PRINCETON, N.J.—The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new patent (patent number US 12,464,196 B2) to Triveni Digital and Device Solutions for ATSC 3.0 receivers.

The patent demonstrates how the ATSC 3.0 receiver can be used for emergency alerts, thereby improving timeliness and availability of potentially lifesaving information, the companies said.

The patent receiver:

• Analyzes the contents of a custom-defined emergency paging dispatch channel within the ATSC 3.0 broadcast signal.
• Filters data specific to the intended receiver.
• Extends battery life.

The technology leverages ATSC 3.0 infrastructure to distribute dispatch data to first responders, sidestepping the problems associated with transmitting to today’s emergency pagers. The ATSC 3.0-based approach extends coverage, increases reliability and improves latency, they said.

“Together with key partners Triveni Digital (Mark Corl), PBS-NC (Chris Pandich and Fred Engel) and the First Responder Emerging Technologies Program at the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (Red Grasso), we have demonstrated that ATSC 3.0 datacasting can provide first responders with a secure and effective secondary communication channel,” said Tony Sammarco, director, product technology strategy for Device Solutions.

“Supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), live tests with firefighters proved the technology increases situational awareness. The system transmits critical emergency paging data over a secure ATSC 3.0 channel, which does not interfere with HD video broadcasts. Our paging receivers and smartphone applications then alert the appropriate responders, complementing their existing radio and cellular technologies.”

Saying the patented technology demonstrates how Triveni Digital’s 3.0 expertise combined with the “specialized knowledge” of its partners can “achieve breakthrough, mission-critical applications” with the broadcast standard, Mark Simpson, company president and CEO, called the achievement “another powerful demonstration of how ATSC 3.0 technology and our nation’s resilient broadcast infrastructure can deliver real-world improvements for emergency and first responder communications.”

Review the patent online.

More information is available on the Triveni Digital and Device Solutions websites.

ATLANTA—Atlanta DTH (ADTH) has announced that it is restocking its popular NextGen TV set-top receiver this week as broadcasters in New York City begin NextGen TV transmissions in the USA’s largest media market. 

The ADTH NextGen TV Box is a fully NextGen TV certified and A3SA security verified and will shortly be shipping to pre-order customers. The box is in production with second-round deliveries commencing this week, the company said. 

“ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV transmission coverage continues to expand rapidly across the USA, offering viewers greatly enhanced picture and sound quality,” says Ivy Shou, president of Atlanta DTH. “Our NextGen TV Box is a compact set-top unit at very affordable price point – just $89.99. Connecting easily with any home TV set with an HDMI input, it allows viewers to experience the breathtaking quality of NextGen TV transmissions, including immersive audio. The ADTH NextGen TV Box can accommodate both High Dynamic Range (HDR) and future 4K Ultra HDTV broadcasts to offer viewers significantly greater image detail and color depth. Sports followers in particular will appreciate the ability to see detail from shaded areas of stadiums at the same time as brightly lit sky.”

ADTH noted that more than 70 markets across the U.S. now have at least one station transmitting a NextGen TV service. NextGen TV is already accessible in 70 percent of homes across the USA and expected to reach virtually every household in the coming year. ATSC 3.0 services have also been introduced in Jamaica and South Korea.

The ADTH NextGen TV Box allows ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 1.0 free-to-air television programs to be viewed on any HDMI-compatible TV display. Housed in a compact unit designed to fit beneath or alongside the display, the receiver provides Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi, HDMI, S/PDIF digital audio and RCA connectivity. Other features include an electronic program guide and parental controls. Dolby AC-4, audio description and closed captions can be activated to support viewers with impaired hearing.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Next-gen RF integrated circuit supplier SiTune has released STN61M0 silicon, an ultra-low power mobile ATSC 3.0 TV tuner for mobile and handheld devices.

"Drawing on our wealth of RF expertise and silicon and systems experience, we have been able to address power requirements and challenging performance criteria of mobile TV receivers,” said Marzieh Veyseh, chief product officer at SiTune.

