LAS VEGAS—Advanced HDR by Technicolor has announced the integration of its technology into NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) receivers from BitRouter and Zinwell.

Manufactured by BitRouter, ZapperBox is a NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) and ATSC 1.0 receiver that delivers an optimized viewing experience in high dynamic range (HDR) while enabling the seamless transition from standard dynamic range (SDR) to HDR over free NextGen TV broadcasts.

“Features such as 4K and HDR have driven consumers to expect excellent image quality from their received video content. At the same time, video consumption has never been higher,” said Gopal Miglani, the founder and president of BitRouter. “The partnership between BitRouter and Advanced HDR by Technicolor along with others in the ecosystem is a strategic step that supports the growing availability of NextGen TV content in HDR and consumers’ ability to access that content through HDR-enabled, ATSC 3.0-ready TV receivers.”

The new capability is expected to be available in new quad tuners by the end of March; dual tuner devices will be updated for free at the same time, according to a Bitrouter spokesperson.

The Zinwell team is already working with Philips, one of the developers of Advanced HDR by Technicolor, to integrate the Advanced HDR by Technicolor solution to Zinwell’s conversion box powered by Amlogic system-on-chip. System optimization is also underway as well as testing to ensure compatibility with broadcaster workflows and various display devices. The company said its boxes will soon become available for purchase in the U.S.

“Consumers increasingly expect higher picture quality across platforms, while broadcasters are moving toward advanced video formats with the rollout of ATSC 3.0,” said Paul Wu, vice president of sales division III at Zinwell. “HDR has become a vital feature for delivering a premium viewing experience. The incorporation of the Advanced HDR by Technicolor solution enables Zinwell to meet evolving consumer demands.”

“Zinwell’s integration of Advanced HDR plays a significant role in these early days of ATSC 3.0 adoption,” said Rick Dumont, head of business development for Advanced HDR by Technicolor. “HDR-enabled conversion boxes, such as Zinwell’s product line, allow consumers with non ATSC 3.0 TVs to enjoy premium viewing experiences in HDR from an ATSC 3.0 broadcast. As the ecosystem makes the shift to ATSC 3.0, HDR capabilities continue to grow.”

“Device manufacturers across the industry are recognizing the impact that HDR has on consumer perception of video content,” Dumont added.

“ATSC 3.0 services continue to expand across America, generating the need for HDR-enabled conversion boxes and displays,” said Matthew Goldman, vice president of strategic and technical initiatives for Sinclair, Inc, which implements Advanced HDR by Technicolor in over 100 ATSC 3.0 channels across the US, as well as on Sinclair’s digital channels. “HDR offers an exciting picture improvement to television services, and Sinclair has deployed more HDR channels than every other broadcaster combined. This partnership between Zinwell and Advanced HDR by Technicolor is an important step for building an ecosystem where consumers can enjoy NEXTGEN TV content in HDR.”

WASHINGTON—With 76% of U.S. households now able to receive a NextGen TV broadcast signal, Pearl TV and the broadcast stations who back the group have announced that a wide variety of new NextGen TV a.k.a. ATSC 3.0 technologies will be shown at this week’s CES in Las Vegas, taking place Jan. 7-10.

The show will see the introduction of new ATSC 3.0 receivers, ranging from high-end NextGen TV sets to affordable accessories that can transform Android and Fire TV devices already in consumer homes into 3.0 receivers. New interactive channels using NextGen TV broadcast, expanded support for HDR and other developments will also be on display.

“We are very excited about the expanded offerings from accessory device manufacturers for NextGen TV,” Pearl TV managing director Anne Schelle said. “The new, low-cost ADTH USB receiver, powered by Tolka, is built for existing Android and Fire TV televisions and will, at a very affordable price, expand the reach of NextGen TV into homes who already have those sets. ADTH is also about to introduce a new model that works without an internet connection and will be doing a software update for deployed ADTH devices to give them the same functionality. In addition, Zinwell is adding pause functionality to their accessory device, with an add-on hard disc drive. In 2025, RCA is also coming to market with two new NextGen TV sets that will join TV options already available from Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Hisense, and TCL. We congratulate all of the manufacturers who are selling thousands of receivers each day to consumers looking for the best possible video and audio quality from local stations.”

During the show, attendees will also be able to see how broadcasters are loading up new services with new features for NextGen TV viewers, including interactive gaming options that will be launched by GameLoop.

GameLoop TV launches in Las Vegas on local NextGen TV channel 3.2 and will bring gaming directly to viewers with no additional hardware or subscriptions required. At the heart of GameLoop’s innovation is the channel’s exciting “Play Now” feature, which allows NextGen TV viewers to instantly play games showcased on the channel simply using their TV remote or mobile phone.

