Parallel Tracks

Posted on May 1, 2015 in ATSC News

President’s Memo – May 2015

In mid-May, hundreds of ATSC members and industry watchers will gather in Washington to learn all about the status of our ATSC 3.0 standards setting process.

On parallel tracks, various components and layers of the new system are taking shape. An initial component of the Physical Layer for transmission is now under Candidate Standard balloting, and audio testing of two immersive audio proposals is slated for later this summer. Other elements are under study and development by Specialist and Ad-Hoc groups.

On the heels of one of the most successful NAB Shows in history, we were gratified to find in Las Vegas more than 50 ATSC member companies exhibiting, transacting and demonstrating digital TV for today and for tomorrow. The ATSC Pavilion featured new methods of transforming digital broadcasts to carry a wide variety of data, from multiplexed signals to targeted advertising, HTML5 applications, and watermarking. Two ATSC 3.0 system proponents offered full-scale demonstrations of how ATSC 3.0 will improve mobile and indoor reception and how emergency alerting can be improved with more robust capabilities of the now-in-development standard.

We were pleased to have the opportunity to update broadcast engineers on the status of ATSC 3.0 during the NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering Conference. And an even more in-depth presentation is coming on May 13 during our “ATSC 3.0 Boot Camp” at the Reagan International Commerce Center. Registration is open for both ATSC members and others.

The next day, May 14^th, industry leaders will gather for our annual ATSC Broadcast TV Conference. One highlight of that day will be a “Super Panel” discussion about the Future of Television with industry luminaries Gordon Smith (NAB), Gary Shapiro (CEA), and Michael Powell (NCTA.) But that’s just one panel. We have a full day of sessions planned, as well as presentation of the Lechner Award for Outstanding Service to ATSC. Registration is open for this event, as well.

You’re reading this President’s Memo on our new ATSC.org platform, the result of a comprehensive website redesign that helps to keep our members and others informed about ATSC’s many activities and projects. Hopefully, you’ve found the new website to be easy to navigate and material easy to find. We welcome your feedback, of course.

We hope to see you in a couple of weeks in Washington as we Tune In to the Future.

Mark Richer

ATSC President

Posted in ATSC News