NEXTGEN TV broadcasting has now reached more than 20 US cities and 80 radio stations.
The Pearl TV group, which represents the owners of more than 750 broadcast stations says it expects an ATSC 3.0
“Today, almost 20 percent of America’s TV viewers already have access to NEXTGEN TV broadcasts, and the television broadcasting industry is moving aggressively to expand the reach of NEXTGEN TV in a herculean, collaborative effort to reach over half of American TV viewers by this fall,” said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle.
Like Europe’s HbbTV services, ATSC 3.0 merges over the air TV services with the internet, enabling stations to personalised their news, sports, live events and shows with interactive features that give viewers more relevant content.
Among the features are 4K Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range video, movie theater quality sound, added voice clarity through “Voice +” Dolby dialogue enhancement audio system, consistent volume across programs and channels, and enhanced Internet content on demand.
Work is now underway to develop cable compatibility standards for NEXTGEN TV, and broadcasters are introducing an interactive application in select cities that uses a common “application framework” developed by Pearl TV and the Phoenix Model Market Partners.
Meanwhile, broadcasters in Detroit have launched a cooperative effort with the automobile industry called the “Motown 3.0 Test Track” to demonstrate the ATSC 3.0 datacasting capability of next-generation broadcasting for infotainment, emergency alerting, telematics and other data services delivered to connected cars.
LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony already producing integrated TV displays while there are set-top boxes available from BitRouter and HDHomeRun.
