ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer Picks Up Steam

Posted on November 7, 2013 in ATSC News

For a deep dive into technical proposals for the physical layer of the next-generation ATSC 3.0 standard, the ATSC hosted a three-day workshop last month where proponents conducted detailed tutorial presentations.

This very special meeting of the ATSC S-32 Specialist Group brought together experts from around the world who pitched their ideas to a packed room in an Arlington, Va. hotel.

“The review of proposals went very well and the group had some pointed questions for each proposal,” said S/32 Chairman Luke Fay of Sony. “Of the 11 proponents, seven described systems and four described technology pieces. The Call for Proposals asked for specific requirements and the proponents responded to them in eagerness. The physical layer team now has input for every requirement. Now, the hard work starts in earnest to define ATSC 3.0 physical layer.”

Goals of ATSC 3.0 include accommodating Ultra HD 4K TV, immersive audio, interactivity, multiscreen viewing, mobile devices and hybrid services, among other things. The ATSC 3.0 physical layer will provide a foundation for the new system, defining the modulation and error coding technologies supporting higher capacity to deliver 4K TV services, robust reception on mobile devices and improved spectrum efficiency.

Presentations were made by the following respondents:

• Coherent Logix and Sinclair Broadcasting Group: Mark Aitken, Kevin Shelby, Mike Simon, and Barry Hobbs;
• Communications Research Centre (CRC) and Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI): Yiyan Wu;
• Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB): Frank Hermann, Peter Moss and Erik Stare;
• Guarneri Communications: Uri Ran and Roman Vitenberg;
• LG Electronics, Zenith and Harris Broadcast: Wayne Bretl and Joe Seccia;
• Alan Limberg
• National Engineering Research Center of Digital Television (NERC), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, (SARI) and Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent: Dr. Dazhi He and Yajun Kou;
• NHK: Kenichi Murayama and Takuya Shitomi;
• Qualcomm and Ericsson: Lisa Hobbs, Matthew Goldman, Kent Walker, and Joerg Huschke;
• Samsung and Sony: Ryan Lee, Sam Atungsiri, and Alain Mourad; and
• Technicolor: Alan Stein and Anthony Pesin.

“It’s exciting to see ATSC 3.0 evolve. Every participant clearly understands that ATSC 3.0 will provide fixed 4K TV services, mobile/portable TV services with robust reception and IP transmission for emerging services. With this strong direction and consensus, we believe ATSC 3.0 has excellent prospects for the future,” said Ryan Lee, who participated on behalf of Samsung.

Posted in ATSC News