Sony, Pearl TV partner for ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV program guide

Sony and Pearl TV, a consortium of companies pushing the ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV standards, are co-developing a new, more responsive on-screen program guide.

The new program guide is being developed as part of Pearl TV’s ATSC 3.0 model market project in Phoenix.

"Our finished product for the Phoenix Model Market will be the first Electronic Service Guide with program information from both broadcasters and multichannel providers built with ATSC 3.0 technology. This innovative platform will bring a state-of-the-art experience to the viewer with interactivity, personalization and voice command support, both directly to the TV and indirectly through companion devices, such as tablets and mobile phones," said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, in a statement. "This will be the first fully compliant implementation of an ATSC 3.0 interactive environment. New applications developed for the ATSC 3.0 platform will control interactive advertising and offer consumers new capabilities, such as accessing digital coupons.”

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Per the new partnership, Sony will be involved in Pearl's Phoenix Model Market later in 2018. Next week at CES, Pearl will demonstrate Sony's prototype implementation of the full, ATSC 3.0-compliant protocol stack.

In addition, Sony Semiconductors said it is in the advanced stages of development of a demodulator chip for ATSC 3.0 receivers, and that it has carried out field testing in North Carolina and Maryland with additional field tests planned for WJW, the experimental station in Ohio.

"ATSC 3.0 can operate in many transmission modes, ranging from high-capacity modes optimized for fixed reception to high-robustness modes optimized for mobile or deep-building reception," said Paul Hearty, vice president of Technical Standards at Sony Electronics, in a statement. "ATSC 3.0 also shares many elements of its technology stack with what is used in telco/mobile services, which promotes content and service interoperability."

Pearl TV members include Cox Media Group, the E.W. Scripps, Graham Media Group, Hearst Television, Meredith, Nexstar Media, Raycom Media and TEGNA.