ATTC Closing TV Technology Article

This article first appeared in the trade publication "TV Technology" in the September 15, 2003 issue. There are some differences between this version (which was submitted) and the printed version (which the editors added a few tidbits to without consulting me first; READ THE PUBLISHED VERSION HERE). This is the version I take credit for.

ADVANCED TELEVISION TEST CENTER CLOSES

September 30, 2003 will witness the end of an important chapter in the history of television. On that day, the Advanced Television Technology Center (ATTC) will close for good and the only independent, non-partisan testing facility in the U.S. television industry will be gone for good. Many do not know its name, but virtually every single person in both the television and radio industries are affected by its activities in some way.

For those who have never heard of the ATTC, it was the facility where the current ATSC digital television standard for the United States was tested, plus the previous proponent systems which would be merged to created the standard. The lab created and tested many of the compliance benchmarks for the ATSC standard once digital television broadcasting began. It also tested much of the new IBOC (in-band, on-channel) digital radio standard from iBiquity and recently adopted by the FCC.

The need for a testing facility arose in the early 1980s, when demonstrations of the NHK 1125 line high-definition system showed that video beyond NTSC & PAL was not only possible, but quickly becoming reality. Other technological currents of the time were also giving birth to direct broadcast satellite service, wide distribution of cable television signals, and increasing the inclusion of computing technologies in consumer and broadcast electronic devices. The hand writing on the wall was that broadcast television as we knew it would be the lowest quality service within the foreseeable future in picture quality, audio quality, and advanced features enabled by digital coding and software design. It was clear that a more advanced television system would be required if broadcast television was to survive the coming changes.

Two distinct ATTCs existed: the Advanced Television Test Center from 1987 to 1996, and the Advanced Television Technology Center from 1996 to 2003. Both existed at the same location at 1330 Braddock Place in Alexandria, VA, had the same phone numbers and equipment, but there the similarities ended.

The ATTC began its life as the Advanced Television Test Center, created in 1987 by a group of forward-thinking broadcasters to serve as the non-partisan testing facility for what had been dubbed the Òadvanced televisionÓ process. While a number of labs served to give birth to the analog television industry, such as the old RCA Labs in Princeton, New Jersey and the CBS Labs, when the possibility of replacing our analog NTSC system became reality in the 1980s there was no one facility that could test and verify equipment, systems and claims of competing proponents from across the industry. The first ATTC served as that non-partisan testing ground for the future of television.

Creating a center to test proposed advanced television systems started with a group of senior engineers coming together through the conduit of the Association for Maximum Service Television, better-known as MSTV. The advanced television process started with the creation of the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service (known as ACATS), the industry sponsored committee whose purpose was to supervise the process for the FCC. The next step required an independent laboratory to test proposed systems.

Twenty-three systems were proposed to ACATS. After an extensive vetting process designed to separate fantasy from systems that could actually be built, 6 proposed systems moved to the testing stage. NHK put forth a 6 MHz version of its analog MUSE system. Sarnoff Labs proposed the analog Advanced Compatible Television (ACTV), and the other proponents also proposed analog systems. That all changed less a week before the June 15, 1990 deadline when General Instrument proposed the first all-digital system for testing. From that moment on, analog was out and digital was the future of television.

After the first round of tests was completed, it was clear in the test reports that no single system was good enough to become the U.S. standard. During the waiting period while the decisions on how to proceed were progressing, the ATTC performed a test of the two proposed modulation schemes, QAM and 8 VSB. Finally, after considerable negotiations with the ACATS chairman Dick Wiley, the proponents agreed to merge their systems in 1993 into a best of the best, dubbed the Òdigital HDTV Grand Alliance.Ó The Grand Alliance chose ZenithÕs 8VSB for its combined system.

The Grand Alliance system arrived at the Test Center in April, 1995. Testing lasted through to August, and the reports were completed and submitted by October. Its work done and final report submitted, the ACATS disbanded at the end of 1995. The FCC finally chose the Grand Alliance system as the standard for the United States in December 1996. With its purpose completed, the Advanced Television Test Center prepared to close.

Even with the selection process completed, it was clear to the ATTCÕs strongest supporters that, even with a DTV standard chosen, a testing laboratory was still needed to deal with the issues that would arise out of the transition to digital broadcasting. Though most of the original members of the Test Center left, PBS and CBS were determined to keep the capabilities and assets of the ATTC from being lost. In early 1996 the Advanced Television Test Center became the Advanced Television Technology Center. Its new purpose was to serve as a laboratory for the digital TV transition, and additionally to attempt to be a testing facility beyond digital television.

In each case, the second ATTC did its job just as well as the first ATTC. First, an on-channel repeater system was tested on a mountain in the Blue Ridge since it was thought that squeezing all the extra digital channels into a smaller TV spectrum would require use of on-channel repeaters.

Second, the ATTC developed a revolutionary system to capture complete samples of actual RF spectrum so receivers could be tested with actual, accurate samples of real-time DTV spectrum captured from an actual DTV station and showing all of the multi-path challenges of using 8VSB in real world spectrum.

Third, an extensive series of tests of early and actual production DTV receivers allowed manufacturers to better understand the pros and cons of their receiver designs. The addition of the RF capture system allowed for extremely accurate and completely reproducible tests across multiple receiver designs.

Finally, the ATTC hosted the RF test bed for the digital radio initiative of USA Digital Radio, which would become the iBiquity digital radio standard adopted by the FCC in 2002.

Over the course of the past year it became clear that there was still a place for a testing laboratory with the capabilities of the ATTC, but with the downturn in the economy the potential work was not coming as readily as before. Even so, it looked as if enough work could be brought in to keep the ATTC going. However, as the middle of 2003 approached it became clear that the projects and funding simply werenÕt arriving quickly enough to keep the Center open. The hard decision to close the ATTC was made, and the dissolution was begun.

The IBOC test bed was returned to iBiquity in Columbia, MD. The DTV RF test bed will be taken by CBS and moved to New York, and the tape library and Sony HD machines may follow as well. The balance of the TOC equipment has been purchased by a former ATTC employee who is now a broadcast consultant. The Expert Viewing room is gone, most of the files either discarded or prepared for storage. September 30, 2003 will see the space returned to the building owners and the ATTC will be pass forever into history.

As a former ATTC employee twice over, this writer personally experienced the intensity, challenge and occasional emotion of working hard under tough testing conditions. Every one of the people I interviewed for this article expressed the same sentiment: it was a wonderful challenging professional experience with very talented people dealing with issues we all knew would affect the history of both our business and our personal lives.

It was not possible to acknowledge every person or group who participated in the two ATTC incarnations due to space considerations. The staffs were hard working, talented people who succeeded in the primary goal of both ATTCs: to provide as fair, impartial and balanced a testing facility as is possible to create. The people who worked on and tested their systems at the ATTC are equally worthy of recognition. Additionally, the many forward-looking companies who paid for both ATTCs are worthy of note. While the ATTC may be gone, the work accomplished will live on in the day-to-day lives of everyday people for generations to come. No finer compliment could be paid.

Quick author bio:

James Snyder served in the first ATTC during Grand Alliance testing, and in the second during USA Digital Radio testing. He began his career in 1980 at a small public radio/television facility in Indiana, and now works for Intelsat in Washington, DC.