Kirk Harnack

“Upgrade your broadcast network with Anywave HPTV VHF Transmitters — high-power, scalable, and fully monitored for interference-free, reliable TV transmission. #BroadcastTech #TVTransmission #Anywave”

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It's great to read opinion pieces by two very knowledgeable advocates for which technology broadcasters should move to for the future. Both sides make some fine points and both sides are promoting some yet to be realized implementations. In my opinion, there is no doubt that 5G Broadcast will eventually show up in cellular devices but to Mark Aitken's point, its not there yet so for broadcasters to commit to it at this point seems like starting over for NextGen TV, a very catch marketing term that could include 5G Broadcast as well as ATSC 3.0. While 5G Broadcast has yet to actually be deployed, ATSC 3.0 is up and running in many markets and receivers are already showing up in televisions and outboard devices. As I write this I am looking at four STB's and a couple of HDMI dongles that all receive ATSC 3.0, albeit some better than others. However, the truth about ATSC 3.0 is that while it is deployed in many markets, the current limitation of the deployment are hampering the group owners and local broadcasters from really taking advantage of the enhanced capabilities within the service. Keeping ATSC 1.0 operational with simulcast requirements and no clear transition plan is already eroding confidence and may eventually stall the transition entirely. For broadcasters to flourish in the future, bold steps will be necessary and if government regulations continue to limit which steps can be taken, 5G Broadcast may end up catching up to ATSC 3.0 implementation and while there are a lot of television receivers out there, that number pales in comparison to the number of mobile receivers, and the increased turnover rate of mobile receiver. Mark Aitken makes and excellent point regarding the technical superiority of ATSC 3.0 to 5G Broadcast that is well supported by the analysis from Brazil. The fact that 5G Broadcast didn't make the cut for the top two standards should be a concern for the proponents of 5G Broadcast. However the deciding factor on the future are the consumers and end users and convenience and ease of use trumps all but the most notable technical limitations. Anyone reading this that is old enough to remember when VCRs were first deployed for consumers there were two standards, Beta and VHS. When it came to video and audio quality, Beta was the superior format yet VHS was the overwhelming choice of the consumer. VHS's audio and video deficiencies, while real, weren't enough to trump the convivence of 2 hour tapes compared to Beta's 90 minutes limit. Given where we are in the process, I think we're going to see deployments of both technologies in the next couple of years. I'm not sure if one will ultimately kill off the other or not but as I have said many times in the past, I never thought broadcasting was the business, just a methodology. Content is what consumers and end users want and the smart content creators, whether local, national, or global will make sure that their content is consumable via all distribution methodologies.

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