PHOENIX—The collaborative effort among broadcasters to test Next Gen TV transmission in Phoenix will soon be expanding its purview, announcing the creation of a second station with a signal that will utilize a Single Frequency Network. NAB will assist with the planning and design of the new station, which will specifically explore the benefits of SFN.
SFN transmissions are meant to allow broadcasters to improve signal power and reach while offering signals that can be viewed in a moving vehicle or made more robust for reception inside buildings. Multiple transmitters throughout the market are used for an SFN to improve signal levels, it is also expected to fill in areas in the Phoenix market that have been hard to reach with over-the-air signals. SFN is enabled with the ATSC 3.0 broadcasting standard being tested in Phoenix.
As part of that test, the Phoenix Model Market has had a Next Gen TV station operating for the past year, owned by Univision and carrying six separate Next Gen TV broadcast streams over-the-air to Pearl TV member stations, NBC Universal, Fox TV stations and Univision to test many ATSC 3.0 features and capabilities.
With the addition of the SFN-enabled station, the Phoenix Model Market will have multiple testing facilities, opening the door for additional testing.
The SFN tower site is being provided by American Tower, with ATSC 3.0 broadcasts enacted by Comark and GatesAir SFN transmitters, according to Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. Pearl and other Phoenix Model Market broadcasters will build out the new SFN system.
For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.
