Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cable-Tec Expo Discusses Opportunities in NextGen TV

17/10/2020

Presenters at the virtual SCTE-ISBE Cable-Tec Expo 2020 on Oct. 14 examined a pair of ATSC 3.0-related issues of importance to cable operators, including the technical considerations of transitioning headend operations as broadcasters begin to take on NextGen TV and the opportunities the new broadcast standard offers to deliver enhanced TV viewing experiences to audience members with visual disabilities.

During the Developments in HDR, IP Video Workflows and ATSC 3.0 Audio Accessibility session, Mark Francisco, Comcast technology fellow, set the stage for his discussion of descriptive audio by explaining the size of the need and the opportunity to both do good and benefit financially by better serving audience members with disabilities.

When considering the size of the audience with disabilities, 20% of Caucasians have disabilities, 25% of Blacks and 33% of American Indian and Alaskan Native, said Francisco, making the point that the audience is large and diverse. On the economic side of the equation, a third of U.S. households have a disability. Those households command $220 billion, he added.

Twenty percent of people with disabilities are over 65 years of age, and 12 million Americans 40 years and older have some sort of visual impairment, he said.

A disability is a mismatch between the environment and an individual's capabilities at the moment, he said, noting the mismatch could be temporary, lifelong and shrink or grow over time.

The win-win or elegant solutions here are the ones that can cover temporary situations in addition to the permanent ones, said Francisco.

THORNY ISSUEThe cable television industry faces a thorny issue as the video experiences people have using platforms, such as streaming services, mobile phones and game devices, have advanced faster than those available via cable TV, he said.

The current conventions of ATSC 1.0 were ratified in 1996, and they are undergoing revision, but that takes time because of the massive scale we are dealing with, he said.

The bottom line with 1.0 is you can't fit so much in there and typically that means a primary and a secondary audio service per TV channel, said Francisco. With ATSC 1.0, all of the audio accessibility services are confined to a single auxiliary service that is monaural.

Francisco described work Comcast has done with NBC for the last three Olympics during ceremonies and some events to provide live audio description in the SAP channel for those with visual impairments. He also explained audio ducking, which dips the amplitude of a commentator and other audio to enable the video descriptive audio to come in another technique that has proven successful.

But the future of broadcast television audio is more immersive, personalized and inclusive, he said. ATSC 3.0 provides for audio multiplexing of all audio channels, including 5.1 and SAP. All of those bits are intermingled over time with headers that make it possible to pull out those channels. Audio description also can be its own substream with metadata to describe what it is, he said.

PLUS: ATSC 3.0: Its Not Just for Broadcasting

NextGen TV viewers can define their audio preferences and in the decoder in their set-top box or television desired audio can be reassembled from those substreams based on what viewers have told the receiver they wish to hear, such as music and effects, commentator audio and descriptive audio. Not only does 3.0 open up avenues previously unavailable to adding description at a lower cost, but it enables the more personalization of audio, he said.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUDuring the What Cable Operators Need to Know About ATSC 3.0 session, Perry Priestley, COO/CSO of Broadcast Electronics/Elenos Group, and Joonyoung Park, vice president and fellow, DigiCAP, discussed what cable operators need to understand about ATSC 3.0 signals, how they are different than 1.0 signals and what they must do to prepare for NextGen TV.

Priestly began by laying out the basic difference between 1.0 and 3.0 from a viewer's perspective, including 3.0 support for 4K UHD, high dynamic range (HDR), wide color gamut (WCG), frame rates up to 120fps, immersive audio and enhanced emergency alerting, captioning and video description.

He repeated the comparison from a broadcaster's point of view: 8VSB vs. OFDM, MPEG TS- vs. IP-based and encryption vs. none. Priestly laid out the benefits as well, including better OTA reception, immunity to selective fading, resilience to interference, spectrum efficiency, simpler channel equalization and support for mobile receivers.

The transition from 1.0 to 3.0 will take place in three phases, he said. During the first, a lighthouse will host the 3.0 services of full-power stations in a market while stations channel share to maintain 1.0 service. Phase 2 will see an expansion of the first phase. The final phase will see the shut off of 1.0 service, which Priestly predicted would happen no sooner than in five years.

[T]he cable company receiving ATSC 3.0 will have to get a new receiver that can decode and demodulate the ATSC 3.0 standard, said Priestly. There will be times, and this is going to be a difficult period, where you have to receive some signals from ATSC 3.0 transmissions and some from ATSC 1.0 to obtain all of the content you need.

Cable companies may also have to select programs differently because there could be a lot of duplication resulting from 1.0 and 3.0 simulcasts. Those programs will be in different formats, and there will be added complexity because the Emergency Alerting System and program guide will be different between the two, he said.

