mobile TV feature
US-based Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc.
(CBC) owns and/or operates a range of media
organisations in North Carolina. One of its five
television stations, WRAL-TV in Raleigh, recently
launched the first publicly available, free, over-
the-air broadcast of mobile DTV in the US.
Steve HammelWRAL-TV’s , vice president and
Pete Sockettgeneral manager, and , chief
engineer, report.
Mobile DTV
hits the streets
t WRAL-TV, our Systems Committee’s emerging ATSC Simultaneous upgrade to
commitment to providing Mobile DTV Standard - on a week-long digital and mobile TV
our community with the demonstration at WRAL. Rather than
highest quality media simply providing a demo for our staff, Planning the actual technology
service - along with our WRAL hosted an event for members of implementation for our mobile DTV
A
commitment to digital the community, advertisers, retailers initiative was surprisingly painless. We
television - forms the basis of our and city officials to show them what love the solution because it allows us
everyday business practices and the future of broadcasting would look to deliver multiple high-definition
decisions. Being ‘first’ is part of what like. We felt it was important for us to channels - along with mobile
we do, and we’re proud to be share the possibilities and get feedback television - with a single signal. For
recognised across the broadcast from our community. this project we simply installed a
industry as a national pioneer in Through this event, a conversation Harris mobile DTV exciter and signal
television and media technology. began with the leaders of the city who
For WRAL,
encoding equipment on our existing
In 1996, WRAL became the first recognised that mobile DTV could
this mobile
TV transmission systems and gained
commercial station in the US to provide an innovative new service.
DTV initiative
the ability to transmit a robust, digital
broadcast a high-definition signal. In They had been looking for ways to
provides a
mobile TV signal at very little cost.
2000, WRAL became the first station in improve the rider experience on city We are using this system to split
unique, new
the world to broadcast an all-HD buses - and this seemed like the right our 19.4 Mb/s of capacity into a slice
newscast. And in spring of 2009, WRAL idea at the right time. way to for HDTV, a slice for SDTV - both for
launched the nation’s first free, over- In a joint effort of WRAL, the CBC
increase our
delivery to DTV receivers in the home
the-air broadcast of mobile DTV to the New Media Group and the City of
audience
- and now a slice that can be received
public. Raleigh, the first public deployment of
reach, brand
on mobile DTV-capable devices such
broadcast mobile DTV in the US would
Taking mobile DT
awareness
as mobile phones, laptop and netbook
V to the deliver live WRAL-TV broadcasts to computers and in-car receivers.
streets andCapital Area Transit (CAT) buses Much of the upgrade we made for .
traveling around North Carolina’s
advertising
6
5
the mobile DTV deployment involved
e
The idea for our mobile DTV capital city. The plan was to implement
sales.
g
steps we would have taken anyway in
a
P
deployment began to take root in July
innovative broadcast technology that preparation for the mandated US DTV
n
o
2008, when we worked with Harris would increase our audience and reach transition. We had to move from
d
e
Corporation and LG Electronics - co- and also bring significant benefit to the channel 53 to channel 48, and this
u
n
i
developers of the technology community, to the city and to local tmove included an upgrade of our
n
o
underlying the Advanced Television business owners. existing antenna and transmitter
C
www.ibeweb.com l september/october 2009 l ibe l 55
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