PRESIDENT’S MEMO: CELEBRATING SUCCESS

Posted on October 2, 2012 in ATSC News

I don’t know about you, but it seems that the busier we get, we sometimes don’t take a minute to celebrate our successes.  The fact is we have a lot to celebrate these days.

The ATSC was proud to co-host – along with the Open Mobile Video Coalition and National Association of Broadcasters – a landmark event a couple of weeks ago on Capitol Hill celebrating the commercial launch of mobile DTV service based on the ATSC A/153 standard.  We’re particularly proud of the ATSC’s role in making mobile TV a reality.  See a detailed report on the Sept. 20 event in this issue of The Standard.

Speaking of mobile TV, the ATSC congratulates Capitol Broadcasting’s WRAL for being the first commercial TV station in the country to commit to launching service based on the ATSC’s emerging mobile emergency alert (M-EAS) standard.  As highlighted in Sam Matheny’s article in this issue celebrating WRAL’s launch event, M-EAS is key enhancement to A/153, important to broadcasters, public safety officials and the public at large.

Also in September, dozens of ATSC members gathered at IBC2012 in Amsterdam to celebrate the future of television.  Interest continues to grow in the “Future of Broadcast Television” or FoBTV initiative, with 49 active participants, expanded significantly from the original 13.  The ATSC TG3 technology group working on ATSC 3.0 is sharing some of its “use cases” with FoBTV, and I remain enthusiastic about this long-range project that will redefine terrestrial television broadcasting around the world.

At the ATSC, we’re also celebrating our own standards work, highlighted by the ballot for the first of three approaches for broadcast transmission of 3D-TV programming.  This is yet another example of the continuing progress on the backwards-compatible ATSC 2.0 suite of standards that will give broadcasters more flexibility to deliver new services as we continue to work toward ATSC 3.0 in the years ahead.

I hope you will join us in celebrating success.  Our standards – past, present and future – are at the center of the transformation of the television industry.  I think it’s fair to say that the American public’s long-standing love affair with the automobile has been replaced by its love for television.  No other product or service entertains and informs like television.

We appreciate the strong support and involvement of hundreds of industry volunteers in the ATSC’s standards developments.  I ask each member to think about other companies and smart people you work with who share your passion about the future of television and who would benefit from joining our efforts.  Like you, they’ll find lots to celebrate in the months and years ahead.

Mark Richer, ATSC President

Posted in ATSC News