There will also be a lot of content that may need to be ignored like specialized data non-real-time data as well [content] that may be being delivered for overnight storage, he said. So, there will be data as broadcast apps that may pot
LINK: https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/cable-tec-expo-discusses-opportuniti...
See more stories from tvtechnology

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/09/2026

Business Innovation Synergizer FAQ: What applicants need to know

Media organisations interested in the Media Innovation Europe 3.0 Business Innovation Synergizer (BIS) can now consult a new FAQ document providing additional a...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: Eluvio Showcases Global Broadcast Fabric Updates

Eluvio will demonstrate updates to its Content Fabric platform at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand 8.MS5, and Future Tech Zone, Hall 14, Stand 14.A58, September 11-14). C...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: LiveU Joins IBC Accelerator Smart Stories Consortium

LiveU has joined the IBC Accelerator's Smart Stories consortium, a multi-vendor initiative developing an open standard for Story Context interoperability in...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: Telos Alliance to Demonstrate Audio Observability Capabilities

Telos Alliance will demonstrate new audio observability capabilities at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D37, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), covering monitoring of audio heal...

04/09/2026

World Team Tennis Announces Broadcast Partnership with Versants USA Sports

World Team Tennis (WTT) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports, the sports division of Versant. USA Sports will air all six of WTT's live mat...

04/09/2026

Gravity Media Appoints Alex Pannell as Chief Business Officer

Gravity Media has appointed Alex Pannell as Chief Business Officer. Pannell joins from Appear, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. He will be based in ...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: Dalet Expands Dalia AI Platform with Agentic Workflow Capabilities

Dalet has announced new agentic workflow capabilities for Dalia, its AI platform for media organizations, ahead of IBC2026. The updates extend Dalia from an AI ...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: L-Acoustics Achieves EN 54 Certification Across Loudspeaker and Amplifier Portfolio

L-Acoustics has achieved EN 54 certification across a portfolio of loudspeakers,...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: EVS and Matrox Video Announce Technology Partnership for Dynamic Media Facility Deployments

EVS and Matrox Video have announced a technology partnership integrating Matrox ...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: NEP to Showcase Software-Defined Live Production

NEP Group will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 7, Stand 7.B55, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), demonstrating software-defined production capabilities across NEP Platf...

04/09/2026

FoMaSystems and ARRI Honored with Engineering Emmy for ARRI TRINITY 2

The Television Academy has awarded an Engineering Emmy to Dr. Roman Foltyn, Chief Engineer of FoMaSystems, and Curt O. Schaller for the development of the ARRI ...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: InSync Technology to Showcase Frame Rate and Standards Conversion

InSync Technology will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 1.A55, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), demonstrating its FrameFormer and NOVA conversion platforms for frame r...

04/09/2026

Professional Triathletes Organization Signs Agreement with Sela to Host Events in Saudi Arabia

The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has signed a multi-year agreemen...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: Accedo and MediaKind Launch Joint Streaming Solution for Operators

Accedo and MediaKind have announced a white-label, end-to-end streaming solution for operators, combining Accedo's native application framework and cloud-ba...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: TAG Video Systems Launches TAG Blue Cloud Monitoring Platform

TAG Video Systems has announced TAG Blue, a cloud platform for shared monitoring visibility across video delivery chains, with AI-powered root-cause analysis. T...

04/09/2026

IBC 2026: TwelveLabs Launches Video Compliance Platform with NVIDIA Deepfake Detection

TwelveLabs has launched a video compliance platform for media organizations, inc...

04/09/2026

Television Academy and NATAS Announce 2026 Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award Recipients

The Television Academy and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ha...

04/09/2026

KeySolutions Sounds release Traveler

Powerful new soft synth announced Traveler is the first software instrument to be released by KeySolutions Sounds, and it's an ambitious one! Said to co...

04/09/2026

e-instruments launch Velvet Guitars Fragment

Free virtual instrument range expanded The latest expansion of e-instruments' free Fragments series introduces a packed-down version of the company'...

04/09/2026

Accentize Chameleon wins Emmy Award

Company recognised for second time Two years after winning an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for dxRevive Pro, Accentize have been recognised ...

04/09/2026

AgileTV and Friend MTS Complete CDN Watermarking Integration to Fast-Track Anti-Piracy Protection for Operators

Bilbao - 3rd September 2026 -AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV and vi...

04/09/2026

Net Insight to Launch Nimbra 1020G at 2026 IBC Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

Disney, Optimum Renew Carriage Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

ACEMAGIC First to Introduce Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 AI Mini Workstation at IFA 2026

ACEMAGIC First to Introduce Ryzen AI Max PRO 495 AI Mini Workstation at IFA 202...

