At the NAB Show, NAGRA, BitRouter and Harmonic are demonstrating a new solution intended to provide broadcasters and device manufacturers with a flexible way to prepare for the launch of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and related video services on both connected and unconnected ATSC 3.0 devices.
The product integrates NAGRA content protection technologies, the BitRouter ATSC 3.0 receiver stack and the Harmonic Packager XOS for live OTT streaming. The integration is intended to enable an addressable solution to monetize ATSC 3.0 services and upsell consumers migrating to ATSC 3.0. It also features a purchasing capability using existing mobile communication channels along with ATSC OTA and broadband-IP transmission.
"NAGRA is committed to helping U.S. broadcasters prepare for the launch of ATSC 3.0 with best-of-breed solutions and partners," said Tom Wirth, SVP Americas at NAGRA. "The solution we are demonstrating together makes great strides in enabling new services and monetization opportunities for the next-gen market. We have a long history of success ensuring premium content is protected and secure, and ATSC 3.0 will be no exception. While security is the starting point, we are also looking to future opportunities, such as broadcasting to moving vehicles for both entertainment and telematics, IoT, analytics and hybrid business devices and services that broadcasters might want to deploy."
"BitRouter's ATSC3pak middleware and ATSC3pro turnkey set-top box and gateway solution provided an ideal platform to quickly integrate NAGRA's content protection technology," said Gopal Miglani, president and founder of BitRouter. "ATSC3pro provides an open UI SDK. BitRouter deployed its ATSC 1.0 middleware in over 30 million receivers with 14 different SoC platforms. We are committed to bring the same robustness and portability to the ATSC 3.0 receiver market."
"As our industry embarks on this ATSC 3.0 journey, new linear TV consumption models that use content protection are a top priority for broadcasters," said Jean Macher, director of broadcast market development at Harmonic. "The solution proposed by NAGRA, Harmonic and BitRouter is addressing both connected and non-connected ATSC 3.0 receivers for maximum monetization opportunity. We are excited to work with our longtime partner NAGRA on this breakthrough protection technology."
Set-top box and TV manufacturers will have access to the complete NAGRA and BitRouter software development kit (SDK) to enable the development of turnkey ATSC 3.0-ready reception devices.
ATSC 3.0 is currently running in about a half-dozen U.S. test markets and is expected to go live in 40 more in 2020. Additionally, the U.S. delegation to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has proposed adoption of ATSC 3.0 as the digital broadcast standard for use by all countries in the world. The U.S. delegation proposed ATSC 3.0 to a Working Party of Study Group 6 of the ITU's Radiocommunications Sector, which develops and maintains worldwide recommendations, reports and handbooks on the broadcasting service. The U.S. effort was supported by the South Korean government delegation with assistance from the Korean Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute.
