Broadcasters See ATSC 3.0 Migration Via 1080p/HDR, Not 4K, Conference Told

“A lot of us are looking at 1080p” resolution at 60 frames per second, “at least in our studio operations,” with HDR and “extended” color gamut, “as maybe in the next three to five to 10 years as a way to migrate into better pictures,” said Del Parks, chief technology officer at Sinclair, who moderated a panel on 3.0 station operations, during which other engineers agreed.

At Cox Media, “we’re proponents of better pictures and better programming,” said Jim Kauffman, senior director-TV engineering. “The 1080p/60/HDR step is the next logical step,” Kauffman said. “We don’t need 4K resolution, but we do need compelling pictures and sound, and we believe we can get that very economically as the next step.” Broadcasters “need leadership from other segments of the industry,” including ATSC 3.0 “deployment plans from our friends the networks,” Kauffman said. “We need attractive programming. We need that distribution infrastructure from the networks to support our local efforts.”

Capitol Broadcasting is “on the fence on whether we’re going to do studio 4K versus 1080p,” said Pete Sockett, head of engineering and operations. “There’s a couple of different conversations about it.” Sockett is “absolutely a firm believer in HDR and wide color” as making “the biggest difference” in picture quality, he said. “But there’s also something to be said about shooting in 4K,” he said. “We’re working through that.”

It’s “important” for Fox “to deliver the highest-quality image to our distribution networks,” said Senior Executive Engineer Ira Goldstone. “Initially, as we roll out 3.0, that means a screen that is 1.0-compliant in color space and resolution and all those things and one that is 3.0-compliant in color space and resolution,” said Goldstone. “All the interstitials that we deliver from the network would be linearized in color space, resolution and dynamic range to that end.” The “bottom line” at Fox, at least “initially,” will be to “satisfy” both the ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 “distribution systems,” he said. “At some tipping point, we’ll derive the lesser one from the better one.”

Goldstone sees 1080p as “a great transitional format” for ATSC 3.0, he said. HDR and wide color are “enhancements that we can carry in 1080p very bandwidth-efficiently” over existing “3G infrastructures today,” he said. “That will have the most perceived benefit to the consumer.”

Sony is “a big supporter, long-term supporter of 4K,” said Paul Hearty, Sony Electronics vice president-technology standards, in Q&A on a “display and rendering” panel of receiver executives, when asked to respond to broadcasters’ earlier-expressed plans to transmit ATSC 3.0 in 1080p. Speaking from the “perspective” of Sony Pictures, “we’d like it to be 4K ultra-high definition everywhere,” Hearty said. “From a practical perspective, I think we understand that the broadcasters have to do what they have to do,” and 1080p with HDR as “an interim step is a great way to go,” he said.

Set makers “have done a lot of investment in making really good upscalers” for their TVs, said Hearty. “That will support an improved viewing experience for the user, due to the HDR and the excellent upconversion. But if I speak as a purist, I’d like to have everything, and I will have that with my Blu-ray player.” But “we need to understand that it has to be part of the broadcast mix that there are going to be events or shows that are going to be full 4K, even if it means turning off other stuff,” Hearty said.

LG is “well on our way to launching” ATSC 3.0 TVs, “initially in South Korea, to support the broadcasters’ launch of ATSC 3.0 in Korea this year in preparation for the Winter Olympics in 2018,” said John Taylor, LG Electronics USA vice president-public affairs and communications. All LG 4K TVs on the market in South Korea later this year “will include both an ATSC 3.0 and 1.0 tuner, in fact, all in a single chip,” Taylor said. “That really gives us a great on ramp to what we’re doing here in the U.S. We’re on our next-generation chipset already and I think that’s going to give us this foundation on which to build when ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV is launched in the United States.”

Sony's Hearty responded: “Gee, I wish I could say what he said. But I really can’t talk about our rollout plans. Our plan is to be ready when we need to be ready.”

The industry already has “production silicon” available in ATSC 3.0 chipsets, and “stuff being ramped up,” said Brian Markwalter, CTA senior vice president-research and standards. “It’s really important for the U.S., and puts us, I think, in a very good position, that there’s going to be a great deal of experience already and available silicon, so we’re on our second or third generation by the time we hit volume here.”