As far as the future of broadcasting is concerned in North America, ATSC 3.0 will only support interlaced broadcasting 1080i as a legacy format, being replaced by a higher progressive only standard:
The ATSC 3.0 standard will include UltraHD progressive video up to 3840×2160 at 60 fps. Other elements of the UltraHD standard such as high dynamic range (HDR), wider color gamut, and high frame rate (HFR) will be included in the standard, and only legacy support will be provided for 1080i signals.
While 1080i is the current broadcast HD standard along with 720p, many broadcasters use 1080i.
But 1080p is the standard used on the Internet and progressive is,used for disc based viewing. All non-CRT (LCD, Plasma p, etc) are also progressive signal viewing systems, that must,take,the interlaced signal and put it back to progressive to view int,program.
Now we find ourselves having adopted 1080i for broadcast and 1080p for internet and disc-based distribution it's time to move on again. The next step is 4K Ultra-High Definition TV, and standards like the ATSC 3.0. In TV terms, 4K refers to an image that has four times more information than 1080p. The image resolution is 3,840x2,160 (8.3-megapixels). That's up from 2.1-megapixels in 1,920 x 1,080.
Of the major four US TV networks, ABC and Fox are progressive (720p) and CBS and NBC are interlaced (1080i) with the rest of the content providers using progressive and/or interlaced for broadcast and progressive for internet based content. So while interlaced is a broadcast standard, it is not the only broadcast standard, hot is it universal as it was in the analog, standard def. TV days. The first HD standard was 720p, with 1080p/i added later.
Equipment manufacturers are also looking at the upcoming proposed broadcast and cable-based TV standards. In the US, traditional cable TV is going away, and in many areas broadcast TV is also in decline, being replaced do by digital video over Internet distribution, like Netflix. Comcast, the major cable provider is replacing regulated traditional cable broadcasting with their internet provided TV content, XFINITY, which is progressive based video content only.
So with interlaced broadcasting going run way of standard def. TV, should video equipment manufacturers be building making cameras and TVs for interlaced broadcasting, start shifting their equipment to support progressive only. It's 2016, by the end of 2017, we will see the 1080i standard in broadcasting going away, being replaced by FullHD/UHD progressive broadcasting. So, I can see why BM is taking this next step with the Ursa Mini, and only supporting progressive, as making dual standard equipment does drive the cost up. Now we find ourselves having adopted 1080i for broadcast and 1080p for internet and disc-based distribution it's time to move on again. The next step is 4K Ultra-High Definition TV. In TV terms, 4K refers to an image that has four times more information than 1080p. The image resolution is 3,840x2,160 (8.3-megapixels). That's up from 2.1-megapixels in 1,920 x 1,080. Even the Pocket camera, and the New Micro Cinema camera also do not support 1080i. The next generation of BM's Studio TV cameras will also probably not support 1080i. The new ATEMs and firmware updates for the newer 4K units, will support the Ursa Min as a progressive only camera. After all, Interlaced broadcasting is dying... Or is it?
In a few weeks, we will find out, and get a glimpse at this new future with NAB 2106!
Cheers