In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized U.S. television broadcasters to use ATSC 3.0 transmission standard (or Next Generation TV) on a voluntary basis. Today, 43 markets are broadcasting using Next Gen TV and over 70 receiver models are commercially available. Each month, tens of thousands of consumers are purchasing Next Gen TV-capable TV sets. Over 50 additional markets have announced plans to commence ATSC 3.0 broadcasts in the near future. Now is the time for TV station engineers, consultants and industry partners to make themselves Next Gen TV ready.
PILOT is funding a series of roadshow seminars to help educate engineers in ATSC 3.0 technology, beginning with the physical layer. The first seminar will be held at NAB’s new building in Washington, D.C., on November 17 and 18. At least four additional seminars are planned for locations around the country.
Visit NextGenTVTraining.com to find a seminar near you.
The seminars will be presented by Gary Sgrignoli of Meintel, Sgrignoli & Wallace and will be similar to the highly-successful ATSC 1 “Roadshow” seminars held about twenty years ago. The seminars will provide a thorough understanding of the new ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV physical layer system. This system allows transmission of digital data from a broadcaster’s transmitter to a viewer’s receiver (whether fixed, handheld, pedestrian or mobile) via an over-the-air television RF channel. The ATSC 3.0 transmission system is not backward compatible with the present DTV system (ATSC 1) and this on-site course is designed to provide broadcast engineers with both introductory and basic information in order to ease the transition to Next Gen TV. The seminar will also offer specific and detailed analysis and design principles to help optimize individual and multiuser station deployments.
All are welcome to register and attend these seminars, but some prior knowledge would be helpful regarding digital transmission in general and ATSC1 DTV transmission in particular. Seminar material will be available for download prior to and after the seminar. The seminars are structured with a two-hour high-level introduction the evening of Day 1, followed by an eight-hour deep dive on Day 2. Lunch and snacks are included in the nominal course fee. The topics to be covered include:
ATSC 3.0 System Overview
- Performance benefits
- Flexibility and extensibility
- Key technologies and applications
- Comparison with ATSC1
Fundamentals of Digital Transmission
- ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer
- Architecture
- Signal formats
- Physical layer pipes (PLPs)
- OFDM characteristics
- Modulation and coding (ModCod)
- Throughput vs. robustness tradeoffs
- Applications
Recommended practices for selecting ModCod parameters
Design examples
ATSC 3.0 is indeed the next generation of broadcast television. Don’t get left behind without a solid understanding of Next Gen TV. Plan to attend one of the ATSC 3.0 Roadshow seminars.