SANTA FE, N.M.—New Mexico PBS (NMPBS) has turned to Heartland Video Systems (HVS) and its ATSC 3.0 team to optimize the public broadcaster’s existing ATSC 3.0 over-the-air (OTA) signal with Advanced Emergency Information (AEI)/Advanced Emergency Alert (AEA) capability.
HVS also supplied NMPBS with the necessary equipment for what is said to be the nation’s first ATSC 3.0 translator that works in conjunction with the broadcaster’s existing ATSC 3.0 facility.
Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) is a new ATSC 3.0 capability available to all broadcasters. The current Emergency Alert System (EAS) was deployed in the late ‘90s. In ATSC 1.0, the EAS signal is implemented via audio messaging. It is usually accompanied by a text crawl across the live video program. EAS is mandatory for ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 over-the-air broadcasts.
AEI supplements emergency warnings with additional real-time data customized to the region or type of emergency. It can also be used to provide non-emergency information, such as school closings, traffic updates and other community specific alerts. Consumers with NextGen TVs have the ability to opt in or out of AEI updates.
To take full advantage of AEI, a TV station needs to implement a Broadcaster App (BA) as part of its OTA signal. A 3.0 receiver uses the BA to render or display the AEI information properly on a consumer’s NextGen TV display.
HVS worked closely with NMPBS to implement its AEI solution by partnering with Digital Alert Systems and EiTV USA to configure, test and deploy an end-to-end AEI+BA solution on NMPBS’ KNMD-TV ATSC 3.0 station in Santa Fe, N.M., HVS said.
The EiTV USA team led the development of a BA delivered over the broadcast signal to ensure the reception of AEI messages on a wide range of TVs and set-top boxes. While AEI follows a standard, not all devices are fully compliant, making the BA essential for guaranteeing that AEI information is correctly received and displayed across different receivers, it said.
“Our main challenge was ensuring that the app consistently supported the display of AEI-MF messages and all associated multimedia content, including video clips, audio and graphic files, across all ATSC 3.0 receivers while maintaining a uniform look and feel,” said EiTV USA CEO Rodrigo Cascao Araujo.
Working with the broadcaster, EiTV, and Digital Alert Systems, HVS used its ATSC 3.0 lab to mockup the broadcaster’s on-air system and run many months of tests and report back findings to EiTV, said HVS senior engineer and ATSC 3.0 specialist Mike Schmidt.
“The data was mostly reports of how the different devices behaved with the app look, the remote buttons behavior, audio behavior, and the actual test message display. Getting all devices to eventually have a common look and feel was a challenge,” he said. “This was an iterative process, but eventually HVS and EiTV achieved the end goal of a fully functional app.
“Throughout the process, Ed Czarnecki [vice president of global and government affairs] at Digital Alert Systems provided expert advice about AEI that proved to be very helpful. HVS then worked with KNME and Digital Alert Systems to get connectivity between the DASDEC and the ATSC 3.0 broadcast equipment, program the DASDEC for AEI, set up various AEI data sources, and run on air tests. This is a big milestone for HVS and we were excited to be part of such groundbreaking work,” said Schmidt.
More than 80% of U.S. TV stations currently have Digital Alert System’s DASCEC. "ATSC 3.0 will transform public alerting and targeted messaging to audiences. Digital Alert Systems and our DASDEC messaging platform play a central role in the Advanced Emergency Information infrastructure," said Czarnecki.
NMPBS also operates over 35 translators primarily covering the northern half of the state. Its first translator site that will transition to ATSC 3.0 service will be K33QV-D in Tres Piedras, NM.
K33QV-D will augment K28GV-D currently on ATSC 1.0 and the new translator will receive an ATSC 3.0 off-air signal from KNMD-TV, including the new AEI+BA capability. For K33QV-D, HVS supplied a BE-TV25-GFU 25W ATSC 3.0 translator. K33QV-D is the very first ATSC 3.0 translator licensed by the FCC and the station is expected to be on-the-air by mid-2025. NMPBS intends to transition additional translator sites to ATSC 3.0 in 2025.
“New Mexico PBS is proud to help lead the industry toward better emergency alerting. We have partnered with Heartland Video Systems on our ASTC 3.0 project since our adoption in 2021 and eagerly came on board when they asked us to participate in AEA testing. Public television is the backbone of the emergency alerting system in the United States and we are excited to help the system evolve and advance.” said NMPBS director of engineering Jason Quinn.
More information is available on the HVS, Digital Alert Systems and EiTV USA websites.
