Countdown to Launch! 2016 ATSC Broadcast Television Conference

Posted on May 3, 2016 in ATSC News

Heralding the “Countdown to Launch” of the ATSC 3.0 next-generation television broadcast standard, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) will bring together hundreds of engineers, broadcasters, and policymakers when the annual ATSC Broadcast Television Conference convenes this month in the Nation’s Capital.

“On the heels of a very successful NAB Show, where demonstrations of elements of the ATSC 3.0 standard were staged with the involvement of more than 30 companies, we’re excited to offer TV broadcasters the opportunity to learn more about how best to plan a next-generation TV rollout,” said ATSC President Mark Richer. 

A full-day implementation workshop on May 10 aimed at technical experts leads into the May 11 conference that will address the policy and business issues involved in moving to the new broadcast standard. Both events will take place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, and registration is still open.

The next-generation TV standard, also known as ATSC 3.0, is a revolution in technology that will transform TV broadcasting by bringing together Internet and over-the-air signals with a common IP backbone, while offering local stations the ability to improve emergency alerting, send video-on-demand content, enhance closed captioning and other accessibility features, better target messages and deliver 4K Ultra HDTV.

Ready-Set-Go:  Planning Your ATSC 3.0 Rollout on May 10

Sessions on May 10 will focus on an overview of the ATSC 3.0 standard architecture, highlights of the various layers of the standard (including discovery and signaling and the Physical Layer transmission system), results of recent PlugFests in China and the USA, content creation with ATSC 3.0, a deep dive into the upper layers of the standard, and a preview of how interactivity will be enabled.

Countdown to Launch on May 11

Wednesday’s ATSC Broadcast Television Conference sessions will feature remarks from FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, a keynote presentation about “Broadcasting in an IP World,” panel discussions about the Repack of Stations following the spectrum auction, an overview of the petition seeking FCC approval of the ATSC 3.0 transmission standard, and discussion about consumer products planned for reception of ATSC 3.0. 

Sessions also are planned regarding the introduction of Ultra HDTV service using ATSC 3.0 in Korea and the state of digital TV in Europe.  The late afternoon will include an update on the advanced emergency alerting capabilities of the standard and how Over-the-Top delivery is being utilized by broadcasters.

The prestigious Bernard J. Lechner Award, the ATSC’s highest technical honor, will be presented to an outstanding ATSC volunteer.  

Posted in ATSC News