With worldwide broadcast standards now combining traditional over-the-air terrestrial television with Internet Protocol, the ATSC is working on ensuring ATSC 3.0 and other digital terrestrial television (DTT) standards are part of a global wireless ecosystem that includes cellular standards such as LTE/5G as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

The U.S. based standards committee has released a white paper on its campaign to remind decisionmakers of the value, ubiquity and robustness of advanced broadcast standards such as 3.0 and DVB, the dominant broadcast standard in Europe. 

“The paper is a very public statement from the ATSC that basically expresses a strong desire to work closely with other digital terrestrial television standards development organizations in an effort to look at where technology can be converged and work on developing a unified voice on the world stage for broadcasting,” said Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC.

'Codifying a Shift'
Since there has never been a global terrestrial television format, DVB, ATSC and others have, in the past, been looked upon as competitors when promoting adoption worldwide. Such competitiveness is no longer the case, however, when broadcasting has become viewed by some as yesterday's wireless technology in a world now dominated by IP data streamed over cellular networks. But now with IP protocol part of worldwide broadcast standards, a new "data pipe" available via over the air broadcast brings with it a whole new set of opportunities. 

It’s important for broadcasters to continue to remind worldwide standards bodies of the relevancy of broadcasting, which brings the efficiency of the "many to one" broadcast model vs. "one to one" unicast, characteristic of the IP model. This is especially so in an environment where the spectrum currently used by broadcasters is coveted by wireless providers.   

“Broadcasters worldwide are facing challenges with the advent of new media consumption but we're facing new opportunities together with the notion that you can now deliver IP data over your broadcast network,” Noland said. “Broadcasters worldwide can work together to develop some of these opportunities that will benefit everybody. This paper is codifying a shift that's already been taking place between what would appear to have been a very competitive landscape in the past.”

Along with recognizing the value of broadcasters’ traditional ties to their local communities, there are also the technical advantages that broadcasting brings to the table, something that has been proven time and again during weather-related emergencies.   

“Broadcasters share a common infrastructure design, largely anchored by high power, high tower (HPHT) transmission facilities,” the ATSC said in its paper. “This infrastructure is often among the most resilient, designed to withstand natural disasters so that information can be transmitted when it is most needed.”

Ongoing Efforts
The ATSC plans to discuss its proposals with an eye towards the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 in November. The work towards converging worldwide broadcast standards has been ongoing for more than a decade, according to the ATSC.

“The effort to forge a next-generation broadcast standard that encompasses all the major standards development organizations (SDOs) dates back over 10 years,” starting with the Future of Broadcast Television (FOBTV) Summit in November 2011 in Shanghai, the association said. “The initial goal of FOBTV to foster work on a best-of-the-best next-generation television system has not been realized to date, but since its formation the group has served as a forum for communication and exploration of new technologies and ongoing efforts underway within the various SDOs.”

One of the keys for tying broadcast technology into other wireless formats is through the development of a "broadcast core network"  that is agnostic to the DTT system, a concept ATSC is working on.

The broadcast core network "is being designed for standalone, broadcast-only operation and/or for converged operation with other data delivery networks, e.g., 802.11, 5G, LTE, 3G, SMPTE 2110, CBRS, Satellite (LEO-MEO-GEO), LoRA, IoT, etc.," the ATSC said. 

"BCN will accommodate cases where an uplink is always available, never available, or sometimes available. The goal of the BCN is to enable broadcasters to offer regional data delivery services, such as software updates to game consoles, recall updates to managed automobile fleets, and more. Among these use cases is redundant or enhanced GPS signaling (eGPS)."

This convergence of worldwide broadcast standards with 3GPP (aka “3rd Generation Partnership Project,” an umbrella term for a number of standards organizations which develop protocols for mobile telecommunications) could bring to reality a scenario in which cellular and broadcast protocols could work together in ensuring consumers are always using the most robust and reliable wireless reception available. 

However, broadcasters will have to unite behind a common goal to make DTT an essential part of a global telecommunications ecosystem first, the organization warned. 

“DTT broadcasters are operating in a global ecosystem of data delivery networks,” the ATSC said. “Data session steering, switching, and sharing across heterogeneous networks can improve spectrum usage efficiency by using the most appropriate network(s) for each given data session in a dynamic fashion. Indeed, 3GPP envisions a 5G ecosystem of heterogeneous global data networks. Next-generation DTT systems are the most efficient physical layers for one to-many data delivery in the world—for TV and non-TV uses, and for fixed and mobile uses. 

