This is Part 1 of a two-part series on Next Gen TV technology. To read Part 2 focused on ATSC 3.0's advertising opportunities click here.
The next generation of broadcast television is on the horizon, promising better picture quality and new functionalities. But unlike the 2009 switch from analog to digital, the upcoming move is entirely voluntary, meaning it is up to station owners and TV set manufacturers to execute a timely transition without leaving any viewers behind.
The new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, also known as Next Gen TV, promises to combine over-the-air transmission with the benefits of internet-delivered content. In November 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to authorize the implementation of the new standard, allowing TV broadcasters to introduce ATSC 3.0 signals at their own discretion.
Broadcasters say the new standard will be a game changer, providing new programming options and advanced advertising opportunities. But those benefits are still a couple of years away, and it is the work occurring now that will determine whether ATSC 3.0 is able to deliver on its potential.
The need to work together
ATSC 3.0 offers several technological improvements compared to the ATSC 1.0 standard, according to Paul Hearty, vice president of technology standards at Sony Corp.'s Sony Electronics. "The big leap we made with ATSC 3.0, in my personal view, is hooking it in to the internet," he said. But Hearty also noted that because there is no government mandate forcing the transition, broadcasters and equipment manufacturers will have to work together closely to ensure a timely rollout.
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"We need to keep in mind what our fundamental goal is, which is to improve and enhance the viewing experience," he said. "We have to be able to work together ... on a day-to-day, month-to–month, year-to-year basis to make this work."
This cooperation will be especially important when it comes to spectrum. Unlike during the ATSC 1.0 switch, broadcasters will not be provided with additional reserved spectrum to deploy ATSC 3.0 services, which means they will "have to … collaborate to enable themselves to maintain 1.0 as a lifeline service … while they're launching and developing and building 3.0," Hearty said.
To facilitate this cooperation, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and Nexstar Media Group Inc. in 2017 founded an ATSC 3.0 spectrum consortium dubbed Spectrum Co. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook described the consortium as "a formal collaborative effort to advance the promotion of spectrum utilization, innovation and monetization through ATSC 3.0."
Hearty believes if all the involved parties come together, the transition to 3.0 could happen more quickly than the transition to 1.0. In 1996, the Telecommunications Act set an analog-to-digital transition deadline for late 2006. That date was repeatedly pushed back until June 2009.
Justin Nielson, an analyst with Kagan, a media research group of S&P Global Market Intelligence, believes the voluntary nature of the transition actually will be a boon. "When you try to get mandatory initiatives through the regulatory environment, it's very difficult and time consuming, he said.
Benefits of 3.0
Kagan's Michelle Abraham said TV viewers need to be educated about the "value proposition" of the new standard in order to be incentivized to upgrade their equipment.
Some of Next Gen TV's capabilities include 4K resolution, or Ultra High-Definition TV, which enables broadcasters to send higher-quality signals to viewers; immersive audio that makes television programs and movies more realistic and lifelike; mobile reception that allows viewers to stream TV content on their mobile devices; and advanced emergency alerting, which gives broadcasters the ability to target alerts and inform the public of potentially dangerous conditions.
Hearty said ATSC 3.0 also has a greater international reach and has captured more industrywide interest than ATSC 1.0. The Korean market, for instance, adopted the standard in 2017, and several leading South Korean broadcasters began transmitting Ultra HD signals ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in February.
South Korea's LG Electronics Inc., a co-developer of the ATSC 3.0 standard, has already released 4K Ultra HD TVs that incorporate ATSC 3.0 tuners in the South Korean market. In the U.S., the company is currently working with major U.S. broadcasters to test ATSC 3.0 signals and equipment in Phoenix, Ariz.
Hearty said broadcasters are making "aggressive moves" in Phoenix and certain other test markets.
Backwards compatibility vs. moving forward
One major concern around the upcoming transition is that the new standard is not backwards compatible with existing television sets or devices, meaning many viewers will need new TV equipment to receive the ATSC 3.0 broadcast signals.
Mark Richer — president of the Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc., the multistakeholder organization that develops voluntary standards for digital television — said there is a good reason for this noncompatibility. "We designed ATSC 3.0 from the ground up. We wanted to start over to get the most advanced technology," he said, adding that the difference between ATSC 3.0 and the current digital broadcast standard "would not have been very significant" had compatibility been required.
But FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted against the Next Gen TV order in 2017, cited the lack of compatibility as a major issue, saying the new standard threatens to be "a tax on every household with a television."
A similar concern arose during the 2009 transition, which was also not backwards compatible. But because that switch came as part of a federal mandate, Congress provided funds to help consumers purchase digital-to-analog converter boxes. Specifically, all U.S. households were eligible to request two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the purchase of up to two boxes. In a final report, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which administered the coupon program, called it "a tremendous success" and "one of the reasons the digital television transition in the United States went so smoothly."
For the upcoming ATSC 3.0 transition, there are no plans for a similar coupon program. "None of that has even been discussed ... because this isn't a mandatory move," Kagan's Abraham said.
No TV household left behind
As a means of protecting consumers, the FCC's 2017 order requires full-power stations using the new standard to provide a simulcast in the current digital television transmission standard, ATSC 1.0, for five years. Abraham, though, said station owners could choose to deliver 1.0 signals indefinitely so as to ensure no loss of viewers.
But Abraham also believes the natural technology replacement cycle will eventually enable a market-driven shift to ATSC 3.0. "At some point in the future, a broadcaster who is delivering an ATSC 1.0 [signal] and an ATSC 3.0 signal could say, 'OK, 90% of my local market can receive my 3.0 signal, so it's going to be OK … for me to turn off the 1.0 signal,'" Abraham said, noting that switch could occur 10 years from now or even 20 years from now.
According to Nielson, the television replacement cycle is roughly 8 years. He noted the cycle has sped up in recent years as 4K Ultra HD sets get cheaper.
But Richer said the transition to ATSC 3.0 will be driven by more than just new television sales. "We envision dongles, USB or HDMI, that go right into the television … Another device that we imagine is a broadcast home gateway where broadcast signals are received on the device and are then made available on the home Wi-Fi of the consumer," he said.
Whereas the 2009 transition relied on "big" converter boxes, Richer said the 3.0 transition will utilize "different ways of thinking about transition devices that are less expensive [and] easier to implement."
Sony's Hearty confirmed his company is working on ways of ensuring no viewer or household is left behind. But he declined to provide details, saying, "That's very proprietary."
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