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2025 BEITC Proceedings

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  • BPS Mesh Network Initial Deployment Report  - $15

    Date: March 21, 2025
    Topics: ,

    The BEIT 2024 paper, ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) Mesh Network [3], provided a description of a notional mesh network intended to manage and monitor a collection of ATSC 3.0 television transmissions intended to provide high precision traceable time. A preliminary network of these Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) transmissions has been constructed in the Baltimore and Washington DC region using two transmitters and a third simulated transmitter in the NAB 1M laboratory. Another BPS transmitter has been deployed in the Denver area to reach the NIST facility in Boulder, Colorado where the signal is being analyzed.

    This paper describes the actual systems deployed, how they are operating, and the results of the various experiments being carried out using the first installation of a BPS leader / follower architecture in preparation for a fully operational network deployment.

    In addition, the paper describes the initial implementation of a network operating software system which has been developed with the intention of supporting a large, perhaps nation-wide deployment of the BPS Mesh Network.

    Mark Corl | Triveni Digital, Inc. | Princeton, N.J., United States
    Vladimir Anishchenko | Avateq Corp. | Markham, Ontario, Canada
    Tariq Mondal | National Association of Broadcasters | Washington, D.C., United States

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  • Broadcast and Digital out of Home (DOOH) A Convergence Thru Datacasting - $15

    Date: March 21, 2025
    Topics: ,

    The digital advertising landscape is evolving, and with it, the lines between broadcast TV and DOOH are blurring as both platforms are experiencing similar needs and similar challenges. Even though broadcast is a “Lean Back” experience and DOOH is a “Passing By” experience, both need to effectively communicate their messages with minimal disruption to a person’s day. Delivering the right message to the right person at the right time is timeless and the technology available today is making this easier to do than ever before.

    This paper examines the integration of dynamic content delivery via datacasting to enhance audience engagement in Digital Out of Home (DOOH) advertising. Our approach involved preloading a diverse array of content onto edge devices using datacasting technology, which was then tailored to real-time audience presence using computer vision analytics (CVA). We mixed DOOH ads with broadcast content to create a more engaging viewer experience, focusing on contextually relevant messaging based on second- and third-party data like location analytics and behavioral science insights.

    Key methods included the use of multi-zone presentations, conditional content playout based on audience demographics, and the measurement of engagement through metrics like Gaze Through Rate, Session Time, and Attention Time. Trials were conducted at various high-traffic events from 2023 to 2025, where we observed the impact of content type, format, and relevance on audience interaction.

    Results indicated that content that was daily updated or event-specific significantly increased audience capture and engagement. However, challenges included managing content frequency to avoid fatigue and ensuring relevance without infringing on privacy or trust. The paper discusses the potential of datacasting in not only improving DOOH but also in transforming traditional linear TV into a Connected TV (CTV) platform, suggesting a convergence that could benefit both advertising platforms.

    We conclude that while datacasting provides a promising method for enhancing DOOH effectiveness, further research is needed in areas like privacy protection, content optimization, and the integration of generative AI for ad personalization. The study paves the way for future explorations into more efficient, audience-centric advertising strategies in public spaces.

    Ted Korte | USSI Global | Melbourne, Fl., United States

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  • Broadcast Cybersecurity Precautions & Verification - $15

    Date: April 3, 2024
    Topics: ,

    Cybersecurity continues to be a challenge and a priority for the broadcast IT engineer. Cyber threats and tactics continue to evolve and the proper cybersecurity precautions must be implemented to protect the IP dependent broadcast plant and ensure reliable operation. Proactive precautions must be in place and must be verified before any unknown gaps are exploited by the cybercriminal. This paper and accompanying presentation will provide practical to-do cybersecurity precaution steps and techniques to verify precautions thought to be in place are effectively implemented.

