LAS VEGAS—The ATSC has released highlights of NextGen TV related events and developments that will be on display during the 2024 NAB Show, where more than 40 companies will be showcasing NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, products, services and deployments between April 13-17.
During the show, the ATSC will also be highlighting significant international and U.S. deployments of 3.0 broadcasts and services.
“Eight countries representing over a billion viewers are now deploying, planning launches, or experimenting with ATSC 3.0 broadcast technologies, a fact that we’ll be celebrating throughout the 2024 NAB Show,” said Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC, the broadcast standards association. ATSC 3.0 broadcasts are being tested in India, Canada and Mexico, and Brazil has already selected key ingredients of the ATSC 3.0 system for their next-generation system, joining South Korea, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S., which are on-air or planning near-term launches.
“With NextGen TV powered by ATSC 3.0 now available to 75% of Nielsen households in the U.S. and more than 100 NextGen TV products available to consumers this year, we’re excited about the new features and capabilities that broadcasters are launching, now that the backbone of ATSC 3.0 service is available to most viewers across America,” she added.
The group also reported that next-generation broadcasting with ATSC 3.0 will be the subject of some 16 NAB Show presentations and panel discussions before and during the annual show, which opens Sunday and continues through Wednesday, April 17. Subjects range from emergency messaging to precision time and positioning, merging streaming and over-the-air broadcasts, and using ATSC 3.0 as a robust data delivery system. An overview of conference sessions and a “Guide to ATSC 3.0 at the Show” is now available on ATSC.org.
A key element of the ATSC booth (West Hall 3056) is a representative display of NextGen TV products from television makers Samsung, Sony Electronics, Hisense and TCL, and accessory devices from ADTH, Stavix, Velo, Zapperbox and Zinwell that are already available or coming soon as affordable options for viewers looking to upgrade to NextGen TV.
“Consumers in the U.S. are taking home more than 10,000 NextGen TV products every day, with a growing number choosing to upgrade their existing displays with an affordable accessory device. We’re excited to see a range of those new products, including the first models to offer secure ATSC 3.0 digital video recording capability,” Noland said.
Impressive High Dynamic Range demonstrations will be featured in the ATSC exhibit, as will new consumer experiences delivered by ATSC 3.0 from both over-the-air and over-the-top content sources.
Events in the ATSC booth (W3056) will include a brief ribbon cutting ceremony followed by an opening reception sponsored by American Tower on Sunday, April 14 beginning at 5:00 PM Pacific. A reception sponsored by Fincons will take place on Monday, April 15 at 4:00 PM. And the ATSC International Implementation Teams will host a reception in the ATSC booth on Tuesday afternoon, April 16 from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM with visiting executives from around the world coming together to share ideas and experiences.
A dozen diverse exhibitors are being spotlighted in the ATSC exhibit. Major exhibits from key ATSC sponsors anchor the booth:
- Pearl TV: RUN3TV, a pioneering TV Web Platform, bridges the gap between traditional broadcast and digital media, introducing groundbreaking OTA broadcast features like Velope’s “Start Over” and Play Anywhere’s platform to watch, play, bet, and buy in real time. Discover how broadcasters are enhancing viewer engagement and also unlocking new monetization opportunities for content creators and broadcasters.
- Sinclair / ONE Media Technologies: Demonstrating how ATSC 3.0 opens the door to new revenue opportunities through datacasting; and how broadcasters will be able to deliver new services, such as automotive, enhanced location capability, and other data services that can readily be monetized.
- NexusConnect: Highlighting the dynamic ecosystem that brings together industry players to create, share, and monetize innovative applications and services for NextGen TV. The marketplace serves as a hub for broadcasters, content creators, advertisers, and technology providers to collaborate and deliver immersive, interactive, and personalized experiences to viewers.
- Saankhya Labs: Showcasing a live demonstration of Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) Broadcast, live and over-the-top AV content for broadcast, audio only content, emergency alerts and notifications, remote education, firmware and software updates delivered over-the-air, and enhanced GPS.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Demonstrating the Broadcast Core Network which enables dynamic allocation and use of the ATSC 3.0 spectrum to deliver data services to enterprise such as manufacturing, warehouse/retail distribution, public safety and digital signage applications. Data services provide needed diversification in the Broadcaster's business generating new revenue streams.
- Additional kiosk exhibits in the ATSC booth will feature new products and services for consumers and industry professionals from digital innovators.
Some of the highlights for consumer products and services include:
- Advanced HDR by Technicolor: High Dynamic Range Video for “Any Content, Any Time, Anywhere” with automated and efficient HDR creation and distribution for 24/7 NextGen TV video broadcast and streaming, with SDR backwards compatibility and very low bandwidth requirements, demonstrated at the booth by showing content of NextGen TV broadcast partners in HDR.
- CeWi Networks: “Carosel,” a small portable ATSC 3.0 receiver, designed to function as a "set top box" for mobile devices. Sample devices and live demos will be available.
- GameLoop: Play games for free on your NextGen TV. GameLoop is an innovative NextGen TV channel for game discovery and free play, and a powerful demonstration of ATSC 3.0’s interactive broadcast IP capabilities.
- ROXi: The world’s first interactive music channel on Broadcast TV. ROXi Music Video Channel, powered by FastStream, brings the interactivity of music app to broadcast TV. Pause, play and skip music videos for the first time on broadcast TV without downloading an app.
Some of the NextGen TV highlights for industry professionals include:
- Fincons: NextGen Broadcast Applications developed for major broadcasters, including new advertising products and dynamic ad insertion, content promotion and monetization, new engagement models and interactive services, and real-time audience and monitoring.
- Mirakulo: Digital TV innovation with Dynamic Advertising & Hybrid TV solutions. Customized embedded software for cutting-edge business models.
- Rohde & Schwarz: The new R&S TE1 is an ATSC 3.0 native high-power transmitter designed to meet the ever-evolving requirements of the broadcast industry, along with a newly introduced Remote Transmitter Monitoring, the R&S RMTX, that delivers real-time diagnostic, guidance and rapid response, minimizing downtime and enhancing operating efficiency.
