ATSC 3.0 - A Disruptive Technology In Digital Broadcast Television

Let us delve deep and understand what exactly is ATSC? What does ATSC 3.0 has in store for broadcasters, marketers, and viewers? How can broadcasters be prepared for this disruptive technology and use it to enhance their businesses? What does the future of digital television look like with ATSC 3.0? And where does content delivery fit in?

Television content has evolved in the last couple of decades, and today we have reached the 4K resolution era. But, is this the saturation point already? Well, this is just a beginning of an era that will surpass all the projections. As there are far more revolutionizing changes coming along to the digital broadcasting domain, than what looks obvious today

What Is ATSC?

ATSC is Advanced Television Systems Committee. It is an international non-profit organization that develops voluntary standards and practices for digital television. It comprises a group of international broadcasters, broadcast equipment organizations, motion picture, consumer electronics, cable, satellite, and semiconductor industries. The standards implemented by the committee shape up the broadcasting and implementation of digital television transmission. For example, Over the Air (OTA) TV signals currently transmitted are based on ATSC 1.0 standards which came way back in 1996.

ATSC 3.0 is the latest buzzword among many tech giants in the broadcasting Industry. With this upgrade; obtaining and controlling receiver functionalities will be handled by a WebSocket and HTTP interface will be used to access the files being delivered over broadcast. To execute this interactive content over the broadcast, the W3C user agreement is set in place. The advent of ATSC 3.0 will allow content developers to design and implement an interactive and lucid interface for application programming

ATSC 3.0 - A Boon For Broadcasters

Broadcasters are already doing well to implement the latest technology when delivering audio/video files. With this upgrade, it will be possible to share even interactive applications over the air. And, a combination of OTT and OTA will enable seamless and interactive viewing utilizing the best of both satellite and IP media’s. However, there is a difference in how applications are deployed on HTML5, and the way it is deployed on ATSC 3.0 broadcast. This must be explored and understood in-time, to make the best as soon as it is deployed.

“It is possible for receivers to perform certain actions that are not otherwise available in the JavaScript API”

For example, imagine the news of a political campaign is being broadcasted. In this scenario, the broadcasters can send specific applications over the air along with the broadcast, that are of value to the end user at this point in time. As the application similar to that of an online survey can help the broadcaster get real-time insights on what the users are thinking. There are many such state of the art upgrades that are expected to happen over the air in real-time. Thus enabling user specific content that has specific value, along with generic content stream.

“Prepare Now!” For ATSC 3.0 Is Going To Change The Television Experience

Now is the time to prepare for this disruptive technology if you want to hit the ground running with ATSC 3.0. This is a huge leap forward and so, broadcasters need to prepare ahead of time, to be competent in implementing the latest upgrades in their broadcast. Broadcasters need to be quick in implementing the latest tools and adopt the best practices that will give them a competitive edge. For example, the content delivery framework needs to be efficient when sending over applications with the broadcast in real-time. What will be your strategy to deliver the best interactive content experience to your users? How can you best utilize the ATSC 3.0 feature? Preparing today for this disruptive technology will help you deliver the best results to your users. Thus enabling value creation and monetization across channel.

What Does The Future Look Like With ATSC 3.0?

ATSC 3.0 is still being tested in many cities and is in its early stages, thus it is an evolutionary technology that can be scaled to opportunities like never before. The entire rollout will take a while but eventually it will bring the next gen television along with 5G era.

The prospect of receiving 4K resolution videos is promising for users and it will not just improve the video quality but also increase the bandwidth considerably. A complete overhaul of digital broadcast is here, and it only means that the very approach towards the broadcast will change very soon. What we have looked here in the ATSC 3.0 barely touches the surface of this revolutionary upgrade in television systems. Digital television transformation is simply awesome!

But how do broadcasters make the best use of available features here, is something interesting to look forward to.

Content Delivery And ATSC 3.0

When broadcasting audio and video content, an efficient content delivery system can be the sole game changer.

ATSC 1.0 was implemented in 1996 and in the last 22 years a lot has changed in the way businesses operate and technological advancements have made multi-streaming, live-streaming on devices, personalized feed and feedback mechanism almost imperative in every aspect but television. So compelling content with engagement and user-value will find an edge certainly.

Internet, outsourcing, platform business, co-working space, and other such services will bring efficiency and effectiveness at all levels of the business. For example, not everybody needs to be an SME in everything; rather, millennials prefer to use reliable platforms to accomplish more.

The same is true with content delivery system in ATSC 3.0. Broadcasters will rely heavily on efficient content delivery system and marketplace offerings that will help them prosper manifolds. When transmitting content, broadcasters can do so much more now, when they have easy features to feed in, distribute, add, and edit content to their digital media transmission. Content has ruled and will continue to rule with ATSC 3.0. It is crucial then for broadcasters to start looking at the appropriate content delivery systems that will help them scale up in their overall processes.

GAIATV 3.0; The Gaian Advantage

Gaian Group is a leading media technology platform company, catering to all aspects of content distribution value chain by performing standard tasks including content capture, DRM, asset management, content distribution, content streaming, and STB solution. With GAIATV 3.0, it offers cutting-edge value added services and most profitable marketplace interfaces for broadcasters, to jumpstart their ATSC 3.0 journey with valuable prepositions for all stakeholders.

We bring the most advanced services and features for broadcasters, to ensure smooth and profitable on-boarding experience when it comes to ATSC 3.0. GAIATV 3.0 offers a platform suite comprising 10 SaaS products to help broadcasters and vested market players accelerate their ATSC 3.0 transition.

The Road Ahead