PSIP defines virtual channels and content ratings, as well as electronic program guides with titles and descriptions to be decoded and displayed by the ATSC tuner. PSIP can also send:
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 standardA/65, the most recent revision of which is A/65:2013, published in 2013. A/69 is a recommended practice for implementing PSIP in a television station. PSIP also supersedes the A/55 and A/56 protocol methods of delivering program guide information. 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 television station. PSIP information may be passed through the airchain using proprietary protocols or through use of the Programming Metadata Communication Protocol metadata scheme.
Programming Metadata Communication Protocol
PMCP, defined in the Advanced Television Systems Committee's A/76B, provides ATSC broadcasters with a standardized means to exchange system information among systems that create and manage these data elements. These systems can be outside Program listing services, program management systems, traffic and broadcast automation systems, which all contribute a portion of the PSIP data to a PSIP Generator. At the heart of PMCP is an XML Schema, which provide a standardized structure into which PSI and PSIP-related data may be exchanged. PMCP does not dictate systems' internal database structures; it is simply a platform-independent protocol for the exchange of data. PMCP was first published as A/76 in November 2004, and enjoys adoption from a variety of broadcast equipment and system vendors. Two revisions with the standard have been made. ATSC A/76a extended PMCP to include metadata necessary for proper signaling of ACAPdata broadcast elements, and A/76B, was released in 2007, fixed some errors and made the schema usable with the related SMPTE S2021 schema.
Included tables
; System Time Table ; Master Guide Table ; Terrestrial Virtual Channel Table ; Cable Virtual Channel Table ; Rating Region Table ; Event Information Table ; Extended Text Table ; Directed Channel Change Table ; Directed Channel Change Selection Code Table