“This technology edge can be leveraged for convergence with other data delivery networks, e.g., the Internet and LTE/5G, but fragmentation creates a fundamental barrier to including DTT in this heterogeneous ecosystem,” the ATSC continued. “As a means of more than just survival, the more exciting potential for this segment is to integrate the next generation digital transmission technologies into the generalized convergence. Convergence among the major DTT technologies would facilitate convergence with other networks (and may be necessary for long-term success).”

Richard Friedel, chairman of the ATSC, said broadcasters were approached by 3GPP to develop a plan for such a convergence. “This was an initiative on their part,” he said. “So that means they're interested enough that they're going to try to make something happen.”

Friedel added that with concerns over spectrum efficiency and sustainability, the strength of broadcast technology becomes more evident than ever. “The absolute lowest cost of delivery of a bit of information to consumers is through a broadcast methodology,” he said.

TORONTO—Richard Friedel, retired Fox Television Stations executive vice president for corporate engineering and immediate past president of the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), was honored with the NABA International Achievement Award during the organization’s virtual annual general meeting.

The award recognizes a person who has served the broadcasting industry beyond the scope of their professional roles. It recognizes those who have given their time, leadership and talent to create industry consensus on current critical issues and fostered a collegial approach to problem solving, knowledge sharing and common understanding in their own country, region and in global forums, NABA said.

“Richard’s collaborative approach and his innate belief that broadcasters share many common challenges led to common solutions and practices in one of the most intensely competitive industries in the world,” says Michael McEwen, NABA director-general. “This is why he is always greeted warmly and his participation well received by colleagues in Europe, Asia and indeed around the world—a reflection on his success as a NABA leader. The core of NABA’s mission is to provide our community with opportunities to share and solve challenges to the benefit of all in our industry and that core mission is apparent in the way Richard conducts business and defines the person he is.”

In addition to having a distinguished career beginning with NBC, then moving to ABC/Capital Cities and finally to Fox for 25 years, Friedel has been involved with NABA for more than quarter century, been a long-time member of the Advanced Television Systems Committee—including multiple stints as ATSC Board Chairman, served as a member of the IBC Council, was a DPP leadership contributor in the U.K. and has been a consistent presence at the NAB Show, NABA said.

“I am really honored with this recognition. NABA is an important part of my life, but so many people involved in NABA are friends or long-term colleagues of mine and to have you bestow this is all the more meaningful,” said Friedel when accepting the award.

“I’ve always believed in collaboration because we can get more done and do it better as a diverse group," he continued. "I want to encourage everyone to continue doing that. Think about how great a career we have. We entertain, educate and inform literally hundreds of millions of people. What could be a better purpose? Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

More information is available on the NABA website.

WASHINGTON—Advanced Television Systems Committee members have voted to re-elect two currently serving board members and two previous board members term-limited in 2018 to three-year terms beginning in January 2020, the committee announced today.

Two other directors were appointed to the board by their respective professional associations, it said.

The current board members elected to new terms are Dr. Jong Kim, senior vice president at LG Electronics and president of Zenith R&D Labs, and Pete Sockett, director of engineering and operations at Capitol Broadcasting.

The previous board members who are returning include Richard Friedel, executive vice president of operations and technology for Fox Television Stations, and Glenn Reitmeier, former NBCU senior vice president, technology standards and policy, and now president of GlennReitmeierTV LLC.

The Society of Motion Pictures & Television Engineers (SMPTE) appointed Dave Siegler, who previously represented Cox Media Group on the ATSC Board, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) named former ATSC Board Chairman Wayne Luplow to the board, ATSC said.

Current members whose terms will continue in 2020 include:

• Lynn Claudy, SVP, technology, NAB, who is ending is term as ATSC Board Chairman at year’s end;
• Mark, Corl, SVP Emergent Technology Development, Triveni Digital;
• Jim DeChant, VP of Technology, News-Press & Gazette Company;
• Jon Fairhurst, principal standards engineer, Samsung;
• Ira Goldstone, VP Next Gen Broadcast Solutions, Cobalt Digital;
• Brian Markwalter, SVP Research & Standards, CTA;
• Anne Schelle, managing director, Pearl TV;
• Andy Scott, VP of Engineering, NCTA-The Internet and Television Association;
• Craig Todd, SVP and CTO, Dolby.

Thomas Bause Mason, director of standards development, at SMPTE; Dr. Paul Hearty, owner, Technology Advisors; and Dr. Yiyan Wu, CTO, Communications Research Centre will complete their board terms at the end of 2019. A new board chairman will be elected during the board’s first meeting after the first of the year, ATSC said.

