BOULDER, Colo.—Public Media Venture Group and the Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) have successfully implemented DigiCAP’s Enhanced Management System (EMS) at W35DZ-D, an LPTV station serving as an ATSC 3.0 translator for public television station WCTE in Cookeville, Tenn.

DigiCAP’s EMS provides real-time monitoring and remote diagnostics for all ATSC 3.0 service passing through the station’s signal chain. The system is installed at the station’s transmitter site and is connected to DigiCAP’s operations center in Seoul. There, the system tracks key operating parameters and presents them through a user-friendly dashboard accessible to station personnel via personal computer or smartphone, DigiCAP said,

"With an upgrade path for ATSC 3.0 transport and transmission system monitoring, EMS ensures long-term sustainability for broadcasters navigating the evolving ATSC landscape," said Joonyoung Park, fellow and senior vice president at DigiCAP.

EMS is designed to scale across multi-transmitter networks. It is particularly well-suited for public television state networks, some of which operate more than 100 transmitter sites. By improving reliability, optimizing technical resources and reducing operational costs, EMS has the potential to transform how public broadcasters manage ATSC 3.0 infrastructure, it said.

“EMS has already had an impact on our operations at W35DZ-D, providing a comprehensive view of the various programming and data streams running through our signal chain, and allowing us to optimize our service by minimizing the need for costly site visits. We look forward to working with DigiCAP to expand the availability of EMS to PMVG members and to public television stations overall,” said PMVG CEO Marc Hand.

At W35DZ-D, EMS is seamlessly integrated with DigiCAP’s DigiCaster software-based ATSC 3.0 air chain. This compatibility simplified the installation process. Recognizing that public television stations use ATSC 3.0 equipment from a variety of manufacturers, DigiCAP and PMVG are exploring ways to expand EMS compatibility across the many different configurations of ATSC 3.0 deployment across the public television system, PMVG said.

“WCTE is a small public television station with a track record of big public service. Given all of the local production that we do and our very small budget, engineering resources are at a premium for us. EMS has a big impact, allowing us to do more with less,” said WCTE station manager Craig LeFevre.

This initiative is part of a RAPA-PMVG joint venture aimed at applying advanced technology developed during the ATSC 3.0 rollout in South Korea to the United States.

The focus is to develop public service applications for ATSC 3.0 that increase public service and enhance station efficiency. Other projects currently implemented or under development at the WCTE / W35DZ-D site in Cookeville include LiveCAP, an AI-driven system providing closed captions in multiple languages, and EQ4ALL, an emergency-alerting system that uses avatars to provide severe weather and other alerts in American Sign Language to deaf and hearing-impaired viewers, PMVG said.

More information is available on the DigiCAP, RAPA and PMVG websites.

BOULDER, Colo.—Public Media Venture Group (PMVG) has announced that it is now providing real-time translation of closed captioning from English to Spanish on PMVG’s NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) test bed station in Cookeville, Tennessee.

The initiative, which illustrates the capabilities of NextGen TV broadcasters to offer new services and expand available audiences, is a collaboration among DigiCAP, XL8, PMVG, the Korean Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) and PBS station WCTE.

The translation solution detects English closed captions within a television program and translates them into a selected language using an AI-powered translation engine operated by XL8. The translated closed captions are then multiplexed back to the program stream and broadcast over PMVG’s NextGen TV station in Cookeville. While the LiveCAP service offers translation to many different languages, the current initiative in Cookeville focuses on Spanish.

“It has always been the mission of public broadcasters to serve all members of their communities,” Marc Hand, president and founder of PVMG, explained. “Captioning has extended the reach of public broadcasters to hearing-impaired viewers but has—until now—only been available in English.

This new service will extend the benefits of closed captions to households where English is not the primary language.”

The translation engine incorporated into LiveCAP is provided by XL8, a Silicon Valley tech firm that is a leader in the translation field. According to Tim Jung, CEO of XL8: “Whenever human language is involved, there will be variables from specific regions or topics. The XL8 translation engine uses a combination of AI and machine learning to enable translations that can take into account local language variations. This is ideal for broadcasters who operate in unique local environments.”

The LiveCAP system uses features built into NextGen TV sets and receivers. That means consumers don't need additional hardware if they have an ATSC 3.0 receiver; they simply use the set’s accessibility menu to switch captions to a different language.