“We also salute TV broadcasters Gray and Sinclair, who are working to bring fun, interactive gaming to the living room through GameLoop—a service that utilizes NextGen TV for web-based family fun that will work seamlessly with millions of installed NextGen TV sets. Easy interactivity is literally going to be a game-changer for viewers,” Schelle predicted.

Pearl TV also reported that HDR functionality is now live on more than 200 local NextGen TV services throughout the country, with more being added to enhance viewing of key sports games and other spectacles.

Broadcasters are promoting the advantages of NextGen TV this sports season on stations throughout the country and plan to continue these promotions as they continue to rollout HDR and Dolby Atmos services nationwide.

A holiday promotion effort in NextGen TV markets that began before December continues through early February, with broadcasters now indicating onscreen to viewers when local NextGen TV programming is available in High Dynamic Range (HDR).

"We're very excited to announce that broadcast stations throughout the country are adding HDR10+ capability in their NextGen TV broadcast services to accommodate a broad array of TV manufacturers,” Schelle said. “With other flavors of HDR that also may be present in the service, this allows every receiver to present the best picture possible, showing that local television just keeps getting better and better, which is exactly what we promised with the rollout of NextGen TV services.”

In addition to providing better video quality through HDR, many markets are also adding Dolby Atmos audio coding, which delivers immersive audio capabilities.

"HDR began for sports with the Kentucky Derby last spring,” Schelle said. “It really made the Olympic Games pop with brilliant video. We know that sports is a big driver for buying new TV sets as well as for enjoying broadcast services—your favorite games look even better in High Dynamic Range.“

Pearl TV also stressed that local stations are also using ATSC 3.0 to add more channels through broadcast internet protocol, or broadcast IP. These additional channels, available as NextGen TV channels, have added more choices for viewers in a range of markets, from public to commercial broadcasters who now have their programming available for NextGen TV viewers.

Pearl TV is backed by Cox Media Group, Graham Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst Television, Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, E.W. Scripps and Tegna.

More information is available at https://pearltv.com/for-broadcasters/.

Digital rights management (DRM) is under the microscope in the ATSC 3.0 world—at least by a contingent of early NextGen TV adopters and pundits who fear broadcasters will use it to lock down their OTA signals, prevent viewers from digitally recording their favorite shows and yank away features like time-shifting that they have enjoyed since VHS and Betamax VCRs burst onto the market in the 1970s.

This concern centers on some early 3.0 gateway boxes that receive a NextGen TV signal and convert it for display on a legacy DTV set—not fresh out of the box NextGen TV sets with built-in 3.0 tuners. 

Perhaps, however, the consternation and hand wringing may ultimately prove to be largely irrelevant. 

On June 20, the FCC adopted its 3.0 Multicast Licensing Report and Order (“In the Matter of Authorizing Permissive Use of the ‘Next Generation’ Broadcast Television Standard”). 

In it, the commission writes: “Accordingly, we adopt a new sunset date of July 17, 2027.  Given the ongoing transition, we believe at this time that this is an appropriate sunset period.” That sunset is the new lights out date for 1.0, subject to an agency review commencing in July 2026. That means viewers can continue to receive and record legacy DTV over the air through mid-July 2017.

Consumers also can take solace in the fact that the FCC has not found “a sufficient shift in the marketplace that would justify elimination or modification of the substantially similar rule.” Presumably, in July 2026 if there hasn’t been “a sufficient shift” in the market, it will continue the requirement to preserve 1.0 service that’s essentially the same as a broadcaster’s primary 3.0 channel.

Now consider this finding from a March NPD Circana Report: “The average TV is replaced every 6.56 years in the U.S., and more than one-quarter of TVs are now at least seven years old.”

Given that the first 3.0 gateways—those without DRM support—came out in 2020, it’s fair to assume that NextGen TVs with built-in DRM support will replace many of the TVs those gateways feed today. Further it’s reasonable to assume 3.0 recorders with DRM support will become available. 

Anne Schelle, Managing Director of Pearl TV, has said as much. “Content security is designed to prevent piracy, not stop home recording,” she said. “No broadcaster has attempted to limit digital video recording capability for its ATSC 3.0 broadcasts, as far as we know. In fact A3SA’s [ATSC 3.0 Security Authority’s] compliance rules for broadcasters expressly prohibit restrictions on home recording for ATSC 1.0 signals that are simulcast now in ATSC 3.0.

“Moreover, expect content security-verified DVRs to be available to consumers by early 2024 and maybe even later this year.”

