RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—PBS North Carolina is the latest station to begin broadcasting NextGen TV in the Raleigh-Durham region. The station joins a broadcasting group led by Capitol Broadcasting Company and featuring eight stations.

PBS North Carolina (WUNC-TV) is now part of the CBC NextGen TV broadcast that includes CBC’s WRAL-TV (NBC), WRAZ (Fox) and WARZ (Ind.), as well as WTVD (ABC), WNCN (CBS), WUVC-DT (Univision), WLFL (CW) and WRDC (MyNet). These stations have been transmitting ATSC 3.0 since November 2020.

“This announcement reflects the next step in our efforts to implement this exciting technology,” said Fred Engel, PBS North Carolina CTO. “It will greatly improve audio and video quality, allow for interactive features to better inform and entertain, and better reception. We will also continue to explore the many other capabilities of this technology that will serve the public, including public safety communications, remote learning, telehealth and more.”

WUNC-TV has previous experience with ATSC 3.0, using NextGen TV tools to assist first responders.

For more information on NextGen TV across the country, see TV Tech’s updating ATSC 3.0 deployment page showing launched and upcoming markets. 

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—As part of a total of $300,000 provided by the North Carolina Community Foundation and North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, UNC-TV is set to receive a $25,000 grant for the purpose of developing short-form, multiplatform videos on storm preparedness, as well as the production of short-form field reports after storms.

The funds are meant to support information and public engagement following the events of Hurricane Florence that hit the area in September 2018. Including UNC-TV, more than $180,000 in grants were given to organizations and initiatives that deal with news and information related to hurricane recovery in eastern North Carolina.

“Utilizing our statewide broadcast platform and reach to provide critical information about emergency services and relief efforts during times of natural disasters is in keeping with our vision to be a vital, indispensable service and partner to all North Carolinians,” said Travis Mitchell, UNC-TV’s senior director and chief content officer. “This grant will help us create content about storm preparedness, as well as provide response coverage after a storm to aid the on-going recovery efforts in impacted areas.”

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina has a new CEO, as the University of North Carolina Board of Governors have appointed Lindsay Bierman to that position. Bierman, who currently is the UNC School of the Arts chancellor, will step into his new position on Aug. 12; he will step down as chancellor on July 31.

Brian Sickora, who Bierman will be replacing, was the executive director and general manager of UNC-TV from July 1, 2016, to Oct. 26, 2018. In the time between Sickora’s departure and Bierman assuming the CEO role, the station has been run by Steven D. Hammel and Kevin FitzGerald in interim capacities.

Bierman worked for 17 years with Time Inc., where he worked with creatives on cross-platform audience, content and franchise development for multiple mainstream brands; this included time as the editor-in-chief of Southern Living magazine from 2010-2014. He became the eighth UNC School of Arts chancellor in 2014.

“I’m excited to fully leverage my creative leadership, business acumen and fundraising track record at UNC-TV, and I’m inspired by the power and potential of public media to positively impact the life of every North Carolinian,” said Bierman.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—As part of a new partnership between UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina, the North Carolina Department of Information Technology and the Wireless Research Center of North Carolina for a public safety research center, new products and services will be developed from ATSC 3.0/Next Gen TV applications for first responders and public safety response.

UNC-TV had previously been recognized by NAB’s PILOT program for its proposal to use the ATSC 3.0 standard for the public safety community.

All of the organizations that make up this partnership believe that Next Gen TV will be able to assist public safety organizations throughout North Carolina. The Public Research Center’s mission will be to evaluate and analyze potential applications and work with organizations and individuals to realize them. The initial focus will be Next Gen TV technologies, but there will be the possibility of expanding to future communication and broadcast technologies.

“To put it simply, public safety organizations can save more lives if they can communicate faster, make their information more accurate and increase the reliability and reach of their networks, “said Red Grasso, director of the First Responder Emerging Technologies program with NC DIT. “... I am extremely excited and optimistic that Next Gen TV may help with all three of these areas.”

“With UNC-TV’s vast statewide broadcast network we can leverage this future technology well beyond television programming and include critical messaging that can save lives,” added Fred Engel, UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina’s chief technology officer.

