Ultra HD TV broadcasts are becoming a reality. Well, they could be---we're certainly headed in the right direction.
LG Electronics just announced results from its most recent round of testing using "Futurecast," a system designed by LG, GatesAir and Zenith. The improved ATSC 3.0 system is under development and is currently being field-tested in Cleveland, Ohio.
To aid the project, the FCC issued an experimental broadcast license and Tribune Broadcasting's WJW-TV provided the TV transmitter, the tower and the 6MHz channel for the ATSC 3.0-related field testing. This most recent round of experiments first began back in mid-May.
"We're pleased to play an integral role in the future of TV broadcast technology, putting an unused transmitter and vacant channel to use so that the proposed transmission system could be tested throughout the day and night," John Cifani, chief engineer of WJW-TV, the local Fox affiliate. "These initial field test results show that ATSC 3.0 technologies are real and can deliver real benefits to broadcasters and viewers alike."
This week, expert viewers visited a number of locations, witnessing how the more robust TV system will attract mobile viewers, connect viewers with Internet content, reach those in difficult reception locations, and delight owners of future 4K Ultra High-Definition TV sets---all with over-the-air 4K content delivered via the new ATSC 3.0 standard.
During this round of testing, more than 75,000 pieces of new data showed how ATSC 3.0 will be able to deliver 4K Ultra HD content and two robust mobile TV streams in a single 6MHz channel, while optimizing indoor reception and offering unparalleled spectrum efficiency. These results are even more encouraging than previous data collected during testing in Wisconsin. The company is reporting improved signal acquisition for mobile TV reception in fast-moving vehicles and at locations ranging from downtown's concrete canyons to suburban and rural areas 50 miles from the transmitter.
Some of the items being tested include data throughput increases of 30 percent and improved multipath performance for fixed and portable TV reception; enhanced indoor TV signal penetration for mobile reception; modes for delivery of very high data rates and very robust transmission capabilities; error correction coding and signal constellations; Future Extension Frames to support future broadcast systems; and improved single frequency network service. The viewers also witnessed advanced emergency alerting capabilities in a demo hosted by CBS affiliate WOIO-TV.
"Our technology is designed to fully meet broadcaster requirements for ATSC 3.0 and advance the goal of moving rapidly to next-generation broadcasting. Whether watching from deep inside a building or along the Lake Erie lakefront, field test results show that our ATSC 3.0-enabling technology performs exactly as expected," said Dr. Skott Ahn, president and chief technology officer for LG Electronics. "This means that broadcasters can look forward with confidence to reaching even more viewers with traditional television, with new Internet-based content, and with new money-making interactive services and advertising capabilities."
These innovations are expected to be used in the majority of the baseline Physical Layer transmission system, which is moving toward ATSC Candidate Standard status this summer.
Development of ATSC 3.0 technologies represents the latest collaboration among LG, Zenith and GatesAir, co-inventors of the transmission system behind the ATSC A/153 Mobile Digital TV Standard, adopted by the industry in 2009. Zenith invented the core transmission system at the heart of today's ATSC A/53 Digital Television Standard, approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 1996.
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