Low-power TV operators are fighting for their existence, Greg Herman, president of Spectrum Evolution, told other LPTV owners and advocates on a teleconference Friday. Herman, also president of LPTV operator WatchTV, is lobbying the FCC for flexibility in the use of LPTV spectrum by current licensees. The ATSC standard for TV broadcasting is “far from state-of-the-art and far from being the envy of the world,” Herman said. LPTV stations should be allowed to provide “exactly what people want with the best services that are available today,” and not be “shackled to a 20-year-old technology,” he said. Spectrum Evolution is developing talking points for LPTV owners to use at their local congressional offices during the holidays, said Amy Brown, its executive director. Spectrum Evolution was recently formed and Brown, Herman and other officials used to work for the Community Broadcasters Association of LPTV stations (CD Nov 2 p7) before it shuttered in 2009.
The FCC should approve TV white spaces rules that offer certainty and guarantee “assured access to adequate spectrum … on a long term basis” for the band to be commercially viable, the Communications Finance Association (CFA) said in an FCC filing. Numerous industry groups and companies trooped to the agency to make their final arguments on the order, before it was placed on the sunshine agenda Thursday night for the Sept. 23 meeting, cutting off further lobbying. Various parties made a total of more than 150 ex parte filings in 04-186, the main white spaces docket, last week alone.
Iberium Communications developed a Mobile DTV demodulator core based on the ATSC mobile/handheld standard, it said. It’s working with “interested parties on customization and silicon implementation of the core."
The Dominican Republic adopted the ATSC standard as its DTV technology and plans to switch to digital broadcasts in September 2015, the Advanced Television Systems Committee said.
The FCC should exempt all DTV receivers from an NTSC requirement so manufacturers can sell ATSC-only products that can’t get analog broadcasts, Elgato Systems said in a filing posted Thursday to docket 10-111. A Media Bureau order exempting all mobile DTV tuners from a requirement they get analog signals affirms (CD July 16 p6) an NTSC requirement that predated U.S. full-power stations’ digital transition and “granted only a very limited waiver,” the company said. It asked the commission to review and expand the bureau’s ruling to say NTSC tuner requirements of Section 15.117 of the agency’s rules don’t apply because of the analog cutoff. “The rule is no longer necessary to ensure that customers can receive all full-power local television stations and the rule does not mention analog stations” such as low-power ones, Elgato said. “Even if the Commission still believes the NTSC tuner requirement continues to serve the public interest, there is ample basis for waiving the rule for devices like Elgato’s computer peripheral DTV receivers. Elgato’s request for an expanded waiver was unopposed and would affect a relatively small number of devices and consumers.” Approving the company’s expanded waiver request, it said, “would be another step forward toward the final transition to digital broadcasting, discontinuance of analog broadcasting, and the clearing of valuable spectrum for wireless and other high-value uses."
Portable devices that receive mobile DTV broadcasts were exempted from FCC rules that they contain tuners capable of getting regular analog and digital broadcasts, in a Media Bureau decision Thursday afternoon. Cellphones, PDAs, laptops, dongles and devices used in autos can exclude analog and/or ATSC A/53 digital TV signal reception if they can get mobile broadcasts using A/153. The products must be designed to be used “in motion” and give notice to consumers on the package and in certain cases at point of sale about which types of signals can’t be received.
The Advanced Television Systems Committee’s 3D planning team will meet for the first time next month as part of a process to determine the viability of developing a technical standard for terrestrial 3D broadcasts, ATSC President Mark Richer told us in an interview Thursday. The 3D planning team is one of three the organization has put together, along with those covering next-generation television broadcasting systems and Internet-connected TV technologies.
Requests to make and sell portable devices capable of getting mobile DTV broadcasts but without analog tuners were backed in all filings on a petition by Dell and LG, and another by Hauppauge Computer Works, in FCC docket 10-111. Commercial and public broadcasters, several CE trade groups and companies like Intel supported the requests for exemption from FCC Part 15 rules that all TV devices include analog and legacy ATSC DTV tuners. That bodes well for quick commission action on the requests, several supporters told us Monday.
Advanced TV Systems Committee work on over-the-air 3D TV, next-generation broadcasting and Internet-enhanced TV will commence under three separate planning teams at the committee, ATSC said. Craig Todd, chief technology officer at Dolby Labs, will lead the 3D TV team. PBS Chief Engineer Jim Kutzner will lead the Next Generation Broadcast TV team. Rajan Mehta, director of digital TV Standards, policy and strategy for NBC Universal will lead the Internet Enhanced TV team. “ATSC and its members will be well-positioned to address longer-term strategic goals while continuing our strong focus on immediate industry requirements,” said ATSC Board Chair Wayne Luplow. The teams will explore the technical feasibility and market requirements of each technology, ATSC said.
CE makers are seeking a blanket waiver to exempt mobile DTV devices from FCC Part 15 requirements that all TV devices include analog and legacy ATSC DTV tuners. Dell and LG filed a joint petition, seeking a waiver for battery-operated mobile devices. Separately, Hauppauge Computer Works sought a broader waiver to cover any “television receivers capable of mobile use by consumers” that has a mobile DTV receiver. Comments on both requests, which the commission will consider together, are due June 4 under an accelerated process. Replies are due June 11.