[opendtv] TV Technology: ATSC 3.0 Prototypes Expected in 2016
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2015 01:59:29 +0000
Some very interesting comments follow this article, on TV Technology. These
words sound to me like they either suggest a two-way medium (highly unlikely)
or maybe layered coding: "Pizzi said one goal of ATSC 3.0 is to send a one
signal that adapts to different types of content and reception conditions, from
TVs in the home to smartphones to in-vehicle video systems. Another is to
appeal to the international market, which would enable more uniform development
of both transmission and receiver equipment."
Would be nice to just spell it out.
One comment was why not just use LTE. Well, I think the reason is pretty clear,
if you consider that TV broadcast is set to lose 1/3 of its remaining spectrum.
You want to increase spectral efficiency, one would think, and/or (if one-way
broadcast) not have to rely on multiple hundreds of sticks per market.
Alternatively, let the cellcos take care of distributing TV to smartphones.
It's not obvious to me that the cellos will gladly allow ATSC 3.0 receivers in
the smartphones anyway? We've talked about this already.
Another commenter pointed out that there isn't any support for another big
change so soon, at the FCC. I agree with Mark that any such move, this time
around, would depend entirely on the broadcasters. There's no stomach in
government, I'm pretty sure, for another subsidized transition. I can just hear
the congressmen putting on their drama act if any such thing were suggested.
Another pointed out that broadcasters prefer their signal to go over MVPD media
anyway, also been discussed many times before.
An interesting comment was to use software designed radio, so we won't have to
experience these gut-wrenching changes every few years. (That would delay the
process enough to perhaps kill the whole idea.)
I have to admit that if the constraints of living with a one-way broadcast
medium need to remain, I'm also not sure of the payoff here. But I did like the
comment about using simple HDMI sticks for this.
Although when I think back at how impossible it was to get even half-way decent
ATSC 1.0 TV receivers or PVRs on the market, even three or four years after the
5th gen designs had been demoed, it makes me wonder. It literally took an act
of Congress.
Bert
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http://www.tvtechnology.com/exhibitions-&-events/0109/hpa--atsc--prototypes-expected-in-/274513
Deborah D. McAdams
02.12.2015 02:55 PM
HPA 2015: ATSC 3.0 Prototypes Expected in 2016
It's up to us, Aitken says
INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.-Prototype ATSC 3.0 receivers may appear as early as next
year, according to Skip Pizzi of the National Association of Broadcasters.
Pizzi was among the executives on the annual broadcast panel at Hollywood Post
Alliance Tech Retreat this week.
"A number of key requirements are being fulfilled," he said. "The target is to
get a candidate standard out later this year. Prototypes might start showing up
in 2016."
ATSC 3.0 represents a redesigned method of delivering television signals over
the air. The Advanced Television Systems Committee group assigned to develop it
was formed in 2011, a little more than a year after the Federal Communications
Commission proposed auctioning off up to 40 percent of the broadcast TV
spectrum for wireless broadband. That initiative is on track to take place in
2016 and will leave an unknown amount of spectrum for broadcasting.
Technically, broadcasters are stuck with the current ATSC standard until the
FCC says otherwise, and the agency has given no indications it will do so. Mark
Aitken of Sinclair said broadcasters have to push for it.
"The FCC has claimed a level of indifference with respect to the standard," he
said. "They have said they're not going to hold off their auction off for it to
happen. There's a massive collective effort within broadcast community... We've
had breakthroughs within ATSC, and can bring portions of the standard to
[Capitol] Hill," where lawmakers are working on a rewrite of the 1996
Telecommunications Act.
"The rules will change, but broadcasters will have to come together to bring
opportunities to consumers that are not available today. If you want a true
competitor to AT&T and Verizon, this is an opportunity for broadcasters to come
forth and be a true competitor in wireless services."
Richard Friedel of Fox said it would behoove the FCC to adopt ATSC 3.0.
"This allows spectrum-sharing, which is one of the FCC's auction criteria," he
said. "I think it's to the FCC's advantage to use this. It allows broadcasters
to get rid of more spectrum."
Over-the-air throughput would be 30 percent better than the current ATSC
format, Pizzi said. "We would move from 19.3 Mbps up to 25 Mbps range or
higher" in a 6 MHz channel.
The standard covers 4KTV using high efficiency video coding-HEVC-algorithms,
and possibly 22.2-channel audio. Audio codecs have been submitted by Dolby, DTS
and the MPEG-H Audio Alliance of Fraunhofer, Technicolor and Qualcomm.
Pizzi said one goal of ATSC 3.0 is to send a one signal that adapts to
different types of content and reception conditions, from TVs in the home to
smartphones to in-vehicle video systems. Another is to appeal to the
international market, which would enable more uniform development of both
transmission and receiver equipment.
As the market stands, there are zero receivers for ATSC 3.0, which departs
entirely from the current standard. Aitken said to build services people want,
then they will come. And rather than waiting for chipsets to be integrated into
TV sets, thumb drive-sized adapters similar to Chromecast units could be
subsidized by broadcasters and distributed on a market-by-market basis.
"There's also a conceptual philosophical view that needs to be brought to the
table, and that's convergence," Aitken said. "3.0 is a convergence technology,
where you have HTML 5 and IP coming together. At the center of this will be
MPEG Media Transport, the MPEG standard that succeeds MPEG-2.
"It's about taking content across multiple physical platforms and bringing them
together for the viewer. It brings ability for broadcasters to compete with
targeted personalized advertising opportunities."
Mario Vecchi of PBS said the industry had to take a macro approach, as well.
"The evolution from 1.0 to 3.0 and the spectrum auction has to be looked at in
the context of where is our business going in the future. We need to understand
what the consumer wants in terms of formats and distribution methods, and then
put this in the context of that new world and what's happening with the
auction, with WiFi, fiber-to-the-home... And how do we respond? To focus on one
particular issue in isolation isn't appropriate."
- See more at:
http://www.tvtechnology.com/exhibitions-&-events/0109/hpa--atsc--prototypes-expected-in-/274513#sthash.CpJiXfKK.dpuf
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