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New ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard (NEXTGEN TV) made available in a growing number of US cities continues to grow steadily, with stations in 50-plus markets and reaching 55 percent of homes now upgraded from the ATSC 1.0 standard.
ATSC 3.0 tuners can be found in select sets sold in the US as of 2020, and more best 4K TVs from LG, Samsung, Sony, and Hisense all offering the feature. The benefits that ATSC 3.0 brings over the old high-definition digital TV standard include 4K high-resolution dynamic range video, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio, and improved Dolby audio and features. for volume measurement. Also, since it is based on IP, two-way data transmission is supported to bring an interactive component to TV shows and games.
Since it broadcasts TV with ads, those new features will come for free – all you have to do is connect one of the best indoor tv antennas to your ATSC 3.0-compatible set.
But what if your current TV doesn’t have a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner? Stations that switch to the new broadcast standard are required to “simulcast” on ATSC 1.0 for at least five years after making the switch. Also, low-end DVRs with ATSC 3.0 tuners that allow you to receive and record TV broadcasts and connect to your TV’s HDMI input are available from companies like Tablo. But at around $150, the Tablo DVR is pricey, and not everyone wants to make TiVo-style recordings of broadcast TV.
This is where Pearl TV comes in. A consortium of television broadcasting companies, which counts more than 820 stations among its members, recently announced the FastTrack program to “accelerate the development and commercial availability of low-level upgrade receivers.”
The FastTrack initiative was announced last week at the NAB Show New York trade conference hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters. Noting that the ATSC 3.0 standard is not backward compatible and that 91 percent of US households currently have a TV with an HDMI input but no ATSC 3.0 tuner, the release of Pearl TV makes clear the group’s goal “to provide support to manufacturers interested in making devices which makes special equipment.support the full service of NEXTGEN TV.
The equipment the group supposedly has in mind would be a basic set-top or external antenna type that connects to an antenna and can be sold at an affordable price. Such a device would give ATSC 3.0 a chance to advance over the next few years as TVs with built-in tuners become more widely available. (Pearl TV’s release also states that “more than 75% of all televisions sold are expected to be available with dual HDTV and NEXTGEN TV receivers” by 2024.)
Analysis: Free TV gets a much-needed upgrade with ATSC 3.0
With many streaming services now offering movies in 4K/HDR, regular TV broadcasts are starting to look long in the tooth. Well, when high definition digital TV first arrived in the late 1990s, it was an exciting and very welcome development in analog broadcasting with low resolution and reception challenges. But 20-plus years have passed, and there have been a wide range of technical advances in TV technology in that time.
The main ones are 4K and HDR, both of which work to greatly increase the level of detail, color gamut, and visual range of video images. Both became readily available to viewers back in 2016, and are now seen as commonplace.
Immersive audio formats such as Dolby Atmos are also available for streaming services, and owners the best soundbars they expect to receive audio in a new, content-based format when watching movies and shows on their TVs.
As for the interactive part of ATSC 3.0, the benefits are still being explored, but services such as Amazon Prime have started to make interactive content available with its Thursday Football streams that show expanded statistics and other additional content to serve fans. Sports is a big draw for broadcast television, as many broadcasters make interactive features available – and they will certainly – broadcasters will begin to appear out of step.
Of course, all of these broadcast TV shortcomings can be remedied by making ATSC 3.0 widely available, and cheaply implemented in sets that don’t have the next TV tuner. Pearl TV’s FastTrack program is a welcome step in that direction, and one that could greatly accelerate the success of the new standard.
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