ATSC Standards Update: New A/344 Candidate Standard Published

Posted on May 27, 2025 in ATSC News

Since the last issue of The Standard newsletter, a new Candidate Standard (CS) has been approved and published on the ATSC web site. The document, S38-576r3, “ATSC Candidate Standard Revision of A/344:2025-02, ATSC 3.0 Interactive Content,” was elevated to CS by TG3 in a ballot that closed on 1 May 2025. The CS period runs until 11 December 2025. An ATSC CS is a technical document that has received significant review while in Working Draft status. Advancement of a Working Draft to CS is an explicit call for implementation and technical feedback. A CS may be revised during the implementation period by the originating group, in this case TG3/S38. The implementation period may be shortened or lengthened by TG3, generally at the recommendation of the authoring Specialist Group. The A/344 CS includes updates and clarifications identified since the current version of A/344 was published on 26 February 2025.

Separately, a Corrigendum to A/344:2025-02 is currently at membership ballot. The ballot closes on 11 June 2025. An ATSC Corrigendum is generated to correct an error or ambiguity in an ATSC document introduced either in drafting or publication of the document that could lead to incorrect or unsafe application of the document. The edit does not cause any change in functionality.

A revision of the ATSC Bylaws is currently at ballot of the full ATSC membership. The ballot closes on 23 May 2025. Major changes include: 1) Section IV.1 is modified to allow for the optional appointment of up to two additional Directors, and 2) text in Section VIII.3 relating to committees that the Board can form is moved to B/03 “Operational Procedures for Technology Groups and Subcommittees.” In Parallel, the Board has approved updates to B/03, which will be published after the Bylaws ballot closes.

Two TG3 ballots were underway at this writing:

• S33-787r0, “Working Draft Amendment No. 1 to ATSC Standard A/331:2025-02, Signaling, Delivery, Synchronization, and Error Protection.” This ballot to for elevation to Proposed Standard. The ballot closes on 20 May 2025.
• S32-669r3, “ATSC Working Draft: A/327:2025:02 Amendment No. 1, MIMO System Performance Estimation.” This ballot is for elevation to Proposed Recommended Practice. The ballot closes on 28 May 2025.

All ATSC ballots open at 6:00 p.m. ET and close at 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date. Notification of an open ballot is sent to all voting-eligible members when the ballot opens. Reminders are issued to voters who have not yet voted one week before the close date and again one day before the close date. ATSC staff sends a notification of ballot results on the next business day following the close of the ballot.

ATSC staff are available to answer any questions that members may have on

Posted in ATSC News