It’s a “globally active company” operating from its headquarters in Atlanta, harboring technical laboratories and sales offices across North America and Asia. Now, it is gaining praise for becoming the first ATSC 3.0 software vendor to power devices that have entered the certification process to use the NEXTGEN TV trademark.
These devices are for consumers interested in something not originally discussed when it came to NEXTGEN TV — upgrading their current televisions so they can watch NEXTGEN TV broadcasts.
And, the first one on the market is coming from Tolka.
Working collaboratively with Pearl TV’s “FastTrack” program, the Tolka software stack will reside on “affordable ADTH-branded receivers” planned for retail introduction later this year, Pearl TV announced on Monday.
“America’s broadcasters are proud of the collaborative effort that is bringing free over-the-air next-generation broadcasting to viewers in more than 60 cities across the country,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. “With consumers already purchasing, on average, more than 13,000 NEXTGEN TV sets every day and more than six million TV receivers equipped with NEXTGEN TV electronics already in homes, the focus now turns to expanding the audience base to provide more connection options for consumers. This remarkable growth underscores why Pearl TV recently launched its Fast Track for NEXTGEN TV program. We’re speeding up the process to bring more upgrade accessory receivers and television models to market.”
The FastTrack program provides consumer electronics manufacturers with what Pearl TV believes is “an easier, faster, and more cost-effective process” to introduce NEXTGEN TV-compatible products for consumers. It guides device makers through the NEXTGEN TV logo and other conformance requirements—meeting those of the Consumer Technology
Association (CTA)—and including security and regulatory compliance, testing, and opportunities for distribution and marketing partnerships.
NAB EVP/Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny cheered the upcoming ADTH NEXTGEN TV upgrade accessory receivers from Tolka, which have officially begun the process of securing NEXTGEN TV certification. “We are optimistic ADTH will achieve certification in time for the 2023 NAB Show and provide first-hand insight into cost-effective, consumer-friendly
receivers coming to market that will deliver a complete experience for NEXTGEN TV viewers,” Matheny said.
Tolka’s software stack on ADTH receivers was demonstrated at the 2023 International CES as one of several products “next for certification” for the NEXTGEN TV mark. Conformance
requirements to earn the NEXTGEN TV certification mark are detailed in Pearl’s recently published guide for consumer electronics manufacturers.
NEXTGEN TV certification services and tools are provided by Resillion (formerly Eurofins Digital Testing) on behalf of the CTA and the NAB, which joined forces in 2019
to launch the innovative logo program. At the 2023 NAB Show, Dr. Bob Campbell, Director of Engineering at Resillion, will be delivering an update on the certification program’s progress and the latest developments in accessory device compatibility.
As of today, more than 120 television models that support NEXTGEN TV at retail from Hisense, LG, Samsung and Sony are available to U.S. consumers.
NEXTGEN TV is expected to reach 75% of U.S. television households by the end of 2023.
When it comes to information pertaining to ADTH and ATSC 3.0, I take it with a grain of salt. ADTH has been talking about releasing their ATSC 3.0 device for almost 2 years now and have yet to do so. So, I call “Hog Wash” on this information. In other words, I’ll believe it when I see it.
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