The Advanced Television Systems Committee, Inc., is an international, non-profit organization that develops standards for digital television. Its members are representatives of the industry sectors related to broadcast, broadcast equipment, films, electronic media, computers, cable, satellite and semiconductors.
ATSC works to coordinate television standards by focusing on digital television, interactive systems and broadband multimedia communication. It also develops strategies for the implementation of digital television and conducts educational seminars on such standards.
ATSC was created in 1982 by members of the Joint Committee on InterSociety Coordination (JCIC); those of the Electronic Industries Association (EIA), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). It currently has 140 members.
On December 24, 1996, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted elements of the ATSC standard for digital television (DTV) A/53. This standard has also been adopted by the government of Canada in November 1997, by the government of South Korea on November 21, 1998, by the government of Taiwan on May 8, 1998, and by that of Argentina on October 22, 1998.
