PRESIDENT’S MEMO: Tying it up with a Bow

Posted on December 4, 2017 in ATSC News

When the books are closed on 2017, I think this milestone year will be seen as the inflection point for Next Gen TV powered by ATSC 3.0.

Thanks to more than 10,000 ATSC member person-hours devoted to our work this year, I am proud that that by year-end the lion’s share of the suite of standards collectively known as ATSC 3.0 will be completed.  We’ll be tying it up with a bow in early January as the few remaining pieces are wrapped up.

A highlight of 2017 was last month’s Federal Communications Commission adoption of core elements of the ATSC 3.0 standard as the foundation for voluntary implementation by broadcasters and manufacturers of Next Gen TV. This FCC approval, two decades since the Commission adopted ATSC 1.0, paves the way for taking broadcasting to the next level.

Also noteworthy this year has been the official launch of over-the-air broadcasting in South Korea using ATSC 3.0.  Broadcasters already are on the air, and ATSC 3.0-enabled TVs already are on the market there, in anticipation of 4K UHD broadcasts of the Winter Olympics in Korea next February.

And, to support field trials, early deployments and future-proofing for the longer term, 2017 marked the initial launch of ATSC 3.0-capable broadcast products and technologies, as highlighted in the special Holiday Shopping Guide in this issue of THE STANDARD. 

As we celebrate the holidays with family and friends, all of us involved in the ATSC are celebrating, too – toasting a landmark year for Next Gen TV!  We appreciate the tremendous efforts of the literally hundreds of volunteers this year, tying ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV up with a bow!

Mark Richer, ATSC President

The ATSC salutes Mark Eyer, former board member and long-time ATSC leader and doer.  His insightful contributions to various iterations of ATSC standards over the years, from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0, are too numerous to mention. Congratulations to Mark on his stellar career and on his retirement from Sony Electronics.     

Posted in ATSC News