2013 In Review

Posted on December 4, 2013 in ATSC News

A BUSY YEAR FOR TV STANDARDS

2013 will be remembered as a very busy year for ATSC, with an active membership focused on improvements to the existing digital TV standard (ATSC 2.0) and looking forward to what will come as television continues to evolve (ATSC 3.0).

A look back through the past year of THE STANDARD documents the good work being done by ATSC’s leaders and membership.

NBC Universal’s Glenn Reitmeier was elected Chairman of the ATSC Board in January, and the year began with a review of impressions, from an ATSC perspective, about the 2013 International CES.  ATSC members Sam Matheny, Brett Jenkins and Lynn Claudy each offered their viewpoints.

In the spring, ATSC announced its invitation for ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer proposals as Ultra HD, mobile device reception and improved spectrum efficiency highlight planned ATSC 3.0 improvements.

ATSC demonstrated the backwards-compatible suite of enhancements in the “ATSC 2.0 Living Room” at the 2014 NAB Show, showcasing new capabilities available with ATSC 2.0.

Over the summer, THE STANDARD focused on the 2013 Lechner Award honoree, the evolution of home entertainment, and a new tool that is helping ATSC streamline the standards setting process.

The June issue spotlighted the 2013 Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor Award with Sinclair’s Mark Aitken was awarded ATSC highest honor. The presentation was made during the ATSC Annual Meeting in May at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

In July, ATSC members witnessed the connection between Hollywood and Silicon Valley at the SMPTE “Entertainment Technology in the Internet Age” two-day conference at Stanford, also sponsored by the Stanford University’s Center for Image Systems Engineering (SCIEN).

A busy fall began in September with initial proposals received regarding the Physical Layer of ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer.

The Mobile EAS Implementation Team reported to the membership in October about a new Mobile Content Manager being developed for enhanced emergency alerting with Mobile DTV.

Also in October, a progress report on the Future of Broadcast TV initiative was released. As a founder of the global FoBTV initiative, the ATSC and its members are actively involved in pushing this effort forward and reported out to the global community during the Amsterdam IBC conference.

And last month, long-time industry expert Michael Dolan was named Chairman for the ATSC’s Technology and Standards Group (TG1). Dolan assumes the role on Jan. 1, succeeding Dr. Rich Chernock, Chief Science Officer of Triveni Digital, whose three-year term as TG1 Chairman expires at year-end.

Posted in ATSC News