CES 2023: Tolka Partners with Pearl TV to Fast Track NextGen TV Adoption

Pearl TV
(Image credit: Pearl TV)

ATLANTA—Tolka has announced that it has officially partnered with Pearl TV as part of the FastTrack Program, which is designed to accelerate and streamline consumer electronics makers’ adoption of NextGen TV technology, aka ATSC 3.0 for smart TVs and related high-volume devices.

"ATSC 3.0 is one of the most impressive advances in television broadcasting since the transition from 525i standard definition to 720p and 1080i high definition which began over 20 years ago," says Alex Day, Tolka business development manager. "Central to the ATSC 3.0 standard is support for 2160p 4K resolution, high frame rate, high dynamic range, wide color gamut and movie theater quality sound. ATSC 3.0 also provides support for datacast services such as localized emergency notification."

Pearl TV's FastTrack program seeks to provide support to manufacturers interested in making devices that offer the full NextGen TV service feature set. This includes enhanced video, audio and interactive features. The detailed device requirements will be updated continuously to aid manufacturers as NextGen TV evolves, the companies said. 

The number of U.S. TV markets now served by local stations broadcasting the NextGen TV standard has increased by 26 in recent months, reaching 66 by December 31st, 2022, Pearl TV reported. This expansion in service availability is expected to continue throughout 2023. 

Pearl TV's FastTrack program seeks to provide support to manufacturers interested in making devices that offer the full NextGen TV service feature set. This includes enhanced video, audio and interactive features. The detailed device requirements will be updated continuously to aid manufacturers as NextGen TV evolves, the companies said. 

To further speed up the adoption of NextGen TV-capable sets and devices, Tolka is working with several major system-on-chip vendors and manufacturers to offer a pre-certified turnkey solution for integration into consumer electronics brands. Tolka's ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Stack software will be pre-certified for compliance with the Consumer Technology Association’s NextGen TV logo requirements, A3SA Security and the RUN3TV Application platform.

Tolka’s ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Stack is a series of software modules which implements ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 1.0 standards. It is designed for use with household TV receivers, set-top boxes, in-car receivers, mobile phones, tablets or computers, allowing television viewers to experience latest-generation free-to-air television programs on Android or Linux platforms, Tokla explained.

The partnership announcement was made at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 

Exhibiting in the ATSC booth (17783, LVCC Central Hall) and at CES Tech West (Wynn), Tolka is demonstrating a range of technology and upgrade accessories supporting the UHD-compatible ATSC 3.0 NNextGen TV standard as well as the HD-compatible ATSC 1.0.

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.