The Advanced Television Systems Committee has given final approval to ATSC Recommended Practice: Transport Stream Verification (A/78).

The new Recommended Practice provides guidance to broadcasters and equipment manufacturers on a common methodology to be used to determine transport conformance with the elements and parameters of ATSC Standards A/53, “ATSC Digital Television Standards,” and A/65, “Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable,

“Our new Recommended Practice was designed to meet the real-word operational requirements of broadcasters” said Mark Richer, ATSC President. “It is likely to become the basis for DTV transport stream monitoring strategies.”

Work on A/78 was led by Dr. Richard Chernock of Triveni Digital, within the Technology & Standards ad-hoc group TSG-1. Dr. Chernock observed, “The broadcasters focus has shifted from getting DTV on the air to keeping it working correctly. Monitoring is a key component to achieve this goal. A/78 provides important guidance, allowing attention to be prioritized from the most important impairments to those that have minimal consequences. The work that led to A/78 represents contributions from all segments of the industry.”

While ATSC standards strictly define the contents and characteristics of the DTV emission transport stream, there may be a number of interactions and interrelationships amongst various components. Successful tuning and display of programs can be ensured if the transport stream adheres to the applicable specifications.

An ATSC Recommended Practice is a document that states specifications or criteria within advanced television systems that are not strictly necessary for effective implementation and interoperability, but that are thought to be advisable and may improve the efficiency of implementation or reduce the probability of implementation errors. The ATSC Recommended Practice may also specify a preferred methodology for implementation and operation, and may recommend a choice from among alternatives.

A/78 may be downloaded from the ATSC Web site at http://www.atsc.org/standards.html

About ATSC
The Advanced Television Systems Committee is an international, non-profit organization developing voluntary standards for digital television. The ATSC member organizations represent the broadcast, broadcast equipment, motion picture, consumer electronics, computer, cable, satellite and semiconductor industries. For more information visit www.atsc.org.

For more information, contact Lindsay Shelton-Gross, ATSC (202) 872-9160, or
lsheltongross@atsc.org