Boot Camp Report

Posted on June 2, 2014 in ATSC News

On May 7, more than 120 people turned out for an all-day “boot camp” briefing about the work now underway to create the ATSC 3.0 digital TV standard.  Jerry Whitaker, ATSC Vice President of Standards Development, presided over much of the informational meeting.  As a wrap-up to the Boot Camp, The Standard asked him three key questions:

Were you pleased with the turnout for the Boot Camp?

 The participation exceeded our expectations.  We had originally forecast that fewer than 100 people would spend the day learning about ATSC 3.0, but that number surged in the days leading up to the event.  That’s a good problem to have, of course.  There are a lot of individuals and companies interested in where broadcast television standards are going.

What was the objective for the Boot Camp?

The central reason for holding the seminar was to provide in one day a detailed overview of ATSC 3.0 –  what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and the status of the work.  We started off with a big-picture overview of digital television, including the architecture and elements needed to make a system work.  And then we built from there to focus on the work that’s being done by four Specialist Groups and a large number of Ad hoc groups that meet on a regular basis.

Honestly, it’s hard to keep track of all of those activities that are underway on ATSC 3.0 (unless you’re involved day-to-day) and we wanted to put together in a concise status report on each one of the groups and what they’re working on.  We wanted to show what’s already been accomplished.

Another goal from the outset was to involve as many broadcasters as possible, and I think we succeeded at that.  The Boot Camp seminar was useful to more than just a broadcaster audience, of course, but since the standards will be applied by TV broadcasters it is important that they stay abreast of what work is ongoing.

So what was the reaction from those who attended?

We got very positive feedback from those at the event and those at the 2014 ATSC Broadcast TV Conference as well.  Several attendees commented favorably through emails and many who attended have asked – and received – copies of the various presentations.

We’ve also distributed a consolidated booklet of the presentations to other interested organizations – including the Future of Broadcast TV, CEA (the Consumer Electronics Association) and SCTE (the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers_ We had participants from each of those organizations, of course, in attendance on May 7.

The seminar and the presentations represent the most complete picture of what’s been compiled to date with ATSC 3.0. 

Got questions about ATSC 3.0?  Drop a line to Jerry Whitaker at:  jwhitaker@atsc.org

Posted in ATSC News