Jerry Whitaker

ATSC has launched an ambitious project to demonstrate the capabilities of the Advanced Common Application Platform for interactive television.

Designated ATSC-M/H, the standard will be backward-compatible, allowing existing DTV services to operate in the same RF channel, without adverse impact on existing receiving equipment.

The ATSC has published two new Candidate Standards documenting enhancements to the AC-3 digital audio compression standard and specifying its use in digital television.

With this issue we begin a bimonthly column that highlights current activities within the Advanced Television Systems Committee, Inc. (ATSC).

Approval of a standard in ATSC requires at least two levels of balloting: first, the Technology and Standards Group (TSG) and second, the ATSC membership itself.

This summer was a busy time for ATSC standards development, with the adoption and publication of several important documents intended to further the DTV transition.

In a major step toward automated generation of PSIP data, the ATSC published its newest standard A/76, "Programming and Metadata Communication Protocol."

The ATSC Planning Committee has undertaken a major demonstration project of the Advanced Common Application Platform interactive TV system.

I am pleased to report that we are making excellent progress toward completion of ATSC 3.0—the next generation digital television system.

The amount of progress made over the last couple of months on the ATSC 3.0 suite of standards is quite impressive.

The work to develop a comprehensive standard for mobile and handheld services—known as "ATSC Mobile DTV"—has reached a milestone with publication of the A/153 Candidate Standard document set.

ATSC works to provide for automated ENG transmitter control, more efficient use of BAS

Nearly two years after the FCC mandated the use of PSIP, reports can still be heard of stations struggling to get it right.