#Atsc 3.0 tuner box tv#
#Atsc 3.0 tuner box free#

Wharton at the NAB pointed out that the improvement in quality, overall coverage, and the built-in safety features mean that most stations would be enthusiastic to offer ATSC 3.0. People involved with the transition now, however, are optimistic. If that happens, ATSC 3.0 is dead before it starts, or at best, languishes for years until a less-regulation-averse FCC makes the transition mandatory.

It’s easy to see the end result of this being no stations, or not enough stations, agree to the costly upgrades in equipment that ATSC 3.0 entails. Without a mandate, stations might not bother spending the money upgrading to 3.0. This will mean a temporary reduction in bandwidth for each channel, but potentially a limited impact on picture quality due to the better modern HD encoders. Two or more stations will use one tower for ATSC 1.0 (HD) broadcasts and those stations will use another tower for ATSC 3.0 (UHD) broadcasts. We’ll get to that last one in a minute.īecause there’s no new bandwidth, broadcasters will temporarily share transmitters.

#Atsc 3.0 tuner box tv#

Each TV station keeps its current 6MHz band.īeyond the image quality aspect, there are also other interesting features, like the ability to turn on your TV remotely to broadcast emergency signals (so that’s sure to wake you up), have web-enabled interactive features, and a way to include targeted ads. This is good, because there’s no increase in bandwidth. The HEVC “H.265” codec means higher quality and higher resolution signals can be broadcast without a massive increase in bandwidth. The use of OFDM broadcast technology instead of 8VSB used in the current system means that potentially there will be better reception indoors and near tall buildings. It will also support current HD and older, lower resolutions, so there’s no need to convert them at the station (your TV will do it, and it typically does a good job). Ultra HD resolutions, HDR, wide color gamut, and frame rates up to 120 frames per second, are all in the mix. The short version? Vastly higher quality video, for free, over the air. Though many of the features are listed as possibilities, most are being implemented according to the latest specification. That’s the most solid estimate we’ve heard, but it’s still a ways off, and it will be even longer before all, or even most most of the current HD stations offer ATSC 3.0 broadcasts.įor a deeper dive into the features of ATSC 3.0, check out our original article. Nobody knows for sure, but Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of communications at the National Association of Broadcasters, told CNET that we’ll likely see TVs that can actually receive ATSC 3.0 in stores by Christmas 2020. So yes, ATSC 3.0 is certainly something to get excited about. It promises resolutions up to Ultra HD 4K TV, high dynamic range, refresh rates up to 120Hz, better reception indoors, better mobile reception, and more. Several tests stations are up, or nearly so, in several markets including Phoenix and Dallas, but important details, particularly around mobile and viewer tracking, are still being hashed out.ĪTSC 3.0 improves the current version of free, over-the-air TV beloved by a certain population of cord cutters who don’t want to pay for cable, satellite or streaming live TV.

#Atsc 3.0 tuner box free#

But with the breakneck speed of change in other areas of TV - namely streaming video - the new version of free antenna TV is moving at a snail’s pace.Ĭertain aspects of ATSC 3.0 have been finalized, while many remain up in the air (pun intended). It’s been two years since we last wrote about ATSC 3.0, also known as “Next Gen TV,” and a lot has changed.

ATSC 3.0: The future of free antenna TV is coming, eventually Everything a cord cutter needs to know about free over-the-air 4K HDR broadcasts.