Metadata Issues for ATSC Audio

The audio decoder in a consumer digital television (DTV) receiver conforming to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) specification needs two types of data in order to work properly. The data stream it receives must contain coded audio as well as audio metadata. Audio metadata is a group of parameters that describes the audio program data being transmitted and controls some aspects of how the audio program is presented in the consumer's receiver. This paper will provide an overview of the audio metadata parameters. It will discuss the purpose of the parameters and how they are chosen. The paper will also discuss the effect that each of these parameters has on domestic receiver operation. The operational implications of authoring the different parameters at different points in the production or distribution chain will be examined. Some different methods for authoring the metadata will also be proposed. These methods will include those necessary during the transition period when proper metadata authoring and monitoring equipment may not exist.