04/09/2026

Krotos Brings Video to Sound Footsteps Directly into Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve

Krotos Brings Video to Sound Footsteps Directly into Premiere Pro and DaVinci Re...

04/09/2026

RED DIGITAL CINEMA Comes Out Swinging at IBC 2026 with Next-Generation Live Broadcast Technology

RED DIGITAL CINEMA Comes Out Swinging at IBC 2026 with Next-Generation Live Broa...

04/09/2026

Orty v2.0-web - the cold-outreach assistant moves to the web

Orty v2.0-web - the cold-outreach assistant moves to the web Brie Clayton September 4, 2026 0 Comments Orty today announced v2.0-web of its AI cold-ou...

04/09/2026

Lightware expands LARA capabilities with new GUDE driver

Lightware is expanding its LARA (Lightware Advanced Room Automation) platform with the GUDE Power Distribution Units (PDU) driver module. GUDE devices can now b...

04/09/2026

People Behind the Technology - How Lightware Invests in W...

Lightware shares the second release in its ESG communications series. Following the first piece, which focused on the companys environmental performance, this r...

04/09/2026

Big Blue Marble delivers record 10 Tbps for European publ...

Big Blue Marble supported a leading European public service broadcaster in delivering the Soccer World Cup 2026 streams, supplying more than 10 Tbps of bandwidt...

04/09/2026

Hitomi MatchBox Glass is honoured with Emmy Award

Outstanding achievement in engineering, science and technology Hitomi Broadcast has been recognised with an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy from the Ac...

04/09/2026

California, Hollywood at a Crossroads

California, Hollywood at a Crossroads Andy Marken September 3, 2026 0 Comments I'm doing everything alone. Crossing roads alone. Seeing the Eiffe...

04/09/2026

Berklee Announces Winners of 2026 SongwritersdB Songwriting Contest

Berklee Announces Winners of 2026 SongwritersdB Songwriting Contest Students Luca Alexandru, Annika Wild, and Johanna James received the top prizes for origin...

04/09/2026

EVS, Matrox Partner on EBUs Dynamic Media Facility Initiative

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

TAG Video Systems Unveils TAG Blue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

Orlando Magic and Gray Media Ink Full Season Broadcast Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

RT ANNOUNCE NEW DRAMA THE MURDER OF MR. MOONLIGHT BASED ON THE DISAPPEARANCE AND MURDER OF BOBBY RYAN

RT ANNOUNCE NEW DRAMA THE MURDER OF MR. MOONLIGHT BASED ON THE DISAPPEARANCE...

03/09/2026

Yospace releases new Ad Presentation solution, unlocking revenue opportunities with non-linear ad formats

Yospace will be at IBC from 11th - 14th September (booth 5.C78). For more inform...

03/09/2026

Creative Technology Group Announces Leadership Transition Effective January 2027

NEP Group has announced leadership changes at Creative Technology Group. Founder and CEO Graham Andrews will step away from day-to-day leadership at the end of ...

03/09/2026

NFL and TikTok Renew Multi-Year Partnership

The NFL and TikTok have announced a multi-year partnership renewal expanding the league's presence on the platform. NFL posts on TikTok increased more than ...

03/09/2026

Grass Valley Appoints Ronny Van Geel as Vice President, Cameras

Grass Valley has appointed Ronny Van Geel as Vice President, Cameras. Van Geel began his career in 1999 at Philips DVS and moved into product management in 2005...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Telestream to Preview Vantage Super Resolution

Telestream has announced Vantage Super Resolution, an AI-powered upscaling capability for the Vantage media workflow platform, developed in collaboration with N...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Solid State Logic TCA Tour

Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the TCA Tour at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand 8.B45), a portable production system built from System T components in a desktop frame...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: DPA Microphones Launches 6388 CORE+ Headset Microphone

DPA Microphones has announced the 6388 CORE Headset Microphone, making its debut at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand D60). The supercardioid headset features a physicall...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Qvest to Demonstrate Multi-Vendor Dynamic Media Facility Showcase

Qvest will present a multi-vendor Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) showcase at IBC2026 (Booth 10.C24), demonstrating how the EBU's DMF architecture can be imple...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Imagine Communications Debuts Magellan PanelFlex

Imagine Communications will showcase the Magellan PanelFlex control surface and other control portfolio updates at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, Septembe...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Bridge Technologies Launches Software-Based VB440 Deployment Option

Bridge Technologies will announce at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71) that its VB440 production probe is now available as a software-based solution, deployable on commerci...