TeamCast and Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC, also known as "Comark", announced that the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) & the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) have selected products for ATSC 3.0 field testing in Cleveland, OH.

Under an experimental FCC broadcast license, a terrestrial station in Cleveland owned by Tribune Broadcasting’s WJW-TV will be used by NAB and CTA to conduct a new session of field testing in ATSC 3.0.  This initiative comes at a perfect time as many US broadcasters are assigned new channels as required in the repacking process associated with the US incentive auction and will be very interested in collecting general performance figures for ATSC 3.0 transmissions.

For this trial, planned for the coming months, an existing Comark Transmitter has been selected and turned-on. The transmitter includes an ATSC 3.0 high-end exciter designed by TeamCast. The system feeds an antenna that radiates a 30kW ERP ATSC 3.0 signal on channel 31.

“We are proud for having been selected with Comark for this new ATSC 3.0 field test session organized by NAB and CTA, which constitutes a clear recognition of our experience and our leadership in supporting early tests and trials for this new emerging standard” stated Eric Pinson, Business Unit Manager and Sales Manager at TeamCast.

“Comark has been working closely with TeamCast on exciter technology for both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0, having deployed numerous exciters in the field already.  The RF performance, reliability and upgradeability of these platforms are already field proven.  So when we were approached to support this extremely important demonstration, it was an easy decision for Comark” said Dick Fiore, President & CEO of Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC.