An Advanced TV Systems Committee (ATSC) “planning team” published a request for information on new 3D TV technologies that could be available to terrestrial broadcasters within five years, the organization said Wednesday. The team published an “interim report” on the “benefits and limitations” of known 3D TV transmission technologies and wants information by April 20 about technologies not mentioned in the report, including those under development, so its final report will be as complete as possible, ATSC said.
Blair Levin was “way off base, yet again” in his suggestions for broadcasters, a group representing low-power TV stations said Wednesday. Levin, coordinator for the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, told investors late Tuesday that TV stations needed a route to migrate to the MPEG-4 standard, an issue they seem to be ignoring and a decision which, if made, would lead to much more efficient use of spectrum (CD March 9 p13). “MPEG-4’s benefits are already recognized by the broadcasting industry, which already used it as the video encoding protocol for mobile/hand-held ATSC,” said the low-power TV group, Spectrum Evolution. “It is also part of the more advanced CMMB digital TV technology,” the group said of MPEG-4. But the standard “does nothing to increase the available `bits per second’ and so does not significantly advance the efficiency cause that Levin is advocating,” it said. “All it does is compress the video stream to use fewer bits to send a given image.” NAB, too, responded to Levin’s comments. “There have been discussions about the move to MPEG-4, but it would require replacing every TV set sold over the last few years,” a spokesman for the group said. “That would be a daunting challenge for both broadcasters and our viewers so soon after the” 2009 full-power broadcast DTV transition, he said.
The FCC Media Bureau denied an experimental license application from low-power TV (LPTV) operator WatchTV that sought to test an OFDM-based broadcast transmission system popular overseas with an in-band broadband service. The applicants had complained the request wasn’t getting the attention it deserved (CD Jan 14 p4). But the request appeared to seek authority to introduce a new service that doesn’t comply with FCC rules and would appear to be more akin to a developmental license rather than an experimental license, bureau Chief Bill Lake wrote Watch TV Chairman Greg Hermann, who’s also president of the LPTV group Spectrum Evolution. Developmental licenses should be accompanied by petition for rulemaking, Lake wrote. “Where a new service would employ technology inconsistent with the existing ATSC standard, any rulemaking most likely would be accompanied by industry standards development."
John Godfrey, Samsung, elected chairman, ATSC board … Vicki Hadfield, ex-Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, becomes TechAmerica senior vice president-global public policy … Jeanne Jackson, Nike Inc., joins Motorola Mobility board … Cox Communications changes, as field systems cut to nine from 11: Jill Campbell, senior vice president of operations, gets oversight over all systems; Bill Geppert retires next month as general manager of San Diego system, being combined with Southern California operations to be led by David Bialis; Duffy Leone now senior vice president of operations for California service; Janet Barnard to run Omaha, Sun Valley, Kansas and Arkansas operations; David Blau becomes vice president of new growth and development for the corporate strategy group … Hearst TV promotes Jordan Wertlieb to executive vice president and Dan Joerres to president-general manager, WBAL-TV Baltimore.
Content protection firm Nagra-Kudelski will provide conditional access technology to the Mobile Content Venture, a joint venture of Fox, NBC Universal, Ion and nine top TV station groups, the MCV said Wednesday. MobiTV will manage the operational aspects of the service for MCV and build a single client that blends broadcast and unicast content, MobiTV said. The planned service includes both live and VOD content, delivered over different paths to mobile devices Salil Dalvi, senior vice president of NBC Universal and co-general manager of MCV, said in an interview. The inclusion of conditional access means the service won’t be viewable on devices that aren’t updated with Nagra’s software.
LAS VEGAS -- On the eve of CES, which opens Thursday, broadcasters and TV makers began to lay out their plans for mobile DTV in 2011. The Open Mobile Video Coalition, which has been helping coordinate broadcasters’ technology efforts around mobile DTV admitted four manufacturer members, marking the first time it opened its doors formally to anyone other than TV broadcasters. Dell, Harris, LG Electronics and Samsung Mobile are the charter members of OMVC’s new Mobile DTV Forum, OMVC said. The move will allow broadcasters and device and equipment makers to work together more easily, said Anne Schelle, executive director of OMVC.
Low-power TV stations on channels 52-59 should have to move or stop operations by the end of 2011, if not sooner, AT&T and Verizon Wireless said in FCC comments filed separately. The agency is considering rules for managing the LPTV transition to digital broadcasting, a switch some operators of the stations said last week shouldn’t happen until the agency sets UHF spectrum policy (CD Dec 20 p5). “LPTV stations have been on notice for more than a decade that the 700 MHz band was being reallocated,” AT&T said. The commission’s proposed Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for those stations to stop operating on those channels will give them plenty of time to find other channels to relocate to, AT&T said.
Telford “Trey” Forgety, ex-Department of Homeland Security, becomes National Emergency Number Association’s director-government affairs … Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, ex-consultant and Swidler Berlin, becomes SES World Skies’ director-regulatory affairs … Richard Bates, Disney, joins Media Institute board … NPR hires Bob Kempf, ex-Boston.com, as vice president of Public Interactive, public-media app-services provider … Linzhen Xie, Peking University, joins UTStarcom board … SeaChange names Peter Feld, Ramius LLC, to board … Nickelodeon promotes Marc Epstein to vice president of new business for integrated marketing … Joseph Flaherty, CBS, named member emeritus, ATSC board.
Broadcasters can use transmission technology other than the government-mandated ATSC system, Sinclair told the FCC. An executive met with Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and other officials from OET and the Media Bureau. The company said they discussed “perceived technical and regulatory constraints that inhibit innovation within the broadcast band, and the potential to develop ‘Generation 2’ digital broadcasting technologies, complimentary to existing broadcast technologies, that could expand the number, quality and usability of broadcasting services” in a way that won’t interfere with the existing broadcast service. They include HDTV, standard-definition TV and mobile DTV.
The bankruptcies of S-band licensees DBSD and TerreStar and potential FCC action opening the spectrum to increased terrestrial service could mean several S-band satellites will be for sale in coming years. Currently, the two companies have a total of three satellites. Each has one geosynchronous in-orbit satellite and TerreStar has another nearly completed satellite on the ground. While much depends on how the FCC decides to handle the spectrum, TerreStar’s grounded satellite is likely more valuable than the in-orbit ones, officials said. The FCC isn’t expected to decide on the 2 GHz band spectrum for at least a year (CD Oct 27 p9). ProtoStar, which auctioned its two in-orbit satellites to Intelsat and SES as part of its bankruptcy last year, was able to raise some $395 million for its satellites, though the satellites had much broader uses.