Bottom line: Now is not the time for consumers to panic, but rather to take a deep breath and let things play out. 

‍After showing off technology to merge OTT streaming services with over-the-air broadcasts and NextGen TV at the NAB Show in April, FreeCast has announced it will begin selling SiliconDust’s popular HD HomeRun box under its FreeCast Home label. 

FreeCast is also making the FreeCast app available to current owners of the HD HomeRun device, allowing them to access the same hybrid OTT/OTA TV experience at no additional cost.

FreeCast integrates ATSC 3.0 broadcast channels into the same FreeCast guide that already features over 700 free streaming channels and more than 500,000 on-demand movies and TV episodes. 

With the FreeCast app installed on an HD HomeRun device attached to a wifi router, all of this content is made available on all devices on the network. FreeCast’s software supports all necessary digital rights management (DRM) for encrypted digital content and OTA broadcasts, allowing for a reliable, secure, and fully legal television experience that unites streaming and local over-the-air TV.

HD HomeRun models that are supported by the FreeCast apps include the Duo (gen 2 and up), Flex, Flex 4K, and Scribe 4K. Those who already have these devices, or who purchase them from other sources, will still be able to download and install FreeCast. Additionally, HD HomeRun customers can add FreeCast to their Smart TVs, mobile phones, tablets, streaming sticks, and laptops, to take advantage of powerful features and the aggregated streaming guide for which the service is best known.

‍“What we’re doing is pairing the latest in TV software, our SmartGuide, with the latest in TV hardware, HD HomeRun boxes with next-gen ATSC 3.0 tuners and DVR functionality,” explained William Mobley, FreeCast’s CEO. “These are great devices to power our FreeCast service, and we’re excited to be able to offer that to current device owners too.”

‍HD HomeRun users can register for FreeCast and then download the app here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Another high-volume electronics manufacturer has been certified to produce NextGen TV upgrade accessory receivers, with the Pearl TV announcement that Zinwell has completed the industry’s self-certification test suite and will soon enter the U.S. market with affordable set-top products. 

The launch of the new products will help more viewers transition to NextGen TV services. 

“The addition of Zinwell to the stable of manufacturers producing certified receivers is terrific news, bringing to six the total number of companies now producing NextGen TV receivers for the home,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, a business organization promoting the interests of more than 820 network-affiliated U.S. television stations. “We’re excited that Zinwell’s first receiver will be in the market for the holiday season, the second such upgrade accessory receiver available for consumers. Thousands of television sets with NextGen TV electronics inside are now being sold each day and we anticipate a robust market for affordable upgrade accessory receivers for existing displays in viewers’ homes. The TV industry is eager to promote the advantages of NextGen TV – including enhanced audio and video – and the addition of another NextGen TV certified manufacturer will expand options for consumers.”

By the end of 2023, Pearl TV expects U.S. consumers to have purchased more than 10 million certified NextGen TV television sets and anticipates strong interest in upgrade accessory receivers that could bring the advantages of NextGen TV broadcasts to any television with an HDMI connection.

The NextGen TV certification program was developed in concert with broadcasters to ensure that viewers are receiving and displaying the full capabilities of NextGen TV service from local stations.  NextGen TV certification services and tools are provided by Resillion (formerly Eurofins Digital Testing) on behalf of the Consumer Technology Association and the National Association of Broadcasters, which joined forces in 2019 to launch the innovative logo program.

"We greatly appreciate the efforts made by Pearl TV, the Consumer Technology Association, the National Association of Broadcasters, and Resillion in promoting the NextGen TV standard nationwide." said Paul Wu, vice president of sales and marketing of Zinwell Corporation. 

"I am proud of our team and our close collaboration with Pearl TV in obtaining NextGen TV certification. We have a robust internal research and development team dedicated to the development of ATSC 3.0 products. We offer a diverse range of ATSC 3.0 products catering to different market segments, including entry-level and high-end versions. Our products will be available in the market in the fourth quarter of this year. In addition to ATSC 3.0 set-top boxes, our ZAT series also features remote education functionality and emergency alert systems, making it more powerful than the most advanced ATSC 3.0 set-top boxes. Its versatile applications extend from home use to schools, institutions, and public service environments. In addition to its product development capabilities, Zinwell provides excellent quality and cost-effective solutions through its advanced and highly automated manufacturing facilities located in multiple locations. Established in 1981, Zinwell is committed to the research and manufacturing of consumer electronic products and has always been a trusted long-term OEM/ODM partner, dedicated to growing together with customers in the new era of ATSC 3.0,” Wu said.

