IEEE Spectrum December, 2012 - 58

According to the ATSC 2.0 protocol, broadcasters would create these elements by sticking many small bit sequences, called
triggers, in the broadcast data stream. A trigger can do several
things. For instance, it can announce the availability of interactive content, tell where that content is located locally or online,
and signal when it should appear. A trigger can also mobilize
more complex application-like objects, which are delivered in
a broadcast stream or downloaded from the Internet. These
scripted objects act like very simple computer programs in that
they control the timing, display, and fetching of various data to
produce a personalized, interactive scene.

Advanced digital standards like ATSC 2.0 may be

just the key to revitalizing the broadcast industry within the next
decade. But technology, like the modern television viewer, never
sits still for long. To provide really transformative services in the
future, broadcasters will need to completely overhaul digital systems. As receivers get smarter, display sizes grow and shrink, and
techniques for packaging, labeling, and modulating data advance,
existing digital standards won't be able to sufficiently support them.
In anticipation, the ATSC and other standards organizations have
already begun work on third-generation standards, which, unlike
MDTV and ATSC 2.0, won't be compatible with today's receivers.
Big challenges lie ahead, not just for engineers but also for lawyers, lobbyists, regulators, and policymakers. At the moment, the
pitch for a radical change in broadcast standards raises questions
we can't yet answer. Perhaps most formidable is how broadcasters

will plan the transition from an old standard to a new one without frustrating customers still using legacy systems. Simultaneous broadcasts using both old and new technologies may not be
feasible, because broadcasters in the future will likely have even
less wiggle room on the radio spectrum than they do today.
Despite the hurdles, work toward a totally fresh, ultramodern standard invites an alluring possibility. Broadcasters
have long dreamed of a single digital standard that works on
any television or mobile tablet anywhere in the world. Besides
pleasing the world travelers who watch TV on their mobile gadgets, a universal standard could drastically improve economies
of scale and drive down the prices of television sets and receivers even lower than they are today.
In the end, an agreement of such
p os t yo u r
international scope may prove too
co m me nt s online at
ambitious, and the dream may never
spectrum.ieee.org/
become reality. But many broadcast
broadcastfuture1212
players around the globe are now
seriously considering it.
This past April, 13 television organizations-from Europe,
Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Japan, and South
Korea-formed the Future of Broadcast Television (FOBTV)
initiative to collaborate on the next next generation of broadcast systems worldwide. Already, FOBTV has attracted more
than 40 additional members, including production equipment
suppliers and consumer electronics manufacturers.
The diverse group may not yet have a technical solution. But
when its founders signed the inaugural memorandum of understanding, they at least agreed on one thing: "This is a defining
moment for the terrestrial television broadcast industry." o

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum December, 2012