“The strategic direction and insights of our talented board members are especially important at this critical time as ATSC supports the commercialization of Next Gen Broadcasting in the U.S. and around the world,” said ATSC President Madeleine Noland. “I recognize and appreciate the board’s expertise and support for balancing progress and stability as ATSC 3.0 standards are updated and preparing for our future continues in the months and years ahead.”

NEW YORK—Richard Friedel is the new EVP of Engineering, Operations and Technology at Fox Television Stations, FTS CEO Jack Abernethy said this week.

"It's rare that you can pick up an All Star on waivers. We are very happy to have Richard lead our group and more importantly help drive our ATSC 3.0 efforts," said Abernethy.

Friedel joins FTS after overseeing the technology strategy and daily operations of Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and the Fox Technical Operations Center in The Woodlands, Texas. He was employed by a division of Fox that was acquired by Disney.

His first role with Fox was the design and construction of Fox News Channel in 1996. He also held positions at Capital Cities/ABC, NBC News and local TV stations before joining Fox.

“What an exciting opportunity this is to work with the Fox Television Stations team. I can't wait to get started and move ATSC 3.0 from theory into practical implementation, a pivotal moment," said Friedel, who is the former chairman of the Advanced Television Systems Committee and currently serves as president of the North American Broadcasters Association and the Video Services Forum.

In 2015, Friedel was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters with its Engineering Achievement Award for significant contributions to advancing broadcast engineering. Three years later, he received an Emmy for lifetime achievement from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers and a Life Member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society.

LAS VEGAS—SMPTE Fellows Robert Ross, senior vice president for East Coast operations at CBS Engineering, and Richard Friedel, executive vice president at FOX Engineering, will each receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in Technology from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) at the 69th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards, April 8 in Las Vegas.

SMPTE—the organization whose standards work has long supported advances in entertainment technology—issues the annual award to technology companies and individuals "that have impacted the way people view television because of their industry-changing technological innovation and vision."

ROBERT ROSS

As the senior vice president for East Coast operations at CBS Broadcasting since October 1998, Robert Ross was responsible for converting the CBS broadcast center to HD, rebuilding and upgrading the CBS Network Media Distribution Center, and rebuilding the network’s satellite distribution system. He also created the Path Fire and Pitch Blue systems for domestic and international distribution, enabled the conversion from videotape to digital distribution for syndication, and spearheaded the redesign of the Ed Sullivan Theater for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, ” as well as key production areas for CBS Sports, the “CBS Evening News,” and “CBS This Morning.”

For 19 years, Ross worked at Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting Company) stations WBZ-TV, WJZ-TV, and KYW-TV, and was vice president of engineering for Group W prior to the CBS/Westinghouse merger. And he contributed to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and various SMPTE Engineering Committees. He is the past chair of the Toolkit working group of the Media Security and Reliability Council (MSRC), a FCC Advisory Committee, past president of the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), as well as a SMPTE Fellow, a Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) member, and Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame inductee.

[Read: NABA Names Bob Ross President]

RICHARD FRIEDEL 

Richard Friedel oversees FOX Networks Engineering & Operations, the 21st Century Fox unit responsible for engineering, operations, and technology at FOX’s national and regional television businesses. He is also responsible for long-term technology strategy and day-to-day operations of the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and Fox Houston Technical Operations Center, home of Fox Sports’ regional networks. He was also instrumental in launching the FOX News Channel and provides technical support for 14 regional production centers.

[Read: What Tom Said: About Richard Friedel]

Friedel’s previous positions include: Capital Cities/ABC, NBC News, and local television stations. He is a SMPTE Fellow, and member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), SBE, and Society of Cable Television Engineers (SCTE). He serves as ATSC Board Chairman, president of the Video Services Forum (VSF), and NABA president. In 2015, he received the NAB Engineering Achievement Award.

WASHINGTON—Richard Friedel, EVP and GM for Fox Networks Engineering and Operations, has been re-elected to another one-year term as Board Chairman of the Advanced Television Systems Committee, ATSC announced this week.

Richard Friedel

“His keen industry insights have helped drive the board’s strategic initiatives, and we’re fortunate to have his continued dedication as the ATSC supports the implementation and initial deployment of Next Gen TV,” said ATSC President Mark Richer in a press release announcing the vote.

Friedel, who has served as board chairman since 2016, held the post as the ATSC 3.0 suite of standards was being hammered out. Besides his role with ATSC, Friedel serves as president of the North American Broadcasters Association and president of the Video Services Forum.

At the 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Friedel will receive the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

To learn more, visit the ATSC website.