According to the company, the new offering is the first single-chip ATSC 3.0 mobile tuner that supports high-quality video and audio reception in a mobile environment where signal power can change quickly and doppler effects are present.

The new chip assures co-existence with current LTE reception in the 600 MHz to 700 MHz band, the company added.

Capable of tuning channels between 90 MHz and 858 MHz while consuming only a small amount of power, the chip supports other terrestrial standards, including DVB-T/T2, ISDB-T and D-TMB.

SiTune hopes to leverage the desirability of offloading distribution of one-to-many video content in a 5G world to the terrestrial broadcasting environment of the IP-based ATSC 3.0 standard.

“5G broadcasting is aiming at creating an opportunity for TV broadcasters to broaden their reach and target more users. However, the not-so-radical idea of offloading content to [a] terrestrial IP-based ATSC 3.0 network will be the facilitator for delivering high-quality streaming content, such as live sports events, to mobile consumers. SiTune's STN61M0 facilitates just that as well as delivering the promise of supporting mobile TV broadcast via traditional digital TV broadcasting,” said Veyseh.

The new mobile tuner chip is not the company’s first foray into ATSC 3.0. In September, SiTune announced it had shipped more than 2 million silicon 8K tuners (the STN6528) with multistandard tuning capability, including support for ATSC 3.0.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

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

SEATTLE—Bonnie Beeman and John Casey, two industry veterans with a history of developing new technology for over-the-air DTV, recently formed “airwavz.tv,” which they describe as a “full-service multimedia platform” offering solutions for web, hardware, mobile and DTV. Beeman and Casey recently debuted the company’s first hardware product, called “Quarterback,” an Android smartphone case that doubles as an ATSC receiver, at the NAB Show and last month’s annual ATSC meeting in Washington, D.C.

Airwavz.tv CEO Bonnie Beeman demonstrated the Quarterback smartphone antenna at the annual ATSC meeting in Washington D.C. in May.

TV Technology recently talked with Beeman on the development of the Quarterback and her company’s philosophy on the future of over-the-air broadcast television in the U.S.

TV TECHNOLOGY:What inspired you to develop Quarterback?

BEEMAN: Not having a wireless connection during life and death events was my inspiration for creating Quarterback. Between 2012 and 2014, I was commuting between Seattle and Cambridge to finish grad school at MIT, and there happened to be three catastrophic events that hit the Boston area while I was in town: Hurricane Sandy, Storm Nemo and the Boston Marathon bombings. During each of these disasters, local cellular service was taken out of commission for an extended period of time.

During these emergencies, television broadcast never went off-air, and I started thinking that since my smartphone still had battery, and a high-resolution screen, how could I harness the reach of broadcast television on my mobile? I came up with the idea for Quarterback during grad school, and decided to quit my job, launch a startup and build this portable TV antenna, so when critical events were unfolding, I would have a safety lifeline to live TV news coverage while I was traveling.

The name “Quarterback” was inspired from the need to prop up my smartphone on a table, so I could watch TV at an angle without holding it. In my first design, there was no room for a kickstand on the back because the battery was so big, so I cut a horizontal slot in the bottom big enough for a quarter to hold the device up at an angle. I figured most people have a quarter in their pocket, and it was my solution for a poor-man’s kickstand. Then a lightbulb went off that we would name it “Quarterback,” which was a play on words, given that NFL is the single most-watched TV programming in the US.

TVT:How long did it take to develop it?

BEEMAN:Three years. First, I had to focus on how to solve the complicated RF technical issues, and then I tackled the construction/usability of the form factor. Our first “Frankenstein” working Quarterback prototype came to life on April 5, 2016, and we are now in the process of beginning manufacturing. I filed the original utility and design patents for Quarterback in May 2013, and am delighted to share that our first design patent was granted in May 2016. We also have a utility patent-pending.

TVT:What were some of the barriers/challenges to developing it?

