USA: ATSC 3.0 on offer by year-end
February 3, 2017
By Chris Forrester
US viewers could start having access to Ultra-HD via the proposed ATSC 3.0 broadcasting standard by the end of this year.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning to vote on February 23rd on whether to permit broadcasters to adopt the new TV standard on a voluntary basis, and thus kick-start innovation in the industry, according to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, speaking on February 2nd.
The move already has the support of many US broadcasters including the important National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Disney, 21st Century Fox, and others.
The FCC is proposing to require broadcasters to keep the existing signals as they roll out advanced broadcasts. Pai said in a blog post Thursday that the new internet protocol-based system will “enable better audience measurement, which in turn will make for higher-quality advertising – ads relevant to you and that you actually might want to see.”
South Korea is already using ATSC 3.0 as its new transmission standard.
Pearl TV, a partnership of broadcast companies with a shared interest in exploring forward-looking opportunities, has applauded the FCC’s publication
“As broadcasters focused on the development and deployment of new technology, Pearl is pleased that the FCC is launching a rulemaking that would allow the voluntary adoption of next generation TV. ATSC 3.0 will give broadcasters the tools they need to compete in a vastly different environment than when digital TV was first imagined. The move to an Internet Protocol-based system will deliver more content to viewers from more sources and insure that over-the-air broadcasting remains the primary resource for breaking news, emergency alerts, and a TV experience tailored to the desires of the viewer,” said Pearl TV managing director Anne Schelle.