In its first year, the research center will operate out of the WRC in Wake Forest, N.C. The initial batch of funding will target acquiring and operating equipment for supporting and expanding research on the application and utility of Next Gen TV technology to emergency responder communication devices. The research center is being designed as an environment for Next Gen TV exploration, training and testing that will provide access, resources and expertise to state and national organizations and agencies, including commercial and non-commercial broadcasters.

The center is expected to use radio frequency “quiet rooms” and laboratory quality test equipment to test and measure the transmission and reception capability of Next Gen TV for potential devices for first responders. Standards will be developed to use the technology following initial proof of concept validation.

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

Two years ago, NAB launched its PILOT program, an initiative designed “to bring together leading-edge companies, organizations and educators to advance broadcast technology and broadcaster innovation.” Numerous companies including Accenture, Frankly, IBM, Google and Nielsen have joined the coalition that helps drive the research, creation, testing and implementation of new technologies and solutions.

Last month NAB announced its third annual PILOT Challenge. The program recognizes creative ideas that leverage technological advances in the production, distribution and display of engaging content. It also provides support to the winners for development. The challenges are supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

I had a chance to talk with the winner of the grand prize in last year’s challenge, UNC-TV, which won for its proposal to use the ATSC 3.0 standard to enable North Carolina’s public safety community to provide timelier response to emergencies by datacasting over broadcast signals.

Fred Engel, senior director of technology at Public Media North Carolina/UNC-TV explained the proposal, which stemmed from a suggestion from Red Grasso, North Carolina’s FirstNet Single Point of Contact with the state Department of IT. Grasso, a former firefighter and fire department communications expert, was concerned that a local fire department was considering purchasing new analog voice paging radios, but “the idea of ‘new’ and ‘analog’ just didn’t roll off his tongue real well,” Engel said. Grasso approached UNC-TV to inquire whether ATSC 3.0 might provide a new means of alerting for first responders.

Those of us old enough to remember the TV series “Emergency,” will recall one of its signature moments when an emergency was called into the local fire station; after the tones sounded, a voice would announce the details of the emergency, including who was to respond and what they were responding to. In the real world, that part of the alert could last up to a minute depending on the severity of the emergency. That technology, which is still being used in many stations, is analog-based, which limits its capabilities, according to Engel.

Based on a real life event of a multiunit dispatch for a fire Engel said it took 67 seconds from the time the very first tone alert was generated to the end of the voice alert. “During that 67 seconds, if there’s any other incidents that happen, they all have to wait until that one is fully communicated before the next one will be announced,” Engel said. “So, depending on what else is going on, whether it’s a car accident, cardiac arrest, whatever, those all have to wait.”

The goal was to provide a text-based protocol that would provide instant alerts to first responders’ pagers, and help reduce delays in providing follow up alerts. And providing text alerts would allow those first responders to better retain the information. Cellular was not an alternative because insurance carriers don’t recognize cellular as an approved method of delivering this kind of message to first responders, Engel said. So how about broadcast?

[Read: NAB Launches Third Annual PILOT Innovation Challenge]

Around this time, in late 2016, the National Institute of Science and Technology issued a grant request for proposals to improve public safety communications, including new ways to “provide resilient systems to deliver emergency messaging.” UNC-TV, along with PBS, local broadcaster WRAL-TV and local public safety officials collaborated on applying for the grant but were unsuccessful, so Engel turned his attention to the PILOT challenge that was issued around the same time.

Engel said UNC-TV had previously done some 911 dispatch testing with ATSC 1.0 but there were several factors that led them to propose ATSC 3.0 as a solution, namely the mobility factor and the robustness of the Next Gen TV signal, particularly for indoor penetration.

Engel and his group successfully conducted their first test this spring, transmitting emergency information from a local fire department dispatch center to the UNC-TV campus using WRAL’s ATSC 3,0 test signal. Engel says further testing is in the works, based on feedback his group received from a meeting with public safety officials and commercial product manufacturers in July.

