President’s Memo

Posted on July 3, 2013 in ATSC News

The sweltering heat is returning to the Nation’s Capital and even though the Dog Days of Summer are upon us, you wouldn’t know it at ATSC where intensive work continues on the development of next-generation TV standards.

Of interest and particular relevance to our ATSC 2.0 and ATSC 3.0 standards efforts are discussions just last week in New York about how the emerging technologies of 4K Ultra HD, Internet functionality and “second screen” applications are changing consumer behavior.  Indeed, it appears that the focus must continue to be on both the very largest – and the very smallest – screens.

Beginning with this issue of THE STANDARD, we’re starting a new feature to profile key members of the ATSC family – in part to recognize their contributions to our exciting work.  Sony’s Luke Fay is one of those in the trenches, leading our working on the physical layer for ATSC 3.0.  Its members like Luke who really make ATSC what it is today, and we look forward to bringing you more stories about your colleagues in future issues.

In this issue, you’ll also get a view of the recent SMPTE/Stanford conference on the future of entertainment and see that the call is out for engineering papers for next year’s NAB Show.

Summer is a great time to take a little break with your family, away from the day-to-day grind.  It’s also a good time to let your creative juices flow. Who knows? While you’re at the lake or on the beach, you might just have that eureka moment that contributes to the future of television.  Regardless, as always, I invite you to join us on this electrifying journey.

Mark Richer

ATSC President

Posted in ATSC News