nextgen tv spotlight
ATSC 3.0 will be center stage at the Future of Delivery pavilion in the newly opened West Hall of the LVCC, giving the ATSC and attendees more room to network and showcase advances.
NextGen TV Groundswell Continues at NAB Show ATSC 3.0 products, information, education and demos await attendees
By James E. O’Neal
LAS VEGAS—As broadcasters continue to deploy ATSC 3.0, the NAB Show will shine a spotlight on NextGen TV, with its presence being felt as soon as show attendees enter the Las Vegas Convention Center. ATSC 3.0 will be center stage at the “Future of Delivery” pavilion in the newly opened West Hall of the LVCC, giving the ATSC and attendees more room to network and showcase advances. Among the highlights in the pavilion will be several new consumer products as well as new ways to monetize the advanced broadcast standard, according to ATSC president Madeleine Noland. “We’re expecting to see new set-top receivers and antenna products as well as updates on how ATSC 3.0 will play an emerging role in distance education, the automotive and other new verticals,” she said. Noland observed that the number of manufacturers with ATSC 3.0 receivers is continuing to increase, which is even more of an incentive for broadcasters to start airing NextGen TV. “We left Las Vegas in January at CES with a commitment from Hisense that they’ll soon be shipping their first ATSC 3.0-enabled sets, and a
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prediction from the Consumer Technology Association that sales of integrated receivers will grow by 50 percent year over year, with some 4.5 million receivers expected to be sold this year from Hisense, LG, Samsung, and Sony.” Sam Matheny, executive vice president of technology and CTO for NAB, is also predicting a groundswell in 3.0 activity this year, and advised that the April show is the place to prepare for this. “As the rollout of NextGen TV across the country ushers in a new age of broadcasting, NAB Show offers a platform for broadcasters to hear about the lessons learned, features unlocked and opportunities created,” said Matheny. “From station owners to engineers to sales managers, we look forward to guiding NAB Show attendees through the next chapter of broadcast television service and how the technology can best serve the evolving needs of our millions of viewers.”
REACHING CRITICAL MASS Dave Folsom, engineering lead for the Pearl
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TV group and someone who’s accumulated a wealth of information on transmission and reception of ATSC 3.0 in connection with the Phoenix Model Market project, also emphasized that 2022 is going to be the year that ATSC 3.0 television reaches “critical mass” in the United States, and stressed that “knowledge certainly is power,” when it comes to being ready to move to the new standard. “This is an evolutionary year for NextGen TV,” said Folsom. “There continues to be great interest in the basic technology as well as its many capabilities such as its broadcaster application or the broadband delivery of services for example. “There are always multiple reasons why you should attend the NAB Show,” Folsom added. Madeleine Noland, ATSC President