Program and System Information Protocol - What PSIP Does

What PSIP Does

PSIP defines virtual channels and content ratings, as well as electronic program guides with titles and (optionally) descriptions to be decoded and displayed by the ATSC tuner.

PSIP can also send:

• the exact time referenced to UTC and GPS time;
• the short name, which some stations use to publish their callsign. A maximum of seven characters can be used in a short name.

PSIP is defined in ATSC standard A/65, the most recent revision of which is A/65C, published in 2006. A/69 is a recommended practice for implementing PSIP in a TV station.

PSIP also supersedes the A/55 and A/56 protocol methods of delivering program guide information (which the ATSC has deleted). TV Guide On Screen is a different, proprietary system provided by datacasting on a single station, while PSIP is required, at least in the United States, to be sent by every digital TV station.

PSIP information may be passed through the airchain using proprietary protocols or through use of the XML-based Programming Metadata Communication Protocol (PMCP, or ATSC A/76) facility metadata scheme.