Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Are You Ready for Spectrum Repacking?

By: Jay C. Adrick, Technology Advisor, GatesAir, Mason, OH

The broadcast television industry is facing yet another major transition: the reverse auction of television channel assignments followed by the repacking of spectrum in the 600MHz band to make room for mobile wireless services. In this 4-part series—the first of many we're planning on this and related topics—we will give an overview of this transformative event that is set to begin with an Incentive Auction—to be conducted by the FCC—slated for mid-to-late 2015.

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

A Collision of Telecom and Broadcast

by Glenn LeBrun, Sr. Director – Marketing, Harris Broadcast

Just when you think you understand your world, it gets sideswiped by something you didn't see coming. This is true of the impending collision – or convergence – of the telecom and broadcast industries.

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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Transmission TCO. Really? Yes, Really.

by Bill Betts, Product Marketing

Total Cost of Ownership – TCO. You see it used everywhere these days: when shopping for a new car, investing in an IT system, assessing manufacturing equipment and even the deployment of lap top computers for business – and it's now the latest buzz word for the transmission industry. But what does it really mean for broadcasters? Is it just the efficiency of the power amplifier? Cranking up that number is easy, if you don't mind narrowing the bandwidth or sacrificing error correction. But I think that the key word is "total", so let's take a look at the myriad of factors that make up TCO in a transmission system.

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Friday, November 01, 2013

DC shutdown may impact spectrum auction

Wireless executives have expressed concern that the recent federal government's shutdown will have a negative impact on the upcoming spectrum auctions.

The Federal Communications Commission is planning to hold three spectrum auctions within the next 15 months. However, executives told Bloomberg that they are concerned that even though the impasse is over, it will still delay the deadlines of some of those auctions.

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Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Futurecast Universal Terrestrial Broadcast System Proposed as Foundation of Next Generation Standard

An innovative new television transmission system, with breakthrough technologies that significantly enhance broadcasting performance and flexibility, has been proposed to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) as the "physical layer" for the emerging ATSC 3.0 standard.

The "FUTURECAST Universal Terrestrial Broadcasting (UTB) System" – proposed by LG Electronics, its U.S. R&D subsidiary Zenith, and Harris Broadcast – was developed as the foundation of next-generation terrestrial broadcasting in the United States and around the world.

• The FUTURECAST UTB System is designed to increase data throughput by 30 percent while maintaining reception coverage and to improve multipath performance (compared with the current DTV standard) for fixed and portable TV reception.
• For mobile TV reception, FUTURECAST UTB includes energy-saving features for consumer receivers and enhanced indoor TV signal penetration, thanks to flexible coding choices.
• Advanced modes also deliver very high data rates or very robust transmission capabilities.

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Monday, August 26, 2013

FCC issues spectrum auction timeline

In the midst of the FCC's plans to auction spectrum across several bands for broadcasters and mobile data use, the military says it is now willing to give up a piece of its frequency pie.

The Department of Defense said it will compromise with wireless carriers and relocate its radio operations from a spectrum now being used for purposes such as training pilots in the Pentagon's drone program.

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Monday, August 05, 2013

What’s the Latest on ATSC 3.0?

While ATSC 2.0 added backwards-compatible enhancements like Mobile DTV to the existing ATSC Digital Television standard, ATSC 3.0 is a next-generation version of digital television that proposes significant improvements in performance, functionality, and efficiency.

As such, it's a very big deal because it won't be backwards compatible with the ATSC transmission infrastructure that DTV broadcasters now have in place. So by voluntarily adopting ATSC 3.0, DTV broadcasters will have to replace some equipment and integrate third party systems to make the entire transmission chain work seamlessly.

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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Timing Looms Over Spectrum Repacking

As discussion continues surrounding the FCC's UHF spectrum repacking plan, issues surrounding the planning and timing of the process continue to cast a shadow over the goals of the plan.

The FCC's proposed rulemaking states that a three-year clock will start once the auction process is completed. However, there is no way of knowing how many stations will be affected until that time, which may make choosing that fixed window premature.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Harris Broadcast Introduces Low-Power VHF Transmitter Series For Global Standards

Harris Broadcast will introduce its Platinum™ VAX Compact Class range of VHF transmitters at the 2013 NAB Show (Las Vegas Convention Center, April 8-11, Booth N2503), adapting the company's compact, power-efficient transmission philosophy to low-power VHF applications for ATSC and worldwide terrestrial standards.

The Platinum VAX Compact Class series is the latest addition to the company's transmitter portfolio, ensuring a solution for virtually any VHF analog or digital power requirements. The new series is most suited for low-power transmitting stations and gap filler applications, and is especially useful for covering specific regions in extended markets or difficult terrains.

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Saudi Broadcasting Corporation Continues Migration to DVB-T2 Digital TV

Harris Broadcast has secured a new DVB-T2 transmission order from Saudi Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) as the country continues its transition to a national network of digital transmitters and satellite services. The latest phase of the ongoing SBC modernization program will add transmitters to sites in Aded and Yabren, bringing the total number of Harris Broadcast-supported DVB-T2 transmission sites to nine.

Harris Broadcast will supply compact, energy-saving Maxiva™ ULX (3.4kW) and Maxiva UAX (2kW) UHF transmitters in cooperation with Saudi Arabian dealer and systems integrator First Gulf Company (FGC). Both models feature the Harris Broadcast PowerSmart® architecture for the broadcast industry's highest power density and operational efficiency for over-the-air transmission; and incorporate the Apex M2X™ multimedia exciter to ensure best in class performance, reliability and signal quality.

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