WASHINGTON—The Advanced Television Systems Committee Board of Directors has re-elected Richard Friedel of Fox Networks as board chairman to continue serving for 2017. He was re-elected for a new one-year term.

“Richard’s industry insights and leadership helped drive the board’s strategic initiatives over the past year, and we’re fortunate to have his continued dedication during this critical year as we finalize the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standard,” said ATSC President Mark Richer.

Friedel is the executive vice president and general manager for Fox Networks Engineering and Operations. He oversees long-term technology strategy and day-to-day operations for the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and the Fox Houston Technical Operations Center, home of Fox Sports’ regional networks. He also provides technical support for 14 regional production centers. Before joining Fox, Friedel served in various positions at ABC, NBC and local television stations.

In addition to his ATSC responsibilities, Friedel serves as President of the North American Broadcasters Association and President of the Video Services Forum. He is a fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and a member of the Audio Engineering Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Society of Broadcast Engineers and Society of Cable Television Engineers.

Freidel was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters with the NAB Engineering Achievement Award, bestowed to individuals nominated by their peers for significant contributions to advancing the state of the art in broadcast engineering.

Also see...
Jan. 29, 2016
“Friedel, Richer on ATSC 3.0 Transition”
There are no second channels this time.

Jan. 25, 2016
“Fox’s Richard Friedel to Chair ATSC”
The Advanced Television Systems Committee board of directors has elected industry veteran Richard Friedel of Fox Networks as ATSC board chairman for 2016.

April 9, 2015
“What Tom Said: About Richard Friedel”
“In high school, we could choose between three elective courses: print shop, woodworking or electronics,” he said. “For whatever reason, I thought electronics would be more fun than the other two.”

Feb. 4, 2015
“Friedel, King and Conover to Receive NAB Engineering Awards”
The National Association of Broadcasters will honor Richard M. Friedel, Thomas F. King and Ray Conover with the NAB Engineering Achievement Awards at this year’s NAB Show in April.

INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.—High dynamic range or Ultra HD? That was the first question put to the annual broadcasters panel at the HPA Tech Retreat Wednesday. Matthew Goldman of Ericsson once again moderated.

HDR vs. UHD
Skip Pizzi of the National Association of Broadcasters said there was no NAB consensus viewpoint, but that “generally anecdotally,” there appeared to be more bang for the bit with HDR versus 4K.

“Especially with 4K upconversion at the set,” he said. “HDR has the most ‘wow’ factor for the consumer, and we figure high frame rate in sports.”

HDR increases visibility of motion artifacting and thus makes a case for HFR in fast-motion imagery such as sports.

Sinclair’s Mark Aitken noted that if a media facility has just “spent a boatload of money on a 3G plant, you’re not going to suddenly build a 12G plant for UHD. HDR does give a noticeable enhancement to consumers…. HDR 60P 1080p certainly is an enhancement that consumers recognize.”

Mario Vecchi of PBS said that without a real business case to increase the capacity of the PBS plant, including storage, “it’s going to be a real difficult decision to make.” HDR, he said, seems to be “a low-hanging fruit.”

Robert Siedel of CBS said the network was testing it

“One thing of interest to us is how television sets labeled HDR behave with a regular signal, and you see an ‘S-curve,’” he said. “They’re going to have to process our standard HD signals. So when you compare how they’re processing that signal versus how they will process a true HDR signal… we’re looking at how those sets are scaling HDR.”

Goldman asked about “video loudness,” where the brightness overwhelms. Siedel said the International Telecommunications Union is testing issues of eye fatigue. In Japan, they have instated regulations on photo-epilepsy, he said. The ITU has considered similar concerns on HDR and whether or not it creates eye fatigue.

Stan Moote asked Siedel if CBS has “control down to the TV now, because you must have 4K viewers who can see the motion artifacts.”

Siedel said CBS specifies minimum data rates with carriers, and a quality threshold, not only for over-the-air, but through the cable signal. They have not yet increased the data rate for 4K sets, “because we feel upconversion in the sets is pretty good,” he said.

ATSC 3.0
Mark Schubin jumped in with a question about how the industry plans to transition from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0.

Aitken characterized it as “more of a migration; an enhancement of the digital standard, and in the context of the FCC’s own rulemaking, to continue the development and advancement of digital standards.”

Deploying it will be a matter of market dynamics, he said.

“We can hang onto 1.0 as long as we want in a channel-sharing situation. Say one station wants to convert to 3.0. They can sign a deal with another broadcaster in the market and they can piggyback channels. Now you’ve cleared a channel for the roll-out of 3.0. You basically have a six times multiplier in the video capacity of that channel using 3.0. There have been discussions about making that kind of migration across markets.”

Asked if a shared channel can carry two 720p signals, Aitken said he wrote himself a note.

“I wrote down ‘least crappy,’” he said. “It’s a valid question, but it’s a question of what’s being delivered to the consumer, and the least crappy thing that is being delivered to the consumer. We know about grooming and compressing in the cable plant and anomalies in displays. We believe broadcasters can deliver two shared HD signals that look just as good or better than what’s being delivered” over closed infrastructures. “It will require discussions between sharers.”

He then said 85 percent of Sinclair’s content is carried by MPVDs.

Gateway devices have been discussed for reception. The NAB is working on a 1.0-to-3.0 converter, much like the digital-to-analog converters made for the 2009 digital transition. Pizzi said the NAB is developing a prototype, but the price is now around $150.

“We’re hoping it will come down,” he said.

At one point during the morning, the majority of folks raised their hands and said 2K HDR would be something they would watch versus 4K. Fox’s Rich Friedel, recently elected board chairman of ATSC, was asked if broadcasters would do 2K HDR.

He said, “ATSC 3.0 gives great flexibility. That certainly includes 1080p 60, SDR and HDR. It has to be a business decision made by each broadcaster.”

In terms of codecs, Friedel said HEVC is written into it now, and while the ATSC is anxious to get the standard out, Aitken said there is a need for more than one codec.

“There are enough questions about HEVC for anyone who envisions a streaming future to take a long, deep look at it,” Aitken said. “AVC is a perfectly valid choice. It could also be a bridging technology. Ultimately, there may be a wide variety, but many of these codecs are baked into the product they’ll be displayed on.”

There is a certain amount of tension between the business case and the technical case, he said.

John Luff asked if the future of local broadcasting is moving toward centralcasting. Aitken said that 3.0 would make it easier to virtualize the local facilities and create a de facto national reach.

“All it takes is a Sinclair, a Nexstar and a Gray to enter into an agreement to use a portion of the bitload for a national service,” for example, he said.

In terms of advanced audio, 3.0 has the juice for immersive sound, but the question is whether or not people will take advantage of it.

Pizzi said the standard leverages AC-4 from Dolby and MPEG-H.3 from MPEG Audio Alliance.

“What we’re doing to keep the deployment manageable, we’re asking for regions to pick one or the other. Both systems allow for personalization and immersive audio.”

Pizzi also noted that with immersive, a speaker array isn’t necessary. Soundbars can now decode immersive.

Asked how ATSC 3.0 dovetails into Internet delivery, Aitken said it 3.0 “was envisioned from the beginning to be a hybrid platform” that would deliver bits by broadcast and broadband, simultaneously.

Siedel, from a different perspective, spoke to CBS OTT delivery. He said CBS is available on Roku, Apple TV and smartphone. CBS has 135 CBS market affiliates up on CBS All Access, covering 85 percent of the U.S. population.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Asked if social media tools draw in a younger audience, Vecchia said PBS sees the area as an opportunity for growth.

“We already integrate social media and interactivity with a number of our programs,” he said.

Friedel said social was very powerful for Fox.

“We can see if we monitor social media, when mentions of our programs come up, we can see a spike in ratings… up to 20 to 30 percent on shows with active social media conversations.”

Siedel said CBS also sees increased linear viewing when someone in an online community brings up binge-viewing a show.

IP
The SDI-to-IP migration came up. Vecchia said that, “using an IP infrastructure is so generic. I think in terms of control and management, that’s migrating aggressively to IP technology. The actual transport of the signal will take heavier lifting.”

Siedel talked about the inherent security of an SDI plant and its resistance to viruses.

Friedel, also president of the Video Services Forum, which is actively working on IP transport, conceded this bias.

“At Fox, we’re trying to make use of this technology. Primetime will be the last place we use this, I agree with Bob. But sports now… NASCAR, is being run through IP routing. We have IP routing in the plant, not for on-air yet, but we’re making use of these IP systems for live content. We see it as a format-agnostic platform, to handle UHD capabilities internally.”

Also see…
Feb. 6, 2016
“HPA 2016: ATSC 3.0 Update”
Over-the-air TV is on its way to resembling a more robust version of the Internet with the realization of ATSC 3.0, the so-called “next-generation” transmission standard being developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee

LOS ANGELES and WASHINGTON—How do we get there from here? That’s the main question around the emerging transmission technology standard for over-the-air television in the United States. The last time the TV standard was changed, TV stations had two channels—one on which to broadcast in the old analog format while they fired up digital transmitters on the second. This gave the broadcasters time to work out the bugs, and it gave citizen viewers a chance to get caught up to speed on what was going on.

There are no second channels this time.

The Advanced Television Systems Committee, the organization developing the standard, is leaning into the development of two-way technology that would be compatible with the Internet and fundamentally change the way U.S. broadcast TV is delivered.

The new standard—ATSC 3.0—is on a fast track of sorts as the Federal Communications Commission prepares to auction off a portion of the radio frequency spectrum now dedicated to broadcasting. ATSC 3.0 is inherently more spectrum efficient than 1.0, the version currently in use, and could not only preserve, but enhance coverage of over-the-air television.

The question remains, however. How will it be implemented this time around? TV Technology’s Deborah D. McAdams fired off a few questions about a 3.0 transition to Fox’s Richard Friedel, who was recently elected as ATSC board chairman for 2016. Friedel, an industry veteran who is executive vice president and general manager of the Fox Network & Engineering Operations, was joined by ATSC President Mark Richer in the exchange.

The bottom line: broadcasters must cooperate.

TV Technology:Has a transition plan been mapped out?
Richer: While the ATSC board has discussed some concepts for transition to ATSC 3.0, it’s up to the industry to develop an overall strategy. ATSC 3.0 is a global standard and transition plans will differ from country to country.

TV Technology:Is it likely to be a market-by-market process? If so, how would that work?
Friedel: By its nature, broadcasting is local. The transition to ATSC 3.0 will require strategies that take into account such things as spectrum availability, transmission facilities, capacity of existing 1.0 services and potential 3.0 services. As such, it’s unlikely that all U.S. broadcasters will transition to ATSC 3.0 at the same moment.

TV Technology: Will it require nationwide adoption?
Friedel: At the appropriate time, and likely at the request of broadcasters, we expect the FCC to consider ATSC 3.0 as a permissible service on TV channels. The actual rollout, however, is likely not something that will happen coast-to-coast at one time.

TV Technology: How will broadcasters be able to fire up 3.0 while maintaining 1.0 for existing viewers?
Richer: Business discussions are necessary to determine the best way to transition from 1.0 to 3.0, without disrupting service for all viewers in a given market. Detailed logistics will be up to broadcasters to determine.

TV Technology: How will reception be implemented in the absence of a subsidized converter program?
Friedel: TV receivers are far more advanced now than they were back in the late 1990’s. One answer might be USB-style receivers that could plug into a TV and an RF antenna. We also are starting to see new options emerge as prototypes, such as ‘gateway’ receivers that could receive ATSC 3.0 and retransmit the signals as Wi-Fi to be presented on existing tablets, phone, and TV sets in a house. I have no doubt that we’ll see more innovations at the upcoming NAB Show in April.

TV Technology: What new equipment will be necessary for transmitting 3.0?
Richer: That depends on the type of ATSC 3.0 services that a broadcaster wants to offer, and how exactly that broadcaster will transition to 3.0. Certainly, new exciters will be needed at the transmission level. We do expect to see more details at the April NAB Show from a variety of broadcast equipment companies who are designing new products for broadcasters.

TV Technology: Have any vendors committed to manufacturing 3.0 equipment, and if so, how long after the standard is completed will it take them to make it available?
Richer: Equipment manufacturers do not discuss their strategies in ATSC. It looks like several new products are in development, with public and private demonstrations that are based on the ATSC 3.0 Candidate Standard.
(Note in the “Also see…” 3.0 archive below, Teamcast provided an ATSC 3.0 exciter to the Korean Broadcasting System to evaluate the developing transmission standard.)

Note also that Fred Baumgartner has contributed a three-part series on how ATSC 3.0-based broadcasting is crucial to video distribution in an ecosystem of proliferating device types and content preferences:

January 4, 2016
“Part I: April SBE Ennes Workshop to Focus on ATSC 3.0”
The relationship between broadcasting and technology is a deep one that defines us as broadcast engineers. 

January 12, 2016
“Part II: ATSC 3.0 Brings Flexibility of IP to Broadcast”
The hardest part of the ATSC 3.0 proposed broadcast standard to get one’s head around is probably the IP transport piece.

January 28, 2016
“PART III: Where Does ATSC 3.0 Fit in a Multichannel Universe?”
Two stakeholders that might not be so excited about ATSC 3.0 include the radio access network (RAN) carriers (the providers of wireless data services) and multichannel video programming distributors.

Also see…
January 13, 2016
“James O’Neal Reports on ATSC 3.0 Tests At CES 2016”
ONE Media, Pearl TV, Samsung, TeamCast and Sinclair Broadcast Group teamed up to transmit 4K video from a mountain-top low-power transmitter 13 miles from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and displayed on the show floor and in a demo suite in the Wynn Hotel.

January 13, 2016
“Doug Lung on ATSC 3.0, Two-Way ENG and New Mic RFs”
I thought it would be a good time to take a look at new technology trends. Three areas that attracted my attention are ATSC 3.0 (no surprise), two-way ENG and new technology for wireless microphones.

Janaury 6, 2016
“KHMP-LD Delivers Live HDR 4KTV in ATSC 3.0 at CES”
The broadcast, from Las Vegas station KHMP-LD’s transmitter on Nevada’s Black Mountain, is delivering clear 4K HDR content, received for the first time on LG’s new ATSC 3.0-enabled receivers at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

January 5, 2016
“TeamCast Delivers ATSC 3.0 Digital TV Exciter to KBS”
The exTra3.0 is a real-time, standalone terrestrial exciter that supports ATSC 3.0, which is designed to transmit 4K/UHD content.

December 23, 2015
“The ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer—Bootstrap Basics”
Doug Lung parses the 3.0 physical layer.

December 23, 2015
“Q&A: Technicolor’s Alan Stein on Las Vegas ATSC 3.0 Tests”
Technicolor contributed content and prototype reception technology to the simulations, which took place last month in Las Vegas with Sinclair Broadcast Group and ONE Media.

December 15, 2015
“ATSC 3.0 Audio: A Big Bet?”
The debate centers on the two remaining candidates under consideration for the audio codec, AC-4, proposed by Dolby Laboratories, and MPEG-H, supported by the MPEG Audio Alliance.

December 3, 2015
“Sinclair Demos HDR 4KTV Over ATSC 3.0 in Vegas”
Sinclair Broadcast Group, along with subsidiary One Media and Technicolor, report they have successfully transmitted high-dynamic range 4KTV over the air using the proposed ATSC 3.0 standard and a prototype reception device.

November 17, 2015
“ATSC 3.0 DTV Standard Gets Far East ‘Test Drive’”
The engineers were convened “to confirm a common understanding of the ATSC 3.0 specifications A/321, A/322 and other relevant standards, and/or working drafts.”

October 7, 2015
ATSC 3.0: Mark Richer Details Phys Layer CS
The ATSC achieved a significant milestone last week with the elevation of the ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer to Candidate Standard status. TV Technology asked ATSC President Mark Richer to provide more details on the technology and the process…

September 29, 2015
“Samsung, LG, Contributed Technology to ATSC 3.0 Candidate Standard”
Both Korean electronics giants have been integral in developing the U.S. broadcast standard.

September 21, 2015
“ATSC 3.0 Tested With 4K, Mobile in Korea by LG, SBS”
Korean broadcaster SBS partnered with LG Electronics for the country's first live over-the-air broadcast of 4K Ultra HD signals using technologies behind the ATSC 3.0 TV broadcast standard.

September 2, 2015
“Voting on ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer Standard Begins“
Ballots were sent out on Aug. 31 and over the next four weeks members of the TG3 Technology Group will vote on whether to approve or not approve the Physical Layer to Candidate Standard status.

July 13, 2015
“Inside the Cleveland Futurecast ATSC 3.0 Transmission Tests”
And with an experimental high-power ATSC 3.0 transmitter available for test broadcasts at any time during the day, the GatesAir/LG/Zenith Futurecast proposal shows some interesting data from recent tests in Cleveland.

June 17, 2015
“Samsung, Pearl and Sinclair Gear Up for ATSC 3.0 Dry Runs”
Samsung, Pearl TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group are collaborating on how to deploy the next-generation broadcast standard and what to do with it. The three have agreed to a Memo of Understanding “collaboratively to support the development and the implementation” of ATSC 3.0.

May 15, 2015
“Samsung and ONE Media Drive ATSC 3.0 Candidate Standard“
Samsung and ONE Media proposed a hierarchical framework comprised of the ‘bootstrap,’ preamble and data framing to meet broadcasters unique requirements.

May 7, 2015
“ATSC 3.0 Bootstrap Signal Becomes Candidate Standard“
The first of five components in the Physical Layer transmission standard for ATSC 3.0 has been elevated to “Candidate Standard” status.

April 9, 2015
“Technicolor and Sinclair Demo HDR UHD Live Over-the-Air Broadcast”
Technicolor and Sinclair Broadcast Group have announced a successful demonstration of UltraHD with high dynamic range live broadcast based on proposed ATSC 3.0 technologies.

