Pearl TV Says It Sees No Government Coupon Program in Transition to ATSC 3.0

“We see a world where it’s optional for the consumer to upgrade to next-gen 3.0, and we have the consumer electronics guys currently working on sets that will support both 1.0 and 3.0,” LaPlatney said. Consumer Technology Association (CTA) representatives didn’t comment, nor did representatives of Samsung, which has committed through a memorandum of understanding to work with Pearl and Sinclair toward the speedy commercial implementation of ATSC 3.0 (see 1506170046). ATSC 3.0 “can coexist” with the existing standard, “using channel-sharing techniques,” LaPlatney said. “So there wouldn’t be any disruption to a consumer who hasn’t converted from 1.0 to 3.0.”

LaPlatney sees broadcasters transmitting “dual standards for a while to give a chance for the marketplace to develop” for ATSC 3.0, he said. “And then ultimately -- and I can’t sit here and tell you today how it’s going to happen -- but there’s going to be a tipping point at some point where there’s a majority of viewership coming from the 3.0 standard,” he said. “At the end of the day, the last thing you want to do is alienate the consumer. It has to be a great consumer experience for those who are ready.”

Pearl sees ATSC 3.0-enabled Ultra HD and high dynamic range as “core business enhancements” that will allow for “bigger audiences over the air and increased ad revenues,” LaPlatney said. But ATSC 3.0's ability to deliver “advanced advertising” is “really the headliner here,” he said. ATSC 3.0's “IP back channel will allow for targeted advertising,” he said. “It will allow the industry to become more competitive in an area that’s critical.”

Targeted advertising is “already a demand that’s being put on us by advertisers,” said Emily Barr, CEO at Graham Media Group, another Pearl member. “Cable to some extent has started down this path,” said Barr. To be able to use ATSC 3.0 to deliver an ad to a 35-year-old mother of three compared with one targeted to a comparably aged man "is, I think, to some extent, the holy grail," Barr said. “We know that advertising really works when it is highly targeted, and the digital world is doing this now. We all see it.”

Barr also thinks it will be “very, very important” for broadcasters to use ATSC 3.0 for over-the-air Ultra HD “because ultimately, consumers are going to move towards those things that are going to appeal to them,” she said. “We need to be there, and we need to be there out in front, not play defense, but play offense.”

NAB Labs is teaming with ATSC and CTA to stage ATSC 3.0 “field tests” at Tribune Broadcasting's WJW Cleveland, NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny told the conference. “We’re really going to be looking to do multiple types of tests” there, Matheny said. “Ultimately what we’re talking about is we want to test in UHF, we want to test in VHF, and we want to test a single-frequency network,” he said. “This is sort of a neutral test facility where we will work with the ATSC test plans,” he said. By collaborating with CTA, “we hope to validate” that all the various “layers” of ATSC 3.0 “are indeed working and functioning as they should,” he said. Those field tests are expected to start by the end of calendar 2015, he said.

The field tests likely will start with VHF and will follow with UHF, Matheny told us after the workshop. The tests will be “phased,” he said. “The very first tests are going to be bits -- bits to air -- no pictures, no audio, just, hey, what is the RF patterning and all that sort of stuff,” he said. With the next phase will come the “plugging in” of the audio and the video and the data services, he said. “We’re very fortunate to be able to do VHF testing there, as well as UHF testing,” he said. The partners also hope to be able to do single-frequency-network testing, he said. WJW Cleveland is the same station LG, Zenith and GatesAir used to test and showcase their Futurecast system earlier this year (see 1507130007).