The Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc. (ATSC) has launched development of a three-dimensional (3D) broadcast TV standard that will provide methods for transmission of 3D-TV content to both fixed and mobile devices, the standards development organization announced today.

“The addition of 3D-TV over-the-air TV broadcast transmission is part of our ongoing effort to expand the capabilities of the ATSC suite of digital television standards,” said ATSC President Mark Richer.

The groundbreaking work on the new 3D-TV broadcast standard builds on the extensive efforts over the last year by the ATSC 3DTV Planning Team. This new standard, which could be completed in a year, will allow:

• 3D content delivered on one ATSC terrestrial channel to fixed receivers, with delivery of both views (left and right eye) in real-time, and;
• 3D content delivered on one ATSC terrestrial channel to Mobile/Handheld receivers, and delivery of both views in real-time.
• 3D content delivered in non-real-time.

“The addition of 3D-TV capability to the DTV broadcast standard will foster new broadcast services while preserving the integrity of legacy TV receivers by adopting a system that allows for simultaneous delivery of 2D HDTV, Mobile DTV, and 3D programs within the same channel while ensuring backwards compatibility,” Richer said.

The effort will be led by Dr. Youngkwon Lim, representing the Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI) in Daejon, South Korea. Dr. Richard Chernock, of Triveni Digital and Chair of the ATSC Technology & Standards Group, said, “Dr. Lim’s extensive background in broadcast technology research and his experience in international standards development make him an excellent person to lead this important project.”