NAB 2016: A Lot of Firsts for ATSC 3.0

Las Vegas — Sam Matheny, CTO for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), sounded genuinely excited when he and representatives from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) unveiled the ATSC 3.0 Consumer Experience at the NAB Show.

“This is a great day,” he said. “It builds off all the work … of the last several years.”

More than five years, to be exact, according to Mark Richer, president of ATSC. That’s how long “thousands of engineers” have been at work fine-tuning the world’s first IP-based broadcast system. At the NAB Show, the results of hat work will finally be shared with the world.

Related: Chernock—FCC Spectrum Auction Has ATSC 3.0 Implications

“Quite simply, it’s the future of broadcasting,” Richer said. Over-the-air delivery of everything from targeted advertising, 4K video and high dynamic range (HDR) are in the cards if ATSC 3.0 plays out the way he hopes. Already the CTA, NAB, Advanced Warning and Response Network Alliance (AWARN) and America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) have petitioned the FCC for approval of the core transmission technology of ATSC 3.0.

Read more at B&C.