There are a lot of elements to take into account, not the least is getting manufacturers to add ATSC 3.0 receivers into the pagers but Engel acknowledges that the project is in the very early stages, adding that there has been interest from other corners of the public broadcasting community.

“They’re all interested in this, to see how this might take off, because it’s the kind of thing that that just makes our networks more vital to the states we serve,” Engel said.

The deadline for entering the third annual PILOT Challenge is Oct. 19. For more information, visit https://nabpilot.org/challenge.

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

WASHINGTON—After more than 150 entrants were submitted for the NAB’s second annual Pilot Innovation Challenge, the big winner was UNC-TV for its “Next Gen TV: Saving Lives One Alert at a Time” service.

The Pilot Innovation Challenge recognizes creative ideas that use technological advances in the production, distribution and display of engaging content, per NAB’s announcement. This year, entrants had to address the challenge question, “What is an unconventional way broadcasters and other local media could serve communities?” A panel of five judges from the media, technology and broadcast industries selected the top six winners. Conference attendees at the NAB Futures event in Palo Alto, Calif., determined the final placements.

UNC-TV won first place, and its $30,000 grand prize, for the “Next Gen TV” service, which will enable North Carolina’s public safety community to provide timelier response to emergencies by datacasting technology over broadcast television.

In second place was the University of Maryland’s “NewsBIN Vlog,” which combines broadcast journalism and YouTube’s first-person vlogging style to create a “new format of video journalism.” UMD earned $25,000 for second.

In third was nēdl, a way for radio listeners to use speech recognition to eliminate the need to go station to station to find specific news, sports, talk and music. Third place garnered a prize of $20,000.

Three Innovation Award Winners were also selected, each earning a $15,000 prize. “Engagement VR: Transparent Community Interaction” from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism; “Immersive Storytelling & an Ethic of Care” from the University of Colorado Boulder, and “LiveWorks” from VRVideo took home the Innovation Awards.

All six of the top winners will receive further guidance, access to broadcast executives and exposure at the NAB Show. For more information about the 2017 Pilot Innovation Challenge winners, click here.

The Pilot Innovation Challenge, an initiative of the National Association of Broadcasters, “recognizes creative ideas that leverage technological advances in the production, distribution and display of engaging content.” More than 150 ideas were submitted to address the challenge question, “What is an unconventional way broadcasters and other local media could serve communities?

TV Technology recently spoke with Adam Woodlief of UNC-TV, about the “Next Gen TV: Saving Lives One Alert at a Time,” which has been named a finalist in the Challenge. Winners will be announced on Nov. 13.

TV TECHNOLOGY: Please describe the Next Gen TV project and technology behind it.

ADAM WOODLIEF: Every second is valuable to first responders and the public safety community. Unfortunately, the analog paging system currently in use throughout North Carolina (and across the United States) is based on outdated technology that is slow to deliver emergency information. The proposalfrom the University of North Carolina Center for Public Television (UNC-TV), “Next Gen TV: Saving Lives One Alert at a Time,” will enable North Carolina’s public safety community to provide a more timely response to emergencies by shifting this outdated system to datacasting technology over broadcast television. This concept will serve as a pilot to be replicated in other states and regions.

The analog paging system used by the public safety community for emergency notifications is slow compared to contemporary communication standards. Currently fire stations are alerted of incidents, which relies on tones and voice delivered over radio channels to alert specific responder groups (fires stations, engines, ambulances) of an incident. Each responder group is sent an alert from the 911 Center that can last 2-3 seconds. When multiple groups are paged all tones must be transmitted sequentially before any of the dispatch information can be delivered. This is followed by the voice dispatch taking 20-40 seconds depending on the verbal information provided. During this process other emergencies are queued waiting for the paging transmitter to become available delaying the notification for other responder groups.