BEEMAN:The biggest challenge by far, was proving my theory that the Quarterback form factor solved these five major user problems: 1) How to fit and position a very large TV antenna directly next to a smartphone LTE antenna and ensure that both services will work in parallel. 2) Keep TV always on (even in sleep mode), so Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) messages over broadcast TV will be received. 3) Hardware must be luxury low-profile, premium-grade and attractive to consumers. 4) Set the user expectations up front that Quarterback TV channel access and quality is“acceptable” on the ATSC 1.0 network, and retrofitted for ATSC 3.0. 5) Design Quarterback as a global digital TV accessory.

TVT:Who, among retailers and/or carriers has expressed interest?

BEEMAN:We have had discussions with Tier-1 wireless carriers, and TV broadcasters from the U.S. and different countries, but I am not at liberty to reveal names yet. Hopefully in the near future, we’ll announce one or more strategic partnerships. We envision Quarterback to be the hardware bridge between wireless carriers, cable operators, content providers and TV broadcasters. We’ve solved the hard science of how to get TV to a mobile audience, and there are an unlimited number of use-cases for Quarterback to extend TV capacity and reach all over the world.

TVT:What is the cost and when will it be available?

BEEMAN: We are planning to ship our first “Limited Edition” Quarterback in Q1 2017. Our website http://quarterback.airwavz.tv will have pre-sales available for purchase online in Q3 2016. First-come buyers will get a great 25 percent discount, and we’ll have lots of options for deeper discounts if people buy higher quantity, refer friends and share on social media. The early adopter price of Quarterback will be revealed in Q3 on our website, so we encourage people to sign up on http://airwavz.tv so we can let you know when Quarterback goes on sale.

The Quarterback smartphone case includes a battery, ATSC receiver, and a unique fold out antenna.

TVT:Will this be able to pick up other signals beyond ATSC 1 and ATSC 3?

BEEMAN:Yes, Quarterback is designed for both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 but the real value-add is that Quarterback is designed to support all global TV technologies: ISDB, DVB, DVB-T2, DMB-T, ADTB-T, TiMi 3 and DTMB, and we are preparing to take pre-orders for international clients. Like any TV antenna, coverage varies depending on location and terrain, but we are encouraged that our early field and laboratory testing shows Quarterback has TV channel access to the full UHF band, and some VHF.

TVT:Have you done any market surveys on this type of product?

BEEMAN: Yes, I’ve done peer surveys and market research on Quarterback at MIT, and within the angel investing community I’m actively involved with in Seattle. Early user feedback is that people see the immediate value in being able to view high-definition, exceptionally clear, live over-the-air free digital TV on their smartphones without any subscription fees. There is “pent-up demand” for Quarterback, because it does not impact a user’s wireless data plan, and the auxiliary battery, on-board DVR, front facing hard key are an added bonus.

Broadcasters recognize that Airwavz.tv has been able to solve the deep technical issues of retrofitting very large TV antennas to fit premium grade smartphones and extend the reach of TV to a mobile audience. Wireless carriers understand the value in bundling smartphones with a luxury accessory that offloads their congested networks, and delivers the same high quality digital TV service to millions of subscribers simultaneously within net neutrality rules.

TVT: How much weight does it add to the device?

BEEMAN:Quarterback weighs approximately 6 ounces, mostly attributed to our auxiliary battery.

TVT: In terms of percentage, how much more of a “footprint” (overall size) does this add to the smartphone?

BEEMAN:We’ve designed Quarterback as a luxury smartphone accessory that is low profile, and fits the same premium look and feel as the beautiful smartphones they protect. Quarterback adds roughly the same dimensions as other premium smartphone covers. Exact dimensions will be posted on our online store, so we encourage people to sign up in advance to get notified: http://airwavz.tv

TVT: Will you make a tablet version?

BEEMAN: Yes, absolutely.

TVT: Is this available for both iOS and Android phones?

BEEMAN:Yes. We’ll release an Android version first, and then iOS.

