TV Makers ‘Engaged’ in ATSC 3.0 Rollout to Top 40 Markets, Says Pearl’s Schelle
LAS VEGAS -- Industry luminaries at an NAB Show briefing Monday to announce the rollout of ATSC 3.0 to the top 40 U.S. TV markets by the end of 2020 seemed intent on dispelling worries that the commercial introduction of 3.0 broadcast services won’t come without consumer electronics industry support. A “broad coalition” of TV station groups, including network-owned-and-operated stations and affiliates, plus public broadcasters, will participate in the rollout starting this year, said the announcement.
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“We’ve achieved a landmark development in the transition to the new digital standard that is the future of television,” said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle. “This is a moment that should not go unrecognized.”
The launch in 40 markets will be “in preparation” for 3.0 TVs “and other devices that will be available in 2020,” said Schelle. “Television and device manufacturers see the future,” she said. “They are engaged with us.” LG, Samsung and Sony, partners with Pearl in the Phoenix 3.0 model-market deployment, are “ready, and they’re engaged,” she said. “They will be bringing compliant 3.0 sets to the market in 2020.”
That the top 40 TV markets “are being targeted" for 3.0 "upgrades" should come as "welcome news for the consumer electronics industry,” said NAB President Gordon Smith. “Our brethren on the receiving side of the broadcast signals are also here to play a role in next-gen.” Broadcasters and CE makers “count on each other, we need each other,” he said.
New CTA research found antenna use is “on the rise” in U.S. TV homes, said Mike Bergman, senior director-technology and standards. “Our members are working hard on the development of reception devices optimized for next-gen TV signals. We anticipate seeing integrated 4K Ultra HD TVs, gateway receivers and portable devices at CES 2020 in January.”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is “glad” this commission “has been working to remove the outdated regulations that only made it harder for broadcasters to compete in today’s market,” he told the briefing. Carr views 3.0 as “part of a broader shift that we’re seeing toward next-generation connectivity,” he said. “You see it on the wireless side with the buildout of 5G networks. You see it a couple of hundred miles above us with a new generation of low-earth-orbit satellites getting ready to launch” (see 1904080033).
ATSC 3.0 as a “new and competitive broadband pipe” is one "use case" that “stands out to me,” said Carr. “The technology has the potential to deliver a 25-megabit-per-second data stream to Americans all over the U.S.” As an internet-protocol-based standard, “3.0 will enable broadcasters to leverage the same protocols that we use today in our broadband networks,” he said.
Though it’s “hard to predict” all the consumer applications that can “benefit from this new broadband pipe, there’s already buzz around a few,” including autonomous vehicles, said Carr. ATSC 3.0 can play a “pivotal role” there, he said. “It could send out targeted map and traffic data or provide large fleet-wide software updates to vehicles.”