Integration of the LiveCAP system into the NextGen TV content stream is provided by DigiCAP, an ATSC 3.0 gateway supplier. “Language translation for television closed captions is not new. But LiveCAP’s use of cutting-edge large language model technology for translating captioning of ATSC 3.0 broadcasts provides highly accurate translations at a fraction of the cost of human translation,” DigiCAP Senior Vice President Joonyoung Park said. “This has the potential to expand the use of translated closed captions to new television audiences.”

To see LiveCAP in action, viewers can tune into WCTE PBS channel 35 (W35DZ-D) and select Spanish-language captioning for the primary WCTE channel (CH 35.1).

Comprised of 32 leading public-media organizations, PMVG develops scalable technology use cases to help sustain public media’s vital services in the long term.

“Many public broadcasters operate in multilingual communities where closed-caption translations could make programming accessible to more viewers,” PMVG’s Hand said. “We are excited that PMVG’s ATSC 3.0 testbed in Cookeville is where technology is being developed to extend the reach of public broadcasters to audiences that speak a variety of languages.”

BOULDER, Colo.—The Public Media Venture Group (PMVG), a business development consortium of 32 public stations, has launched NextGen broadcasting service on W35DZ-D, its low-power station in Cookeville, Tennessee. 

The launch was accomplished in collaboration with WCTE Central Tennessee PBS, a PMVG member station, which is hosting W35DZ’s transmitter and antenna at its Monterey tower location. W35DZ will bring cutting-edge ATSC 3.0 technology to the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee and Kentucky.

W35DZ will also serve as an active NextGen TV testbed to develop and demonstrate ATSC 3.0 applications and use cases, such as enhanced emergency alerting, interactive education, and datacasting, PMVG reported. 

In partnership with SpectraRep, W35DZ will host a dedicated datacasting stream for regional public officials that demonstrates the advantages of NextGen for emergency alerting and public safety. The stream will showcase NextGen TV’s ability to improve reception and data rates and to seamlessly integrate with other systems.

This project is made possible through a joint venture between PMVG and RAPA (Korea Radio Promotion Association), working alongside ATSC 3.0 solutions provider DigiCAP, project manager Jim Stenberg of Over The Air RF Consulting, and Korean manufacturer JM Broadcast which provided the W35DZ transmitter at a deep discount, the participants said. 

As previously reported, PMVG acquired W35DZ in 2022 thanks to the generosity of Jeff Winemiller (LowCountry 34 Media), who donated the construction permit and provided engineering know-how and staff to design and construct the station’s original ATSC 1.0 signal.

W35DZ’s new 3.0 signal is configured to provide a high level of resiliency, the group said. Tailored to meet the challenges of central Tennessee’s mountainous terrain, it can deliver a payload of approximately 15 Mbps per second that will reach over 466,000 residents. The station will carry WCTE’s primary feed in ATSC 3.0 and 1080p as well as additional WCTE multicast channels in both high definition and standard definition.

PMVG also announced that it is asking for proposals from equipment manufacturers and service providers who are interested in using PMVG’s ATSC stations in Cookeville and Beaufort, SC, to demonstrate innovative ATSC 3.0 technologies and applications.

Comprised of 32 leading public media organizations, PMVG develops scalable technology use cases to help sustain public media’s vital services in the long term.

HUNT VALLEY, Md.—Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) and CAST.ERA, which is a joint venture between Sinclair and SK Square, to enhance ATSC 3.0 services between Korea and the United States and expand the DDaaS (Data Distribution as a Service) platform globally.

Using NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0 broadcasts to deliver data is widely considered one of the most promising ways for broadcasters to make money on NextGen broadcasts. 

The DDaaS platform provides a broadcast backbone for wireless IP (Internet Protocol) data delivery. It harnesses a cloud-based local broadcasting management-control platform and real-time datacasting technology to meet the needs of data users. 

Sinclair, CAST.ERA and the Korea Radio Promotion Association have developed a “Broadcasting Cloud Demonstration Consortium” and will jointly present their empirical service model at NAB 2024, North America’s most prominent broadcasting technology exhibition.

Commenting on the agreement, Del Parks, president of technology at Sinclair reported that “soon we will have 30 of our initial NextGen Broadcast stations connected to our DDaaS platform so we anticipate playing a leading role in accelerating the adoption of the DDaaS business model and the continued transformation of local broadcast capabilities and our ability to serve the public, not only in Korea and the United States, but globally.”