TVT:On your website, airwavz.tv, you take very clear positions on spectrum and other broadcast issues. Please explain how this forms your company’s philosophy and way of doing business.

BEEMAN:What citizens around the world don’t know is that television is an unparalleled, ultra-broadband wireless network that is capable of delivering high-definition digital TV hundreds of miles away, and serves millions of subscribers simultaneously. Television is the epitome of the most influential social network in the world, because it can reach millions of people tuned in at the same time, with the same message, and serve as a life-line to mission-critical information.

Citizens also need to know that wireless data service is increasingly more expensive, because it is overloaded with click-bait advertising, malware, tracking bots, web crawlers and widgets. Conversely, television is a closed, controlled, protected and trusted wireless downlink that provides grade-A digital video quality, with a straight-forward advertising based revenue model.

TV is free clear-to-air, broadcast every day, all day, around the world, and all you need to pick up the TV signal is an antenna–like Quarterback.

Airwavz.tv philosophy is simple: We create instant, easy access to mission-critical headline and breaking news that is simulcast over digital media, web, mobile and live television broadcast networks. We hold television broadcasters and wireless carriers in high regard, and see Quarterback as a bridge for citizens around the world to have an “always on” TV lifeline on their smartphones.

One of biggest complaints with sound recording is dealing with the cables. Enter wireless technology, usually bringing its own set of interference problems. That, however, is a thing of the past with Wisycom’s MTP40S-USX UHF Wideband Bodypack Transmitter and the MPR30 Wideband ENG Receiver. Attach an omni-directional lavaliere microphone and you can begin capturing great sound.

FEATURES

Comprised of two key components—the MTP40S transmitter and the MPR30ENG receiver—Wisycom has created a small but powerful wireless combo. My review MTP40S transmitter came with a Sanken SAN-11DPTBK1.8 black omni-directional lavaliere microphone. Powered by two AA batteries housed under the front cover, the top has an on/off selector as well as a microphone and antenna connection.

MTP40S

The ENG receiver, also powered by two AA batteries, has an organic liquid crystal display directly above the front cover. Pressing the PWR/EXIT button activates the OLED receiver screen with a battery’s charge, channel use, frequency, and line level. Also on the front are sync, scan, and menu select buttons. The menu button opens a sub menu with headphone level; edit Rx, setting, and infrared. A green LED on the left reminds you that the unit is powered on and a red LED on the left indicates your RF signal. The top features two (A, B) antenna ports, a mini-plug headphone jack, and an AF out jack. The backside on my review unit featured a hotshoe camera mount.

One of the best features of these units is the wide bandwidth (up to 232 MHz) in the 470/952 MHz range. The transmitter is automatically programed using infra red and the outputs are balanced.

The channels are also switchable if you are located in an area with a lot of RF traffic. With 40 groups of 60 channels, that gives the user 2,400 frequencies. Using AA batteries, the user can expect between three and a half to four and a half hours of operation on the receiver and up to 14 hours on the transmitter.

IN USE

I was anxious to receive my Wisycom unit as I had a complicated sound situation where only a hidden, wireless microphone would work. Having reviewed the specifications on line, I knew it should be capable in theory as we would be shooting in an area when our university’s wireless units seldom functioned properly. Without going into all of the technical details of frequency, my main concern was if I was going to get clean audio. The technical data on these microphones is quite impressive, but real world functionality was my main concern.

As promised, the unit fired up with a push of the power button on the receiver and a flip of the toggle switch on the transmitter. Needing to get clean audio in a moving vehicle, the sound person couldn’t sit in the back seat and monitor the sound because it would have been visible on camera. For this particular shoot, the lavaliere microphone was hidden in the car’s passenger side visor and the receiver was 80 feet away in another vehicle. In less than 30 seconds, we were recording clean audio, no interference. Wireless systems usually rely on line of sight. If the transmitter can’t see the receiver, you might have issues. Not only did the transmitter have to send the signal through the glass and metal of the actor’s car, but we also needed to receive it in another vehicle. When I attempted this with another wireless system, too many dropouts made the audio unusable.

