I-Team on ATSC Interactivity

Posted on September 3, 2014 in ATSC News

While the ongoing work to develop a next-generation ATSC 3.0 standard tends to grab most of the headlines, significant work has been underway on backwards-compatible enhancements to the existing standard that’s been dubbed “ATSC 2.0.” Standardization is nearing completion, and the enabling technologies in the ATSC suite of enhancements represent important building blocks for new services that may be delivered by ATSC 2.0 or 3.0.

That’s where the ATSC 2.0 Implementation Team comes in. Dave Siegler, Vice President of Technical Operations for Cox, and Chair of the ATSC 2.0 I-Team, explains:

“We’re finding that ATSC 2.0 may be the best proving ground for new interactivity and personalization capabilities for broadcasters of the future. While it’s a bit of a guessing game about how consumer behavior will adapt to new technology, I see the role of the ATSC 2.0 Implementation Team as a group that does trials and proof-of-concept testing. A number of these capabilities are expected to be incorporated into future business models. Of course, none of this really matters if there’s not a business plan, too,” said Siegler, who also serves on the ATSC Board of Directors.

Among the technologies being worked by the ATSC 2.0 I-Team is Non-Real Time (NRT) access to TV content expected to find its way into new business models enabled by the next-generation ATSC 3.0 standard

“NRT viewing of content is one of the techniques that could be used with a more interactive TV experience that takes advantage of Internet connectivity. We envision having a TV experience for a family where you have a different portal for each family member – where your own personal interests are taking into account. The whole thrust of ATSC 2.0 is the marriage between the Internet and over-the-air broadcasting,” says Siegler.

“Broadcast and Internet connectivity means that a boy interested in video games might be able to bookmark his favorite video gaming content much the same way that websites can be bookmarked today. New methods of promoting a product or a video game could be activated by taking advantage of the interactivity that ATSC 2.0 might make possible,” he explains.

“Your daughter could have similar control of the content she likes. You could enhance online shopping, perhaps setting flags to tell a future device that you’re interested in new car advertisements. Or maybe you’re on the hunt for a new refrigerator and you make use of the broadcast stream to find more information. Voting and polling are other obvious interactive possibilities – particularly with shows like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ‘American Idol’ or similar programs.”

Sigler says, “Later this fall, we’ll be reporting back on a test using live broadcast triggers as a way to signal availability of Internet-based content. That functionality is obviously something that broadcasters would like to offer, to enhance viewer engagement.”

As work on both ATSC 2.0 and ATSC 3.0 continues in parallel, Sigler’s I-Team will demonstrate important capabilities that “present new opportunities for broadcasters to both monetize their services and serve their viewers in new and exciting ways,” he concludes.

Posted in ATSC News