ATSC Standards Update: New Candidate Standard Published

Posted on May 20, 2026 in ATSC News

Since the last issue of The Standard newsletter, a new Candidate Standard (CS) has been approved and published on the ATSC website. The document, S38-641r3, “ATSC Candidate Standard Revision of A/344:2026-04, ATSC 3.0 Interactive Content,” was elevated to CS by TG3 in a ballot that closed on 12 May 2026. The CS period runs until 31 December 2026. 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 18 February 2026.

There are currently two documents at ballot:

• S32-716r4, “ATSC Proposed Standard: A/321:2026-04 Amendment No. 1, Bootstrap Clarification,” and S32-717r1, “ATSC Proposed Standard: A/322:2026-04 Amendment No. 1, Bootstrap Clarification.” These documents are being balloted together because they include interrelated changes. The Membership ballot closes on 11 June 2026.
• S42-032r11, “Working Draft: Revision of ATSC Recommended Practice A/85: Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining Audio Loudness for Digital Television.” This revision makes numerous clarifications and updates to A/85. It is the first major update since the current version was approved in 2013. The revision also adds two new Annexes on “ Guidelines for Establishing and Maintaining Audio Loudness of Internet Streaming Services When Using Metadata-based and Non metadata-based Codecs,” and “Loudness and True Peak Quick Reference.” The TG3 ballot closes on 9 June 2026.

Posted in ATSC News