SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Television Jamaica (TV) recently launched NextGen TV on the island with a fully integrated ATSC 3.0 solution from Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark. Jamaica is the third country to launch ATSC 3.0 after S. Korea and the United States.
In advance of the launch, Comark delivered an E-Compact air-cooled UHF transmitter system along with a Dielectric Communications panel array transmit antenna for the initial over-the-air service in Kingston. The E Compact transmitter family features asymmetric broadband Doherty amplifier technology for maximum power efficiency. The E-Compact product line also features the EXACT-V2 IP Optimized DTV exciter that is fully compatible with ATSC 3.0. Comark has deployed hundreds of E-Compact transmitter solutions around the world.
Comark Digital Services (CDS) provided the end-to-end “IP-enabled” workflow of ATSC 3.0 headend equipment. The CDS solution features the ATEME TITAN Live software-based encoding solution, which is configured with 4x HEVC encoded video services. Since the system is server based, additional encoding licenses can be added should more capacity be needed at any time in the future. The solution also includes Triveni Digital’s GuideBuilder XM ATSC 3.0 Transport Encoder with NextGen TV signaling, NRT*1, and ROUTE*2 encoding capabilities. Triveni Digital’s ATSC 3.0
Broadcast Gateway system simplifies the implementation and management of revenue-enhancing ATSC 3.0 services for Television Jamaica. Finally, Television Jamaica is using Triveni Digital’s StreamScope XM Analyzer for ATSC 3.0 testing and monitoring. CDS provided equipment integration, service level agreement, remote installation, and training services to the TVJ staff.
“TVJ came to COMARK in late November and questioned if we could deploy a complete ATSC 3.0 solution with an on-air deadline of Jan. 31, 2022,” said Joe Turbolski, VP of Sales and Marketing at Comark. “We prepared the UHF transmitter and worked with our partners to line up the necessary equipment to make this happen. Using CDS, which was re-launched in 2018 to assist customers with the migration to NextGen TV, we continue to provide market-leading solutions with best-of-breed technology and system expertise for ATSC 3.0 projects.”
“We are proud to be part of a history making event in Jamaica by being the first local FTA station to be broadcasting in HD using the ATSC 3.0 technology and COMARK’s quick response to a very tight deadline was very instrumental in making this happen,” Turbolski added.