“Through cooperation with Sinclair Broadcast Group, and CAST.ERA, we are determined to promote ATSC 3.0 services that can be utilized in both Korea and the United States,” added RAPA vice chairman Song Jung-su. “This is a pivotal step in our expansion plans.”

Kevin Gage, COO of CAST.ERA, noted that "through this MOU with Sinclair Broadcast Group, a distinguished U.S. broadcaster spearheading innovation in next-generation broadcasting services via DDaaS, and the Korea Radio Promotion Association, which provides extensive support for the activation of ATSC 3.0 services and the global expansion of DDaaS, we anticipate the realization of innovative next-generation broadcasting services shortly, underpinned by close collaboration between the two countries.”

SEOUL, South Korea—Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) and Public Media Venture Group (PMVG) have announced a two-year collaboration to examine and implement various NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, applications and use cases.

The move aims to facilitate full adoption of NextGen TV at public stations in the United States. The collaboration will leverage RAPA’s leadership as a primary architect of the NextGen TV transition in South Korea, they said.

RAPA and PMVG recently executed a Memorandum of Understanding. The two are working together to establish a 3.0 demonstration at a PMVG-owned low-power television station. The station, W35DZ-D in Algood, Tenn., was donated to PMVG in 2022 by Lowcountry 34 Media, an LPTV owner based out of Beaufort, S.C.

Constructed in collaboration with PMVG member station WCTE of Cookeville, Tenn., W35DZ-D will serve as a platform to showcase the capabilities and benefits of ATSC 3.0 technology. These use cases and applications will be designed to be replicated and expanded to stations throughout the public media system, PMVG said.

RAPA has designated DigiCAP, an ATSC 3.0 solution provider based in Seoul, to provide the necessary technology solutions for the demonstration station. DigiCAP will collaborate with PMVG to set up the Cookeville station and work with PMVG and RAPA to develop the applications and use cases that will run on top of the demonstration station.

PMVG and RAPA will also collaborate on securing deployment capital, equipment and new partnerships. The Cookeville demonstration station is slated to launch in August 2023.

“We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with RAPA, DigiCAP, and WCTE Cookeville,” said PMVG CEO Marc Hand. “This collaboration will showcase the full capabilities and benefits of NextGen TV and help pave the way for new, vital business applications to sustain public media and to enable an exciting range of new services to local communities.”

More information is available on the PMVG website.  

SEOUL—South Korea’s Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) has planted an ATSC 3.0 flag on Jeju Island as it will open an ATSC 3.0 testing facility that will be open to international broadcasters, telecoms, broadcast equipment vendors and more in 2020.

Thus far, RAPA has taken steps to set up the testbed on the island, earning approval for an experimental license from the Korean Communications Commission to permit ongoing testing; acquired NextGen TV transmitters and other RF equipment for trials; rolled out some single frequency network sites; and secured a variety of 3.0 consumer receivers.

“We want to offer facilities to enable evaluation of future-oriented service models that can be tested and verified,” said Jay Kangok Jeon, RAPA communications manager.

Back in November 2019, Jeon described this testbed as an “ATSC 3.0 Theme Park” and revealed that mobile telecommunications service providers, three TV broadcasters, consumer electronics companies and South Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute have already utilized it.

As the testing facility looks to expand, including the addition of two more SFN transmitter sites, RAPA is now inviting interested parties from around the world to use its facilities.

“If you are broadcaster—from a U.S. stations group, for example—you are welcome,” Jeon said. “If you are a consumer electronics company, even one that’s not a Korean company, that’s fine. If you are a technology supplier not originally from Korea, the facility is open to you … If you are involved in non-commercial R&D and want to test and verify technology, we want you to use this facility.”

According to RAPA, it’s goal is to offer a world class, open testbed that proves out NextGen TV service models, test interoperability of 3.0 equipment, allows for 3.0 researchers to verify their work and helps the overall 3.0 ecosystem with current and future standards.

RAPA is not charging for the use of the facility on Jeju Island, but all interested parties must pay for their own flights as well as arrange for any broadcast equipment required other than the existing 3.0 transmission equipment.

More information is available at RAPA’s website.

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