ATSC Approves Metadata Standard for PSIP

[Gregg Lengling]

Members of ATSC recently approved the Programming Metadata Communication Protocol (PMCP) standard.


PMCP is based on XML data that can be implemented across different system architectures. Traffic management, listing services, automation and encoders would use PMCP to transfer data between systems using PSIP.


"Implementing PMCP will help ensure that transmitted PSIP information is complete and correct, with minimum manual intervention by the broadcaster," said Graham Jones, NAB chair of T3/S1, the ATSC specialist group on PSIP metadata communication.


ATSC President Mark Richer said that because the FCC mandate for full implementation of the ATSC PSIP standard goes into effect by Feb. 1, 2005, the standardization "could not have come at a better time."