Datacasting technology can improve public safety paging performance by providing accelerated delivery of alerts. It would provide the ability to alert multiple responders in milliseconds using a datacast digital format, many times faster than today’s analog paging system. Additionally, utilizing broadcast televisions “high tower/high power” transmission capability, a far wider reception area for paging receivers would be achieved. The advent of datacasting presents a unique opportunity to serve emergency notifications to first responders in a more efficient manner over a greater distance with better coverage than ever before. The timing is perfect for further development of this concept

These key ideas are highlighted in this proposal:

· Digital delivery of information greatly increases the speed of reception, thus, decreasing response times

· Datacasting capacity allows for dozens of separate dispatches within milliseconds

· A centralized paging system serving a large region decreases mutual aid requests

· A larger coverage footprint allows departments to notify members outside their jurisdiction

· Transmitting infrastructure is already in place

· Receivers can also support live audio streaming, video, data files, maps, and sensor data

· With the approach of ATSC 3.0 "Next Gen TV" this concept can be expanded to reach beyond to other first responders both in the field and at fixed locations. 

Next Gen TV: Saving Lives One Alert at a Time, is an idea that has the power to save lives.

TVT:What was the inspiration behind the service?

AW: As a public media service for North Carolina it is our mission to serve our community. This proposal came out of our partnership with public safety agencies. UNC-TV has been involved with many public and nonpublic facing projects with varying agencies, the shared knowledge of our capabilities led to this concept. This is not a solution in search of a problem; public safety leaders recognized a problem and asked us to help them solve it. 

Fire and EMS Emergency Response is heavily staffed by volunteer responders—as such, they continue to use pagers as a means of notification to respond to an emergency in their community. Voice pagers (not text) are by far the most common mechanism (of note, cellular systems do not qualify in the emergency response role for what should be obvious reasons). High Power-High Tower ATSC transmissions at frequencies that penetrate buildings would be a perfect way to notify these volunteer responders if there was a "pager" that could "hear" and decode ATSC transmissions. 

While considering a way to provide broad area monitoring of voice radio transmissions, the realization struck us that these frequencies, tower heights, and power levels are perfect for providing paging coverage for paging and such a capability could dramatically improve response over voice paging. Text paging is better for comprehension, faster, can provide more information, and lends itself to automated mechanisms. A 50 watt transmitter at a 70-foot elevation cannot compete with megawatt transmission from a 1000-foot tower for coverage.

TVT:How do you expect the Next Gen TV service to impact the broadcast industry?

AW: “Next Gen TV: Saving Lives One Alert at a Time” is a unique and groundbreaking initiative to use datacasting as a delivery method for emergency paging for first responders in a way never utilized. What makes this concept unique is that public safety officials approached UNC-TV with the use case. The creative use of the datacasting technology, aligned with a strong collaboration between UNCTV and the public safety community, will save time, lives and money. This public safety application of datacasting can also work as a partner with current LTE and analog delivery methods creating a more robust notification strategy. Utilization of the TV broadcast spectrum to reach a larger geographical area as well as being able to deliver more detailed information is a needed to improve public safety paging.

It also serves as a gateway between current ATSC 1.0 technology and ATSC 3.0. An idea like this offers a look at what broadcasters can provide with ATSC 3.0. We can showcase the capabilities of Next Gen TV beyond interactive shows in 4k and surround sound. This concept can accelerate the adoption of 3.0. It will also increase the viability of broadcasters as a true public service.

TVT:Next Gen TV is the widely known nickname for ATSC 3.0, will this technology only be able to be utilized when ATSC 3.0 begins broadcasting, or will it be compatible with ATSC 1.0?

AW: Our project offers a bridge of current and future technology. While limited to mainly fixed locations with ATSC 1.0, it still offers enriched data delivery and time saving delivery. As we move forward we can take advantage of the mobility and robust signal strength offered by Next Gen TV. We can use the current standard to further develop the concept and begin thinking about future advancements in the application.

TVT:What should readers know about the technology and its practical implications?

AW: UNC-TV is focused on using its technology to serve the public. We offer high quality educational and entertaining programs via our broadcast services. We can also serve our communities through non-public facing uses of our broadcast spectrum. This technology allows us to enhance our first responder’s abilities to do their jobs. Our current broadcast technology can be used in a variety of ways to help fill the gaps in current communication methods. ATSC 3.0 is a gamechanger with its potential mobile applications and better structure penetration.