    Wayne Pecena | Texas A&M University, Educational Broadcast Services – KAMU TV & FM | College Station, Texas, United States

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  • Broadcast Industry Guide Specs for SFN Design and Implementation - $15

    Date: April 26, 2020
    Topics: ,

    Designing a Single Frequency Network (SFN) for ATSC-3.0 deployment is complicated and time consuming. While the software tools are available to do the required studies, there are dozens of parameters that create thousands of possible outcomes. Many engineers will be designing systems, and those reports will be shared with many customers.

    In order for decision makers in our industry to make appropriate choices, a guide spec document has been created to standardize parameters to allow for standard reports. For example, initial FFT and Mod-Cod combinations will be identified from highly robust low data rate uses that will work for low C/N ratios to less robust high data rate uses that require higher C/N ratios. Standard FCC 10 M receive antenna heights are useful, but in addition, portable and typical indoor antenna heights are much lower and demonstrate more useful information.

    It is also essential for reports to be in common formats. For example, colors that indicated signal strength ranges need to be common to all maps, so that the end user of the maps for one design is not confused by the colors use from other design. Guide specifications for such trivial parameters will make reports easier to use. However, no guide specification should put limits on the input parameters or reporting format. It?s just as important to have standardized mapping as it is to allow for variances from the guide spec where necessary.

    Dennis Wallace | Meintel, Sgrignoli, & Wallace, LLC |
    Eric Dausman | Public Media Group

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  • Broadcast Media Creation as a Service: Dynamically Scalable Environments Powered by Infrastructure-as-Code and the Public Cloud - $15

    Date: April 26, 2020
    Topics: ,

    Traditionally, the infrastructure required for broadcast media creation has consisted of specialized GPU workstations, high-performance storage arrays, complex networking, and video wiring; all of which are capital intensive and costly to maintain. Over the past year, NBCUniversal has been evaluating a cloud infrastructure model, to provide on-air media creation as a service to its creative teams. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) technology has been around for years, but because of media specific challenges (GPU utilization, frame rate, color representation, etc.), it has not been fully adopted in media workflows, until now. Utilizing GPU-enabled cloud-based virtual machines, dynamically scalable high-performance cloud-native storage, and infrastructure-as-code methodologies, we are now able to provide full end-to-end media production workflows in the public cloud. The infrastructure-as-code philosophy treats compute, storage, database, and network systems as software; prioritizing automation, efficiency, versioning, and reusability. Closely aligned, configuration management tools allow us to deploy software and specialized configurations to many systems simultaneously. Using an automation-forward approach, we know exactly what is going to be applied, how it will propagate through the infrastructure, and what dependencies are involved. Elastic scalability of compute and storage eliminates over-provisioning (and its related capital investments), and provides the ability to dynamically add/remove resources as necessary. Additionally, the use of IP video technology enables devices and applications to share audio and video across the network. Through configuration examples and system diagrams, this paper will highlight the technical details of this programmatically reproducible solution, as well as the challenges and benefits of media creation in the cloud. Critically, we seek to offer the broadcast community an insight into ?non-broadcast? technologies and tools which are fast becoming crucial to our industry. Key data points and discussion topics include network bandwidth and cloud connectivity requirements, performance metrics for cloud storage solutions, scalability factors and user experience ? can creatives tell the difference between traditional workstations and cloud virtual machines?

    Kevin Fornito | NBCUniversal | New York, NY 10112
    Chris Zembower | NBCUniversal | New York, NY 10112
    Steve Sneddon | NBCUniversal | New York, NY 10112

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  • Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) Using ATSC 3.0 - $15

    Date: October 9, 2021
    Topics: ,

    We propose a broadcast positioning system (BPS) using ATSC 3.0 signal. ATSC 3.0 capable receivers will be able to compute location and time using the signals from properly configured towers.

    Tariq Mondal | National Association of Broadcasters | Washington, DC, United States
    Robert D. Weller | National Association of Broadcasters | Washington, DC, United States
    Sam Matheny | National Association of Broadcasters | Washington, DC, United States

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