ATSC Commemorates 25 Years – Press Release

Posted on April 3, 2008 in Press Releases

For Immediate Release

On Silver Anniversary, ATSC speeds toward the future, Driving Mobile/Handheld standardization

Washington, D.C., April 3, 2008 – While paving the way for mobile/handheld broadcast digital television (DTV) and other next-generation DTV standards, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, Inc. (ATSC) is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this spring.

The first ATSC meeting was held on May 13, 1983, at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) headquarters in Washington, DC. The ATSC was formed by the Joint Committee of Intersociety Coordination (JCIC). The JCIC was composed of the NAB, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE). Today, the ATSC is made up of approximately 165 member organizations from all segments of the television industry.

On Dec. 24, 1996, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the major elements of the ATSC Digital Television (DTV) Standard (A/53), developed by the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance. The ATSC DTV Standard has been adopted by the governments of Canada (Nov. 8, 1997), South Korea (Nov. 21, 1997), Argentina (Oct. 22, 1998), Mexico (July 2, 2004), and Honduras (Jan. 16, 2007). CEA estimates that more than 46 million digital televisions with ATSC receiving capability had been sold in the United States by the end of 2007.

“Twenty-five years after our first meeting, we are leading the effort to develop standards essential to the future of broadcasting,” said ATSC President Mark Richer. “We are focused on the development of new standards that will enable mobile and handheld service (ATSC-M/H), file-based non-real-time program delivery (ATSC-NRT) and the next generation of services for fixed receivers (ATSC 2.0).”

A number off major events are planned to commemorate the ATSC’s silver anniversary. First, the ATSC will host the DTV HotSpot, an annual demonstration area at the 2008 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 14-17. The HotSpot, located in the South Upper Hall Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center, will include exciting new technology from a variety of member companies, including Antennas Direct, Broadcast International, Coherent Logix, CRC Canada, DotTV, DTV Innovations, ETRI, LG Electronics, Microtune, National Datacast, NBC Universal, Neural Audio, Samsung, Sarnoff, UpdateLogic, Vmark and Zenith.

“The technology demonstrations in the DTV Hot Spot highlight the commercial importance of our current standards and those under development,” said Glenn Reitmeier, Chairman of the ATSC Board of Directors. “We are pleased to be able to showcase a variety of technologies that will impact broadcaster’s future by making it possible to deliver new innovative services to a wide range of receivers including mobile and handheld devices.”

In May, the ATSC’s quarter-century of standards leadership will be formally celebrated at the ATSC Annual Meeting. Scheduled for May 8 at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Arlington, Va., the event will feature The Honorable Richard E. Wiley, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as the opening keynote speaker, special guest luncheon speaker Paula A. Kerger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), David Donovan, President of the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV), and Brandon Burgess, President and CEO of ION Media and Chairman of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC).

Standards currently under development in the ATSC include:

ATSC-M/H is being developed to support a variety of services including free (advertiser-supported) television and interactive services delivered in real-time, subscription-based TV, and Non-real-time content download for playback at a later time. The standard may also be used for transmission of new data broadcasting services such as real-time navigation data for in-vehicle use.

ATSC-NRT addresses the new reality that consumers are increasingly in control and want information and entertainment content, when and where they want it. By leveraging the low cost of storage in receivers, broadcasters utilizing the ATSC-NRT Standard will be able download content to a new generation of products.
ATSC-2.0 will define a complete suite of ‘Next Generation’ services for the conventional fixed DTV receiver viewing environment.

About ATSC

The Advanced Television Systems Committee is an international, non-profit organization developing voluntary standards for digital television. The ATSC member organizations represent the broadcast, broadcast equipment, motion picture, consumer electronics, computer, cable, satellite and semiconductor industries. For more information, visit atscnextgentv.vp77wsn4-liquidwebsites.com.

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Contact
Lindsay Shelton-Gross, ATSC (202) 872-9160, lsheltongross@atsc.org.

Posted in Press Releases