Rennes, France – 19th March 2018: ENENSYS, designers and manufacturers of digital TV transmission technologies, has announced that its ATSCheduler – ATSC3.0 Broadcast Gateway - was successfully used in the recent live Next Gen TV showcase by WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC), NBC Universal and NAB. The technology has also been deployed is also deployed in several other US trials and by broadcasters in Korea.
The showcase was designed to not only highlight the technical capabilities of the technologies involved but also to clearly show the greatly enhanced audio and video quality that ATSC 3.0 facilitates alongside additional interactive applications.
The live broadcast delivered 4K video as well as the first over-the-air use of the new Dolby AC4 format using Layer Division Multiplexing technology. The broadcast used live content from the recent Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
NBC provided the 4K UHD video feed featuring high dynamic range and wide color gamut. The audio with the new Dolby AC4 also created a more engaging viewer experience. Three interactive applications were developed using HTML5 and combined broadcast and broadband content to give users an interactive program guide, VoD content, plus user-customizable and up-to-the-minute statistics, athlete profiles, and country-specific information.
ENENSYS’ ATSCheduler, used for this showcase, is central to ATSC 3.0 network operation. Running at a station or a central headend, the ATSCheduler encapsulates the IP streams stemming from the various HEVC encoders that deliver the compressed audiovisual content over ROUTE or MMTP protocols, and from the non-real-time server generating the signaling information and the interactive applications. It outputs the resulting ATSC-compliant multiplex using the STL (Studio to Transmitter Link) protocol through IP. The use of ATSCheduler allows the creation of an advanced on-air architecture, including MultiPLP and LDM (Layered Division Multiplexing) schemes, offering the ability to target different receivers and to provide varying levels of service – mobile, 4K Ultra HD fixed reception and so on.
Pete Sockett, Director of Engineering and Operations at WRAL, said, “This was not only a showcase of the tremendous level of cooperation that has brought ATSC 3.0 to the position it is today, but also clearly highlights the huge power of the standard. This is truly a new era for television, bringing a level of immersion that until only recently would have seemed impossible. And we loved how easy ENENSYS’ technology is to use!”
Richard Lhermitte, VP Sales and Marketing with ENENSYS, says, “We’re very proud to have taken part in this showcase. It clearly shows how advanced the situation is now and the real-world capabilities of Next Gen TV. ATSC 3.0 really moves the game on to previously unseen levels.”
ENENSYS will be highlighting it’s ATSC 3.0 solutions onbooth SU6521at NAB 2018.