The next scene required us to follow the talent from a busy sidewalk, into a brick and steel building, through a maze of drywall corridors, all while the actress was talking and the camera was following her on a stabilizer. Not wanting to get another set of footsteps reverberating off the interior walls, the sound crew remained outdoors leaving only the two actors and camera operator walking inside. The director viewed the LCD monitor via a wireless transmitter in video village and the sound crew was next to him utilizing the Zoom recorder.

MPR30

As the actors walked and talked through the hallways, not once did we lose or experience sound problems created by interference or metal objects in the walls. We did lose our video signal to the monitor multiple times, but the sound was perfect the entire time. I tried to watch the info on the OLED on the receiver to see if it was changing channels or frequencies, however, I had a difficult time seeing it because of the tiny numbers. It didn’t really matter what the unit was doing as long as the set-up continued to work.

SUMMARY

Throughout the shoot, we had no problems with audio because of equipment malfunction. The students, who were assisting on my shoot, asked to use the system on their final projects. That’s a great testimonial for Wisycom.

The only drawback to the system is its price; a bit steep for our university’s budget. If audio is your business, the old adage is true, you get what you pay for. I would give two thumbs up to Wisycom for this wireless system. It never let me down.

Chuck Gloman is an associate professor and chair of the TV/Film Department at DeSales University. He may be reached at chuck.gloman@desales.edu.

RIO RANCHO, N.M.—Designed to operate in the VHF broadcast band, Lectronsonics has unveiled its new IFB-VHF wireless system, which includes the IFBT4-VHF frequency agile transmitter and IFBR1a-VHF receiver. The system offers 239 frequencies between 174-216 MHz.

IFB-VHF wireless system

The IFBT4 transmitter can be used as a stand-alone unit or patched into intercom systems and is designed for use in applications where extended operating range and high-quality audio are needed. It features a 50 mW power output, as well as a pilot tone signal that controls the audio squelch on the receiver to eliminate noise when the transmitter is turned off and prevents the receiver from locking on to fake signals. It also has a multi-use XLR input jack, DIP switches, IFB mode, and the ability to operate in Digital Hybrid Wireless mode.

The IFBR1a receiver can be used for talent cueing and crew communications. The receiver’s default frequency is set by two rotary switches, and has the ability to program up to five additional frequencies into the memory.

Lectronsonics has made the IFB-VHF wireless system available for purchase, with starting prices for the IFBT4-VHF at $1,369 and $865 for the IFBR1a-VHF.

PARK RIDGE, N.J.—Sony has introduced two new additions to its UWP-D wireless microphone series, the URX-S03D two-channel slot-in receiver and the UTX-B03HR bodypack transmitter.

URX-S03D

The URX-S03D is a two-channel system that can receive two different RF signals in one receiver unit. It features two receiving antennas and separate RF circuits for each channel. The stronger RF signal from the two antennas is automatically selected for output. The receiver can utilize Sony’s Digital Audio Processing for backward compatibility with previous generations. It is also is compatible with Sony’s XDCAM and HDCAM camcorders, able to fit in the slot of each camera. Additional features include automatic channel setting with IR sync, active channel scan, large display and simple menus, and a bandwidth up to 72 MHz. The URX-S03D can be used for V-mount and mixer bag operation through a wireless adapter.

Sony’s new UTX-B03HR comes equipped with a four-pin Hirose microphone connector for ENG shooting. A standard broadcast lavalier microphone can be used with the transmitter connector. The bodypack transmitter features Sony’s Digital Audio Processing; is compatible with the UWP-V series and WL-800 series; USB for power supply or charging batteries; a switchable MIC/LINE input level; an attenuator; IR Sync with receiver; and bandwidth up to 72 MHz.

Sony plans to release both the URX-S03D and UTX-B03HR in the spring.