ONE Media Technologies Conducts NextGen TV Interoperability Testing

ONE Media Technologies Conducts NextGen TV Interoperability Testing

Let's Dig into Sinclair and ONE Media's Latest NextGen TV Trials

Hop on over to Cockeysville, MD, where Sinclair and their subsidiary, ONE Media Technologies, have been hosting a series of ATSC 3.0 device interoperability trials, and this time is no different.

This trial focused on a range of crucial components, from DRM and signal signing to dynamic ad insertion and interactive services, just to name a few. Mark Aitken, president of ONE Media Technologies and Sinclair's senior vice president of advanced technology, dubbed this event the seventh interop hosted by ONE Media, and the second in-person trialing of NextGenTV technology since 2020.

The event attracted over two dozen equipment manufacturers and broadcast groups, coming together in ONE Media's lab facility at Sinclair's Baltimore suburb headquarters. Over 100 tests were scheduled across four-and-a-half days, with participating manufacturers testing air chain (encoder, packager, gateway, and exciter) technology, 3.0 receivers, and emergency alerting equipment.

What's New in this Year's Testing

Alongside the continuation of testing ATSC 3.0's MMT (MPEG media transport) and DRM components, this year's sessions also addressed signal modulation changes. As explained by the event's coordinator, Jason Kim, ONE Media senior systems engineer, the importance of signal modulation can't be overstated, especially as new NextGen TV services like datacasting, DAI (dynamic ad insertion), and BPS (broadcast positioning service) roll out.

Kim further explained that with ATSC 3.0, signal modulation isn't fixed like it was with earlier DTV implementations. Instead, there's a trade-off between requiring a more robust signal and having more data throughput. The goal is to balance linear video services with robust mobile data delivery, and testing of 3.0 physical layer configurations in preparation for datacasting was also on the schedule.

A Faster Rollout for NextGen TV

Kim also discussed the "failover recovery" element of the interop testing, which was being performed in connection with a technology that permits broadcasters to quickly deploy ATSC 3.0 services. This technology involves an air chain set up in the cloud, allowing for a virtual and more flexible air chain. The "failover" component of the testing was especially important when cloud-based 3.0 is implemented on a large scale.

Time for NextGen TV

Aitken noted that this year's interop event was scheduled close to the June 12-13 ATSC NextGen Broadcast Conference and associated meetings. Aitken observed that the FCC is pushing for the sunset of ATSC 1.0, and Aitken expects a full ATSC 3.0 national rollout to be well underway within a few years.

The Perks of In-Person Testing

While noting that ATSC 3.0-related interops of plugfests had continued virtually during the pandemic, both Aitken and Kim acknowledged that there was no substitute for the in-person testing and evaluation that was taking place at this year's event. In-person testing allows for faster troubleshooting of issues, with multiple representatives from every piece of the broadcast chain gathered in one room to work together.

The interop event attracted 55 participants from various countries with a presence or interest in NextGen TV development. Organizations represented included ADTH, Airwavz, Alticast, Anywave, Ateme, DigiCAP, DS Broadcast, DTV Innovations, EiTV, Enensys, Gray Media, Harmonic, Hisense, Heartland Video Systems (HVS), iWedia, Koherence, Maru Eng, News-Press & Gazette (NPG), Pearl TV, Rhode & Schwarz, Samsung, Sinclair/ONE Media, Sony, Synamedia, TCL, Triveni Digital, Velope, and Zixi.

1. Sinclair and their subsidiary, ONE Media Technologies, have been hosting a series of ATSC 3.0 device interoperability trials, with the latest trial taking place in Cockeysville, MD.
2. Mark Aitken, president of ONE Media Technologies and Sinclair's senior vice president of advanced technology, referred to this event as the seventh interop hosted by ONE Media.
3. Over two dozen equipment manufacturers and broadcast groups participated in the trials, testing various components such as encoder, packager, gateway, andexciter technology, 3.0 receivers, and emergency alerting equipment.
4. The trial focused on critical components like DRM and signal signing, dynamic ad insertion, and interactive services.
5. Alongside the continuation of testing ATSC 3.0's MMT (MPEG media transport) and DRM components, this year's session also addressed signal modulation changes.
6. With ATSC 3.0, signal modulation isn't fixed like it was with earlier DTV implementations, creating a trade-off between requiring a more robust signal and having more data throughput.
7. The goal is to balance linear video services with robust mobile data delivery, and testing of 3.0 physical layer configurations in preparation for datacasting was also on the schedule.
8. Jason Kim, ONE Media senior systems engineer and the event's coordinator, explained the importance of signal modulation, especially as new NextGen TV services like DAI (dynamic ad insertion), BPS (broadcast positioning service), and datacasting roll out.
9. Kim also discussed the "failover recovery" element of the interop testing, which was being performed in connection with a technology that permits broadcasters to quickly deploy ATSC 3.0 services.
10. Aitken noted that this year's interop event was scheduled close to the June 12-13 ATSC NextGen Broadcast Conference and associated meetings.
11. Aitken expects a full ATSC 3.0 national rollout to be well underway within a few years, as the FCC is pushing for the sunset of ATSC 1.0.
12. In-person testing allows for faster troubleshooting of issues, with multiple representatives from every piece of the broadcast chain gathered in one room to work together, something that couldn't be replicated virtually during the pandemic.

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