ATSC receives 10 next-gen TV proposals
August 28, 2013
US digital TV standards body the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has received 10 initial proposals from 19 organisations for the Physical Layer of the new ‘ATSC 3.0’ broadcast television standard. With higher capacity to deliver Ultra High-Definition services, robust reception on mobile devices and improved efficiency, the new ATSC 3.0 standard is expected to redefine TV broadcasting for decades to come.
The strong response to ATSC’s call for proposals, issued on March 27, reflects a high level of enthusiasm in the industry for defining the modulation and error coding technologies in the transmission system that will provide a foundation for the next-generation terrestrial broadcast standard, according to ATSC President Mark Richer.
Detailed proposals are due September 27. Initial proposals for the ATSC 3.0 physical layer have been submitted by:
- Coherent Logix and Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG)
- Communications Research Centre (CRC) and Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)
- Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB)
- LG Electronics, Zenith and Harris Broadcast
- Allen Limberg
- National Engineering Research Center of Digital Television (NERC), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai Advance Research Institute, (SARI) and Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent
- Power Broadcasting
- Qualcomm and Ericsson
- Samsung and Sony
- Technicolor
“As technology continues to advance, the ATSC and its members are always looking to the horizon. Internet technology now permeates the consumer experience and mobility has become a requirement. With the next generation of television standards, we want to take advantage of advances in compression, transmission and other technologies that will keep millions of people informed and entertained through broadcasting’s inherently efficient one-to-many architecture,” said Richer, highlighting the initial work on ATSC 3.0.
A primary goal of the ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer is to provide TV service to both fixed and mobile devices. Key considerations include efficiency and robust service, increased data rates to support new services such as Ultra High-Definition services, and enabling a smooth transition from existing systems for both broadcasters and consumers. The overall ATSC 3.0 standard must provide improvements in performance, functionality and efficiency that are significant enough to warrant the challenges of a transition to a new system.