Sinclair Broadcast Group and Technicolor have staged the first over the air test of the ATSC 3.0 standard.
The test was run using Technicolor’s ATSC 3.0 4K UltraHD testbed platform and receiving an over-the-air signal. The Technicolor platform, based on open audio, video and transport standards including Scalable HEVC (SHVC), MPEG-H audio and MPEG-MMT transport, has been integrated into Sinclair’s experimental OFDM transmission system in Baltimore, Maryland.
“Sinclair continues to work to bring future value to all broadcast stakeholders, a future where HDTV and new services can be reliably delivered to tablets and portable devices, and 4K UltraHD to our home audience,” said Mark Aitken, Vice President of Advanced Technology for Sinclair. “These new revenue opportunities bring local broadcasters to the forefront of serving our local markets. Our viewers are increasingly mobile in all that they are engaged and the technologies we are demonstrating bring new alternatives in the delivery of media content to consumers.”
It’s the first successful broadcast of Scalable HEVC (SHVC) compression anywhere in the world.
Scalable HEVC translates bits from a network data stream into a picture by breaking up video bit streams into subsets that add layers of quality and resolution to video signals.
“Technicolor has created an integrated platform, not just a single component such as audio or video, which enables us to do real-world deployments and testing of this exciting next generation ATSC 3.0 technology,” said Vince Pizzica, Senior Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Technology for Technicolor. “Our testbed has been designed around open standards, with robustness in mind to ensure delivery of high quality programming to all devices. Transmitting over-the-air for a speed of 70mph in a real-world scenario demonstrates our ‘systems approach’ to solving market and customer issues.”
Sinclair is the largest operator of local TV stations in the United States.
