ATSC Forum Overview
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ATSC Digital Television Update Seminario ATSC CONATEL, Caracas, Venezuela Robert Graves October 10, 2005 About the ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee Technical Standards for Digital Television (DTV) and Implementation Activities – Open, due-process organization – Standards are available (no charge) at www.atsc.org Membership Organization – Approximately 150 Members – Broad, cross-industry participation • Broadcasters, cable, satellite, computer, motion picture, consumer electronics, computer and professional equipment manufacturers • Other standards and trade organizations – SMPTE, CEA, IEEE, SCTE, NAB, NCTA, MSTV About the ATSC Forum ATSC Forum is an affiliate of ATSC, established in late 2001 to promote DTV and ATSC standards, especially throughout Latin America Our mission: – Educate broadcasters, manufacturers, government policy makers and others in various countries around the world regarding the benefits of digital television services – Advocate adoption of the ATSC family of digital television standards in order to achieve those benefits www.atscforum.org – In Spanish, Portuguese and English ATSC Forum Members ATSC Micronas Semiconductors Aircode (Korea) Microsoft ARTEAR (Argentina) MIT Assoc. of Public TV Stations NAB ATI Technologies Sencore Canadian Digital Television STMicroelectronics CAPER (Argentina) TELEFE (Argentina) Capitol Broadcasting/WRAL Televisa (Mexico) CBS Texas Instruments Dolby Laboratories Triveni Digital ETRI (Korea) Tri-Vision Electronics (Canada) Harmonic TV Azteca (Mexico) Harris Wiley Rein & Fielding ILCE (Mexico headquarters) Zenith Electronics LG Electronics (Korea) The ATSC DTV Standard 1920 x 1080 60 Hz Multiple Picture Formats Picture 1280 x 720 30 Hz and Frame Rates Layer 704, 640 x 480 24 Hz HDTV & SDTV Video & Audio MPEG-2 Video Compression Data Motion Chroma and Luma Dolby AC-3 Audio Layer Headers Vectors DCT Coefficients Variable Length Codes Packet Headers Flexible delivery Transport MPEG-2 packets Layer Video packet Audio packet Video packet Aux data Transmission 19.4 Mbits/sec 8-VSB Terrestrial Layer 6 MHz C2 Variety of DTV Business Models & Services Wireless pipeline of 19.4 Mbps offers tremendous flexibility Broadcasters can pursue a variety of different business models, including: – High-definition television (HDTV) – Multiple programs of standard-definition television (SDTV) – Data Broadcasting Services • Computers, smart televisions, digital set-top boxes used with existing analog TVs • Internet/Web content • Education, health care, emergency preparedness services • Services for people with disabilities • Software, multimedia downloading, weather, sports, financial information, etc. • Interactive services – Various combinations of the above DTV CHANNEL ASSIGNMENTS IN THE U.S. (VHF and UHF) Spectrum Efficiency CURRENT NTSC CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION 2- 4 5-6 7 - 13 14 - 36 38 - 69 18 12 42 138 192 = 402 MHz DTV CHANNEL ALLOCATION - END OF TRANSITION CORE DTV SPECTRUM 2-4 5-6 7 - 13 14 - 36 38 - 51 52–69 (recovered) 18 12 42 138 84 = 294 MHz 108 MHz RECOVERED 7 U.S. DTV Deployment 1,525 DTV stations on the air as of October 5, 2005 211 metropolitan areas Covering 99.99% of TV households >90% have access to 5 or more DTV signals >70% have access to 8 or more DTV signals Largest U.S. metropolitan areas have as many as 23 DTV stations on the air Sources: FCC and National Association of Broadcasters DTV Stations on the Air -- Top 30 Markets Seattle (16) Minn./St. Paul (17) Pittsburgh (9) Cleveland (12) Portland (10) Detroit (8) Chicago (16) Boston (17) Hartford (8) Sacramento (10) Denver (12) St Louis (8) New York (20) Indianapolis (12) Philadelphia (19) San Francisco (23) Baltimore (8) Phoenix (16) Los Angeles (20) Nashville (12) Washington (15) San Diego (6) Raleigh (12) Dallas (16) Houston (15) Orlando (14) Charlotte (12) Tampa (14) Atlanta (12) Miami (15) Source: National Association of Broadcasters Programming and Applications Dramatic increases in HDTV programming – Via terrestrial broadcast AND cable and satellite – HDTV via cable in 184 of 210 markets SDTV multicasting also important – Especially for public TV stations Data and information applications Combinations – For example, HD main program, plus 24-hour SDTV news, plus weather radar Explosion of DTV Products and Sales ~900 DTV products, mostly HDTV Sales growing exponentially – 20 million units to date, worth $31 billion – 15 million units worth $14 billion in 2005 27-inch integrated receivers: – SDTV as low as $299 – HDTV as low as $499 HDTV prices converging with those for analog color TVs Within four years, virtually all TVs sold in the U.S. will be HDTV! FCC DTV Tuning and Decoding Requirements New TVs must be able to tune and decode