By Ralph Bachofen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Triveni Digital.

Momentum for NEXTGEN TV is growing in South America as Brazil advances toward adopting ATSC 3.0 standards. Currently in the midst of testing, ATSC 3.0 deployments are expected by the end of 2024. As Brazil embraces NEXTGEN TV and other South American countries follow suit, it is becoming increasingly important  for broadcasters to understand the ATSC 3.0 standard, its benefits, and how to ensure a seamless transition to the new standard. Redundancy, in particular, is essential for guaranteeing network reliability and effectively tapping into new business models.

Current Progress of NEXTGEN TV in Brazil

Recently, the Brazilian Terrestrial Television System Forum (SBTVD) finalized the technical evaluation phase of ATSC 3.0. Brazil will rely on ROUTE/DASH specifications for the over-the-air and OTT transport layers, and leverage HLS as an additional option for OTT transport.   

Phase three testing is currently underway in Brazil. During the final testing phase, Brazil will finalize two key pieces of NEXTGEN TV delivery: the physical and interactive layers. At this point, it’s unclear what specifications Brazil will choose. The U.S. is utilizing OFDM waveforms to enable robust broadcasts with low overhead for both stationary and mobile receivers. Choosing a specification that has been deployed in other countries will reduce overall deployment costs and ultimately enable a smoother transition in South American countries.

Advantages of NEXTGEN TV for South American Broadcasters

The current ISDB-T television standard used in South America is not very scalable, making it challenging for broadcasters to provide advanced services and open up new revenue streams. 

Based on an IP broadcast transmission system, ATSC 3.0 enables seamless communication between stations and viewers. By leveraging over-the-air and broadband delivery systems, broadcasters can deliver superior video resolution and audio quality, interactive content, and innovative service guides. In Brazil, broadcasters plan to deliver up to 8K video quality. 

Moreover, ATSC 3.0 will allow broadcasters to enhance their revenues through targeted advertising, datacasting applications, and more. Datacasting and remote learning are being heavily discussed in South America as a way for broadcasters to reach underserved and remotely populated areas. 

Redundancy is Key for Datacasting

To deliver datacasting applications, broadcasters need to establish a reliable ATSC 3.0 environment. Utilizing redundancy and monitoring solutions, broadcasters in South America can successfully generate and maintain revenue after migrating to ATSC 3.0.

By implementing redundancy and automatic switches, broadcasters can guarantee network reliability. Moreover, integrating their overall network with an orchestration system that includes the billing environment will allow broadcasters to support new business models, such as datacasting and targeted advertising.

Monitoring NEXTGEN TV streams in real time is essential to assuring a high quality of service. With a state-of-the-art monitoring solution, such as Triveni Digital’s ATSC 3.0 StreamScope XM Monitor, broadcasters can deliver a high quality of service for NEXTGEN TV, while increasing operational efficiencies. The StreamScope XM Monitor provides complete real-time analysis of ROUTE streams from RF, Ethernet, and file inputs at multiple delivery points to ensure superior NEXTGEN TV QoS. Moreover, the StreamScope XM Monitor performs real-time monitoring of ATSC 3.0 streams, and allows broadcasters to create rules-based notifications to pinpoint and rapidly troubleshoot NEXTGEN TV service quality issues for optimal viewing experiences. 

Monetization is just as critical to providing a high quality of service. Leveraging a new decryption functionality on StreamScope XM, broadcasters in South America can transmit encrypted content in the ATSC 3.0 environment to better understand who their subscribers are and monetize NEXTGEN TV services, while ensuring outstanding content integrity. 

Conclusion

With Brazil leading the way, South America is on the path to NEXTGEN TV. A leader in ATSC 3.0 solutions, Triveni Digital has been at the forefront of NEXTGEN TV education, standardization, and implementation. Triveni Digital’s end-to-end ATSC 3.0 offering is fully redundant and integrated with one of the world’s leading orchestration systems. 

As South America brings NEXTGEN TV to viewers, Triveni Digital is excited to empower broadcasters to deliver an outstanding quality of service and monetize their ATSC 3.0 offerings.