized service guides, emergency communication support, addressable content delivery, interactive program enhancements and data broadcast applications. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that the transition to ATSC 3.0 will be gradual. Broadcasters should choose technologies that support both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0.

TVT:What will be your most important product news?

BACHOFEN: A key highlight will be ournext-generation StreamScopeanalyzer—the StreamScope MT-60. The StreamScope MT-60 platform now supports a comprehensive toolkit for advanced RF input analysis. Using the MT-60, RF input performance characteristics can be assessed and verified in several new views, including 6 MHz single channel, 18 MHz adjacent channel and full 1 GHz spectrum. Critical RF measurements in these views allow users to quickly identify and isolate RF layer performance issues. What’s especially unique and advantageous about the MT-60 is that it can be upgraded to add ATSC 3.0 analysis capability with StreamScope XM MT software.

We will also demonstrate how the latest version of Triveni Digital’s GuideBuilder XM signaling and announcement generator, with support for ATSC 3.0 MMTP and ROUTE encoding protocols, is helping broadcasters with channel sharing and ATSC 3.0 preparations. GuideBuilderXM offers unified functionality per ATSC 3.0 standard, along with support for legacy standards such as ATSC 1.0 PSIP and DVB-SI. Using GuideBuilder XM, broadcasters can automatically ingest schedule updates from all popular listing services, apply them to any number of services and output program and service guide data to third-party multiplexers.

TVT:How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?

BACHOFEN: Triveni Digital is one of the only digital TV metadata management, content delivery and service quality assurance solutions providers offering full-fledged support for channel sharing, the repack and dual-standards broadcasting. As an established leader in the market, Triveni Digital offers reliable and cutting-edge metadata generation, transport stream analysis, monitoring and troubleshooting solutions, with an entire ecosystem of ATSC 3.0 partners.

What’s more, our solutions have successfully been deployed by broadcasters testing out ATSC 3.0, including Capitol Broadcasting Co., owner and operator of WRAL-TV, WRAZ-TV and WILM-TV in North Carolina, which broadcast the first live commercial ATSC 3.0 simulcast in the United States and WJW-TVin Cleveland. WJW-TV is using Triveni Digital’s GuideBuilder XM ATSC 3.0 signaling and announcement generator and StreamScope XM MT monitoring and analysis system to test interoperability and performance of ATSC 3.0 television operations.

TVT:What is it about the NAB Show that brings you back every year?

BACHOFEN: The NAB Show is a great opportunity to meet with potential and existing customers, showcase our latest metadata management and service quality assurance innovations and demonstrate the fruits of our labor with technology partners. Getting face-to-face time with broadcasters is a learning experience, in terms of collecting feedback from our customer base. Listening to the needs of our customers is what has helped Triveni Digital be a leading technology provider to the broadcast market for more than 20 years.

PRINCETON, N.J.—The 2017 PBS Tech Conference will get a glimpse into the next generation of television standards, ATSC 3.0, via a speaking session from Triveni Digital’s Vice President of sales and marketing, Ralph Bachofen. The session will examine the details of the signaling and announcement standards that make up ATSC 3.0, with a focus on data structures, their interrelations and how they are expected to be used by receivers.

“Simulcasting ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 will take a significant amount of effort by broadcasters to maintain both signaling and announcement protocols,” said Bachofen. “During this speaking session, I’ll provide attendees with a thorough evaluation of the ATSC 3.0 protocol stack, with a focus on how each layer impacts signaling and announcements and the steps that broadcasters will need to take to ensure flawless delivery of program guide information.”

The session is scheduled to take place on April 20 at 2:30 p.m. in room Roman 1 at Caesar’s palace in Las Vegas.

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