President’s Memo

Posted on February 1, 2012 in ATSC News

With an action-packed agenda for 2012, the ATSC and its members are hard at work on the exciting suite of backwards compatible enhancements to digital television broadcasting, an initiative we call ATSC 2.0.

Among other things, ATSC 2.0 contemplates the marriage of broadcasting and the Internet — building on the recently completed work of the ATSC Planning Team on Internet-Enhanced Television.  In parallel, work is gearing up for ATSC 3.0, the longer-term project that is expected to reinvent broadcast television, dovetailing with the global effort known as the Future of Broadcast Television initiative.

Congratulations to John Godfrey who was re-elected as Chairman of the ATSC Board of Directors.  John, Samsung Vice President, served as Chairman in 2011, and his capable leadership has helped guide our updated strategic plan and aggressive, forward-thinking standards agenda.  We are fortunate to have continuity of leadership for the coming year. At its Jan. 18 meeting, the board also voted to propose to the ATSC Membership several updates of the ATSC’s bylaws related to election process for directors and the establishment of new Implementation Teams.  Members should be on the lookout for more details and your ballot shortly.

In this issue of the new ATSC monthly newsletter, The Standard, you’ll find a plethora of ATSC news and views of interest to anybody and everybody interested in the future of television, from technicians and engineers to station managers and CEOs.

On the heels of the 2012 International CES®, we asked two industry veterans – long-time ATSC board member Lynn Claudy of the NAB, and former ATSC board chairman NBC Universal’s Glenn Reitmeier – to provide their first-hand insights, impressions and expert opinions of the four-day multimedia extravaganza that brought more than 150,000 people to Las Vegas this month. The January edition of The Standard also previews the ATSC 2.0 seminar coming next month in conjunction with the Hollywood Post Alliance Tech Retreat and spotlights some exciting new 2012 sponsorship opportunities for ATSC members.

The ATSC staff and board of directors sincerely appreciate the active involvement and strong support of our members.  If you’re already a member, we urge you to stay involved and perhaps explore new ways to participate in our important work.  If you’re not yet a member, we urge you to take a few minutes to learn more about the future of television and consider how joining ATSC will help your organization.

Mark Richer
President, Advanced Television Systems Committee

Posted in ATSC News