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 – Accelerates the DTV transition for all countries using the standard Benefits consumers, broadcasters, manufacturers, program suppliers and governments throughout the region OAS/CITEL Activities
International Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of Organization of American States (OAS) began addressing DTV in earnest in 2001 October 2003 CITEL resolution encouraged OAS member states to implement DTV as rapidly as local conditions permit, using a common hemispheric standard DTV Implementation Guide nearing completion – Share information from experienced countries with those that are now planning for DTV broadcasting • Does not mandate any specific transmission standard • Comprehensive appendix of ATSC standards and recommended practices • Other appendices to be added if other standards are adopted in the region ATSC Standards A/52 Digital Audio A/53 DTV Standard A/57 Content Identification and Labeling for ATSC Transport A/63 Standard for Coding 25/50Hz Video A/64 Transmission and Compliance A/65 Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) A/70 Conditional Access A/76 Programming Metadata Communication Protocol (PMCP) A/80 Satellite (Contribution and Distribution) A/81 Direct to Home Satellite Broadcast Standard A/90 Data Broadcast A/92 IP Multicast A/93 Synchronous/Asynchronous Trigger A/94 Application Reference Model A/95 Transport Stream File System A/96 ATSC Interaction Channel Protocols A/97 Software Download Data Service A/100-x DASE A/101 Advanced Common Application Platform (ACAP) A/110 Synchronization Standard for Distributed Transmission ATSC Recommended Practices
A/54 Guide to the Use of the DTV Standard A/69 Broadcaster’s Guide to PSIP A/74 Receiver Performance Guidelines A/75 DTV Field Test Guidelines A/91 Guide to the Data Broadcast Standard A/111 Design of Synchronized Multiple Transmitter Networks Key ATSC Technical Advantages
VSB transmission system – For equal data rate, COFDM requires more than twice as much power as VSB to achieve equal coverage, causing much more interference into analog service, making DTV channel assignments much more difficult • Relaunch of U.K. DTV service with more robust transmission scheme only delivers 13.6 Mbps in a 6 MHz channel, compared to 19.4 Mbps for ATSC/VSB! – VSB’s additional 2.5 dB advantage in peak-to-avg. ratio means COFDM transmitters would require much higher procurement and operation costs – VSB rejects impulse noise better than DVB-T – VSB receiver improvements have eliminated multipath performance problems Dolby AC-3 multi-channel audio – Consistently better performance than MPEG Layer-II at equal bit rates – AC-3 is already the de facto worldwide standard, now available as an option with DVB
H3 VSB Chipset Generations Comparison
Generation Year Equalizer Maximum Features No. of Range Ghost Chips 5 2004 -50 +50 0 dB (100%) Advanced Equalizer 1 chip for VSB and QAM
4 2002- -20 44 1.5 dB (84%) Digital Demodulation 1 2003
3 2000- -3 44 2.5 dB (75%) Longer, faster, 2 2001 stronger ghost capability 2 1999 -3 20 3 dB (70%) Reduced geometry 2 and power
1 1998 -3 20 3 dB (70%) First IC version 3 Extending Coverage
New Standard for synchronization of transmitters (A/110) – For use in distributed transmission single frequency networks (SFN) – Does not affect emitted signal – Specifies mechanisms necessary to transmit synchronization signals to several transmitters using a dedicated PID value – Provides for adjustment of transmitter timing and other characteristics. Recommended Practice for Distributed Transmission Network Design and use of On-Channel Repeaters (A/111) Prospects for Mobile
U.S. industry focus on HDTV and supplemental SDTV services High-quality mobile services via ATSC are expected in the future due to a combination of – Continued rapid advances in receiver technology – Use of E-VSB to lower receiver carrier-to-noise threshold – Use of new network architectures using distributed transmission and digital on-channel repeaters – Use of advanced video and audio coding Key Economic Advantages of ATSC
ATSC has a strong focus on HDTV (no terrestrial HDTV in Europe!) – Wide variety of DTV equipment available at steadily falling prices ATSC has been implemented in 6 MHz channels, using all-format decoders – Not 6 MHz adaptation of an 8 MHz standard – Every receiver gives a viewable picture for any ATSC picture format – SDTV receivers will not go black when they encounter an HDTV signal Consumers in ATSC countries can immediately take advantage of seven years of progress in driving down the prices of receivers Adopting common or similar standards will provide economies of scale – More investment in R&D – Greater variety of components, equipment and products from more suppliers at lower prices – More rapid transition to digital television, and earlier recovery of valuable spectrum to support innovative wireless services – Benefits consumers, broadcasters, and manufacturers in all countries that adopt the ATSC Standard ATSC is the best choice for increasing Latin American exports, jobs and economic development Social Benefits of ATSC DTV