over-the-air DTV signals on the following schedule: Screen Size 50% of All Units 100% of All Units 36” and above July 1, 2004 July 1, 2005 25” to 35” July 1, 2005 March 1, 2006 13” to 24” N/A July 1, 2007* TV interface devices N/A July 1, 2007* * -- FCC has proposed accelerating these dates to December 31, 2006 By 2007, 27 million ATSC receiving devices per year will be sold in the U.S. alone, 97 million cumulative sales by 2009! Expediting the DTV Transition U.S. Government seeks to end analog transmissions as soon as possible – Driven by prospective recovery and reuse of spectrum • 108 MHz to be recovered • New wireless services engines of economic growth for decades to come – Legislative proposals to cease analog transmissions by 2009 – Enabled by forecasts of inexpensive ATSC digital/analog set-top converter boxes • $50 in quantity by 2008 • Low-cost set-top converter can promote social inclusion in Venezuela and throughout Latin America DTV Broadcasting in Korea >50 stations on the air, reaching 80% of population – Nationwide coverage planned by the end of 2005 As of June 2005, 2.3 million units sold, representing consumer investment of approximately $3.4 billion Worldwide leaders in interactive DTV services – Commercial applications for 2002 World Cup, 2002 Asian Games, 2004 Olympics using ATSC DASE Standard – Launching commercial services December 1 using recently finalized ATSC ACAP Standard – Opportunities for cooperative development projects for interactive services in Latin America (e.g., recent project by Televisa and Aircode) Using separate T-DMB service to provide mobile reception to handheld devices Canada Played major role in the U.S. Advisory Committee process that led to development of HDTV and the ATSC Standard Adopted the ATSC Standard in 1997 Planned implementation intentionally to lag the U.S. to take advantage of U.S. experience and cost reductions Launched first commercial ATSC broadcast station in January 2003 CBC began HDTV broadcasts in Montreal and Toronto in March 2005 – Since the signals of U.S. broadcasters can easily be received in large Canadian population centers, Canada cannot afford to lag too far behind the U.S. 1.2 million HDTV-capable TVs have been sold in Canada – More than 50% of TVs sold in Canada are now HD-capable Substantial amounts of HD programming are available via cable and satellite services Mexico Participated in U.S. Advisory Committee process that led to development of HDTV and the ATSC Standard Televisa broadcast ATSC HDTV football game in Mexico City in early 1998, has been broadcasting 45 hours/week of HDTV – World class HDTV production facilities, including 31 HDTV cameras TV Azteca has also conducted experimental broadcasts, poised for launch Commercial ATSC station has been operating in Tijuana for several years Formally adopted ATSC Standard in July 2004 Implementation required in major cities and U.S. border region by 2006 TV Azteca and Televisa to launch commercial service by the end of 2005 Televisa and Aircode (Korea) demonstrated interactive services using ATSC ACAP Standard in September 2005 Argentina Adopted ATSC Standard in 1998 Experimental ATSC broadcasts under way since 1999 – ARTEAR and TELEFE are broadcasting commercial programs in HDTV on an experimental basis, pending adoption of a national DTV policy TV broadcast licenses recently extended for ten years – In part, to provide certainty for the introduction of DTV Brazil Significant work on DTV since 1996 Government has been promoting development of Brazilian DTV technology – US$27 million allocated from existing development fund to explore feasibility – Particular areas of focus include development of inexpensive set-top box and software for interactive services ATSC Forum has encouraged cooperative R&D ventures, building on the ATSC Standard U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation has committed $150 million for IT development projects in Brazil, highlighting DTV – Similar funding available for other countries in Latin America New Minister of Communications has indicated that Brazil will build upon one of the three existing DTV standards: ATSC, DVB or ISDB Other Latin American & Caribbean Broadcasters in Chile have formally recommended the ATSC Standard to the government Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and the Dominican Republic have expressed strong interest in implementing DTV using the ATSC Standard Other Latin American and Caribbean countries considering DTV implementation include Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia and Jamaica Benefits of a Hemispheric DTV Standard The Americas represent a common market of 830 million people, offering significant economies of scale – Justifies more research and development – More equipment on the market from more suppliers – Much lower consumer prices