ATSC approves mobile digital TV standard

International nonprofit standards organization the Advanced Television Systems Committee announced its approval of the A/153 ATSC Mobile DTV Standard, which defines the technical specifications necessary for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld devices via digital television transmissions. Developed to support a variety of services including advertiser-supported television and interactive services delivered in real-time, subscription-based TV, and file-based content download for subsequent playback, the ATSC Mobile DTV Standard is optimized for an array of wireless devices including mobile phones, small handheld DTVs, laptop computers and in-vehicle entertainment systems.

According to the ATSC, the standard is built around a robust transmission system based on Vestigial Side Band modulation, with enhanced error correction and other techniques to improve robustness and reduce power consumption in portable receivers, coupled with an IP-based transport system, efficient MPEG AVC (ISO/IEC 14496-10 or ITU H.264) video, and HE AAC v2 audio (ISO/IEC 14496-3) coding. The ATSC promises that mobile DTV services can be carried in existing digital broadcast channels along with current DTV services without any adverse impact on legacy receiving equipment.

For more on the ATSC Mobile DTV Standard:
- read this release

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