Wireless broadband information access Delivery of Internet content to citizens without PCs Interactive education and health applications – Education and Literacy Resources (Distance Education) – Early Childhood Development Services – Workforce and Teacher Training – Lifelong Adult Learning – Diagnostic Resources Services for people with disabilities Government and emergency information – Weather – Security – Government communications Conclusion
Digital Television Broadcasting Offers: Quantum improvement in the technical quality of free, over-the-air television (HDTV, multi-channel surround sound) Dramatic increase in the quantity of conventional television programs (HD & SD, SD multicasting) Quantum improvement in the information infrastructure – Providing revolutionary improvement in the delivery of information services – Promoting digital inclusion, bridging the digital divide The ATSC Family of DTV Standards Offers: Compelling technical and economic advantages in delivering these benefits Information Resources
ATSC Standards News and Information: www.atsc.org – Technical Bibliography: http://www.atsc.org/news_information/papers.html ATSC Education and Advocacy Information: www.atscforum.org News and Progress re the U.S. DTV Transition – FCC: www.fcc.gov; www.dtv.gov; www.fcc.gov/mb/video/files/dtvonairsum.html – NAB: www.nab.org/television/ – CEA DTV Guide: www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/default.asp – CEA Other DTV News: www.ce.org/hdtv, especially click on “HDTV Update E-News” – NCTA: http://www.ncta.com/docs/PageContent.cfm?pageID=101 Further questions or information – Robert Graves, 1-703-222-0200, [email protected] HDTV via Cable and Satellite
Augments programming and encourages consumer investment in receivers – More than 80% of U.S. households subscribe to cable or satellite service – But terrestrial broadcasting is still important, because 73 million sets are NOT connected to cable or satellite, including 45 million sets in non-cable/satellite households Growing number of cable and satellite HD program networks – HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, STARZ! HD, The Movie Channel HD, TNT-HD – Discovery HD Theatre, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Universal HD, Encore HD – ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, NBA HD, FSN, Comcast SportsNet INHD, NFL Network, and Madison Square Garden Networks in HD – INHD and INHD2 – Coming soon: A&E, History & History Intl. Channels, Biography Channel, Starz On Demand HD, Outdoor Channel, and Sharper Movies HD Satellite offerings of HD from DirecTV and Dish Network Cable offerings of HDTV service (as of January 2005) – Pass 92 million TV households – Reach all of top 100, and 184 of 210 total TV markets – 504 local digital broadcast stations carried over cable – Plug-and-play HDTV sets reached market in mid-2004 Explosion of DTV Products ~900 DTV/HDTV products in the U.S. market today!
317 Flat Panel HDTV Monitors – Starting at $400 48 Micro Display Rear Projection Monitors – Starting at $600 48 Other HDTV Monitors – Starting at $399 129 Flat Panel EDTV Monitors – Starting at $400 280 Integrated HDTV Receivers – Starting at $500 – Integrated SD set for $299 25 HDTV Set-Top Decoders – Starting at US$200 24 Digital Video Recorders and Set-Top Personal Video Recorders, starting at US$450 17 HDTV Cable Set-Top Boxes, starting at $300 7 Computer Receiver Cards, starting at US$150 Exponential Growth in U.S. Sales of ATSC Consumer Products
Approximately 20 million DTV units sold from November 1998 to June 2005 – Consumer investment of approximately US$31 billion – More than 8 million contained ATSC reception capability, with number growing rapidly • Cable plug-and-play sets contain ATSC tuners, FCC tuner mandate is being phased in • >10 million tuners expected in 2005, 97 million cumulative by 2009 7.3 million DTV units worth $10.7 billion sold in 2004, predominantly HDTV – 15 million units worth approximately $14 billion projected for 2005 DTV sales revenues far exceed those for analog TVs HDTV prices continue to fall rapidly, converging with those for analog TVs. For the largest screen sizes, the market is already 100% digital. – Price reductions are much faster than initial price decreases for color TVs, VCRs, and large- screen analog TVs
Source: Consumer Electronics Association