Video codec patent pool proprietor MPEG LA has just made it a whole lot easier for consumer electronics manufacturers to license ATSC 3.0, following agreements with 13 separate owners of essential patents for the next-generation hybrid broadcast broadband standard. The significance of this is that the Advanced Television Systems Committee will be desperate to avoid a patent fragmentation situation akin to the chaotic scenes between the disparate AVC/HEVC patent pools. Patents are not exactly renowned for speed and efficiency, with this arduous process beginning way back in August 2017 with the first call for essential patents. MPEG LA is the shepherd in this herding of multiple international entities towards a common goal, yet several sheep will have proven difficult to…