February 12, 2015
HPA 2015: ATSC 3.0 Prototypes Expected in 2016
Prototype ATSC 3.0 receivers may appear as early as next year, according to Skip Pizzi of the National Association of Broadcasters.
“The target is to get a candidate standard out later this year. Prototypes might start showing up in 2016.”

January 5, 2015
CES 2015: Samsung, Comark and TeamCast Demo Live ATSC 3.0
Samsung, Comark and TeamCast will demonstrate a terrestrial broadcast of “full ATSC 3.0 technology” at CES 2015. The demonstration will show a live transmission of MPEG‐H HEVC ultra HD video and MPEG‐H 3D audio content.

October 22, 2014
“Futurecast Demo Shows Simultaneous 4K, HD and Mobile Reception”
Quincy Group’s WKOW-TV conducted a second round of field testing with the Futurecast terrestrial broadcasting system developed by Zenith, LG and GatesAir.

October 8, 2014
“Sinclair and Technicolor Do ATSC 3.0 4K Over-the-Air Broadcast”
Sinclair Broadcast Group and Technicolor said they successfully deploying Technicolor’s ATSC 3.0 4K UltraHD testbed platform and receiving an over-the-air signal. The Technicolor platform, based on open audio, video and transport standards including Scalable HEVC (SHVC), MPEG-H audio and MPEG-MMT transport, has been integrated into Sinclair’s experimental OFDM transmission system in Baltimore, Md.

August 27, 2013
“TV Tomorrow: ATSC 3.0 Advances”
The ATSC announced that 10 proposals have been submitted for the foundation of 3.0 known as the “physical layer.” This physical layer includes the modulation scheme, which defines how the signal information is carried by a radio frequency—in this case, the TV channel.

March 28, 2013
“ATSC Seeks Next-Gen TV Physical Layer Proposals”
It appears some of the requirements could be a bit of a stretch, but that may not be such a bad idea, considering that ATSC 3.0 will be replacing a terrestrial DTV standard that’s survived for 15 years.

March 27, 2013
“ATSC Seeks Proposals for ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer”
Glenn Reitmeier, ATSC chairman, noted that, “the ATSC 3.0 effort is a crucial time for broadcasters, professional equipment manufacturers, consumer device manufacturers and all stakeholders to collaborate and create the future capabilities of over-the-air broadcasting.”

February 22, 2013
“HPA 2013: ATSC 3.0 Update”
The current standard was developed 20 years ago and implemented around 15 years ago. The Internet was on baby legs, processor speeds were measured in megahertz, storage in megabytes, and networks in kilobytes.

January 22, 2013
“New ATSC Implementation Teams to Focus on Commercialization of ATSC 2.0 and M-EAS”
The Advanced Television Systems Committee has formed new Implementation Teams for two new emerging standards -- ATSC 2.0 and the Mobile Emergency Alert System.

February 15, 2012,
“HPA Tech Retreat: The State of ATSC 2.0”
ATSC 2.0 will provide a variety of interactive capabilities to broadcasters not now available.

September 6, 2011
“New ATSC 3.0 Technology Group Formed To Anticipate TV of the Future
ATSC 3.0 is anticipated to be a series of voluntary technical standards and recommended practices for the next digital terrestrial television broadcast system.

(Note in the “Also see…” 3.0 archive below, Teamcast provided an ATSC 3.0 exciter to the Korean Broadcasting System to evaluate the developing transmission standard.

WASHINGTON – The Advanced Television Systems Committee board of directors has elected industry veteran Richard Friedel of Fox Networks as ATSC board chairman for 2016.

Friedel is the executive vice president and general manager for Fox Networks Engineering & Operations. He oversees long-term technology strategy and day-to-day operations for the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and the Fox Houston Technical Operations Center, home of Fox Sports’ regional networks, and provides technical support for 14 regional production centers. Before joining Fox, Friedel served in various positions at Capital Cities/ABC, NBC News and local television stations.

He is a fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and a member of the Audio Engineering Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Society of Broadcast Engineers and Society of Cable Television Engineers. In addition to his ATSC responsibilities, he serves as President of the Video Services Forum and is a member of the North American Broadcasters Association Board of Directors.

Friedel was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters with the 2015 NAB Engineer-ing Achievement Award, bestowed to individuals nominated by their peers for significant contributions to advancing the state of the art in broadcast engineering.

“Richard has been an active and insightful member of the ATSC board, and his leadership will be critical during this important year as the next-generation ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard is finalized,” said ATSC President Mark Richer, who also thanked outgoing Board Chairman Glenn Reitmeier of NBC Universal for his service. Reitmeier, who has served three terms as ATSC Chairman, continues on the board.