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.
A dozen of the largest TV station groups said they will form a joint venture to offer a national mobile content service using the ATSC Mobile DTV standard. Belo, Cox, E.W. Scripps, Fox, Gannett, Hearst, Ion, Media General, Meredith, NBC, Post-Newsweek and Raycom are in the group. All except Ion, Fox and NBC said they had formed the Pearl Mobile DTV company to act on their behalf in the venture. All the stations in the joint venture will contribute spectrum, content, marketing resources and cash, the participants said. “The venture is designed to complement the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Initiative by giving consumers mobile access to video content while reducing congestion of the nation’s wireless broadband infrastructure,” they said. The venture is the first step toward forming cross-industry and company partnerships that will get additional mobile programming to viewers, said Jack Abernethy, Fox TV Stations’ CEO. The participants said they will announce a management team to add programming, spectrum and distribution partners.
A consumer showcase of mobile DTV in Washington will begin May 3, the Open Mobile Video Coalition said Monday. Stations in the market have been broadcasting for weeks, and relatives and friends of employees of group members have been testing devices, but OMVC will begin recruiting consumers next week, said Executive Director Anne Schelle. The showcase will feature a mix of broadcast and cable programming, said Brandon Burgess, Ion Media’s CEO and the coalition’s chairman. “We're going to get some sober feedback about what works and what doesn’t work."
LAS VEGAS -- Most people who viewed 3D telecasts or highlight reels of Masters golf came away so impressed that they think the jump to 3D from HD will “be a bigger transition than it was from SD to HD,” said Dan Holden, chief scientist at the Comcast Media Center in Centennial, Colo. At the NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering Conference on Saturday, he said Comcast plans to deliver 3D content in an “over-under” format at half the resolution per eye of full HD, which won’t require adding bandwidth. He thinks most other cable companies will do the same, he said.