Event Information tables [ATSC Syntax]

Event Information table sections convey information about the "events" aired by a program service over a three-hour period. Events are linked to virtual channels by a source_id unique to the program service.

The event_id of a event is used to link to the event's description in an Extended Event Text table.

Event Information tables are called EIT-ks because they list the events for a three-hour "k" period for a particular virtual channel. EITs are linked to virtual channels via the source_id which is transmitted as the table_id_extension of the EIT-k.

ATSC M/H broadcasting has two elements that are equivalent to Event Information Tables. In ATSC M/H signaling (which is approximately equivalent to MPEG-2 Program Specific Information (PSI), the Service Map Table for ATSC M/H (SMT-MH) at the M/H service level, the M/H current program descriptor optionally provides the start time, duration in seconds and title of the current television program being aired on a particular ATSC M/H service.

The optional ATSC M/H Service Guide (approximately equivalent to PSIP in the main transport stream), can contain several XML fragments that relate to elements in Event Information Tables, including but not limited to Schedule and Content fragments. The ATSC M/H Service Guide provides much more extensive functionality than that provide by the Electronic Program Guide in PSIP. The additional functionality enables linking icons, images and even video clips with particular television programs or programming services.

This page was last modified on August 19, 2009 to add information about ATSC M/H equivalents to Event Information Tables.