WASHINGTON D.C.—Tolka has officially become the first ATSC 3.0 software vendor to power devices that have entered the certification process to use the NextGen TV trademark, Pearl TV has announced.

The development of these devices is important because they will allow consumers to watch NextGen TV broadcasts on their current TVs without having to buy a new NextGen TV capable set.  

Working collaboratively with Pearl TV's FastTrack program, the Tolka software stack will reside on affordable ADTH-branded receivers planned for retail introduction later this year. In addition, the first certified NextGen TV upgrade accessory receiver is expected to be shown at the April 2023 NAB Show, Pearl TV reported. 

"America's broadcasters are proud of the collaborative effort that is bringing free over-the-air next-generation broadcasting to viewers in more than 60 cities across the country," commented Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. "With consumers already purchasing, on average, more than 13,000 NextGen TV sets every day and more than six million TV receivers equipped with NextGen TV electronics already in homes, the focus now turns to expanding the audience base to provide more connection options for consumers. This remarkable growth underscores why Pearl TV recently launched its Fast Track for NextGen TV program.  We're speeding up the process to bring more upgrade accessory receivers and television models to market."

The FastTrack program provides consumer electronics manufacturers with an easier, faster, and more cost-effective process to introduce NextGen TV-compatible products for consumers. It guides device makers through the NextGen TV logo and other conformance requirements—meeting those of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)—and including security and regulatory compliance, testing, and opportunities for distribution and marketing partnerships.

"NAB applauds Tolka on powering the upcoming ADTH NextGen TV upgrade accessory receivers, which have officially begun the process of securing NextGen TV certification," stated Sam Matheny, executive vice president and chief technology officer at the National Association of Broadcasters. "We are optimistic ADTH will achieve certification in time for the 2023 NAB Show and provide first-hand insight into cost-effective, consumer-friendly receivers coming to market that will deliver a complete experience for NextGen TV viewers."

Tolka's software stack on ADTH receivers was demonstrated at the 2023 International CES as one of several products "next for certification" for the NextGen TV mark. Conformance requirements to earn the NextGen TV certification mark are detailed in Pearl's recently published guide for consumer electronics manufacturers.

NextGen TV certification services and tools are provided by Resillion (formerly Eurofins Digital Testing) on behalf of the CTA and the NAB, which joined forces in 2019 to launch the innovative logo program. At the 2023 NAB Show, Dr. Bob Campbell, director of engineering at Resillion, will be delivering an update on the certification program's progress and the latest developments in accessory device compatibility, the companies reported. 

"The NextGen TV logo is essential to maximize device sales, demonstrating compliance to the standards and giving consumers confidence in a product," said Dr. Campbell. "Resillion is keen to assist any company looking to carry the mark and hopes ADTH will be one of many certified NextGen TV accessory devices on display at NAB Show."

NextGen TV is the first major overhaul to the Advanced Television Systems Committee's standard for receiving over-the-air (OTA) signals in 25 years. There are more than 120 television models that support NextGen TV at retail from Hisense, LG, Samsung and Sony. Now broadcasting in more than 50 markets reaching 60% of U.S. households, NextGen TV is expected to reach 75% of U.S. television households by the end of 2023.

TV Tech has been tracking all of those deployments here and here. 

By the end of 2025, half of all televisions sold are expected to be available with dual HDTV and NextGen TV reception. Having an affordable alternative to investing in a new NextGen TV receiver without a built-in display is essential to meet the portion of the potential viewing audience that does not have television sets that support the standard.

Manufacturers and members of the broadcast industry interested in participating in the FastTrack program can review the resource guide at https://pearltv.com/for-ce-makers/ or contact Pearl TV at info@pearltv.com.

"Broadcasters are launching new markets almost every week, offering free over-the-air TV service that is enhanced with better video and audio – including the Dolby Voice + system that gives consumers more control. We look forward to working with any company interested in developing certified products to serve this growing market," Schelle said.

LAS VEGAS—Consumer electronics manufacturers at the 2023 CES exhibited several new products that support the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, including televisions, set-top boxes and dongles. The products were shown at individual exhibits, private venues, and at the ATSC booth.

About a dozen products were shown at the ATSC booth that are either available, under development, or in certification. Companies involved included DigiCAP (Korea), Gaian Solutions (India, U.S.) “Mobius,” LowaSIS (Korea), Tolka (U.S.), VBox (Israel), ZapperBox (U.S.), and Zinwell (Taiwan). All of these are in the pipeline to be certified as “NextGen TV” products (more on that later). 

A Variety of Options
These products, listed as “NextGen TV accessory receivers,” are intended to provide a backward-compatible solution for existing non-ATSC-3.0 televisions. The solutions vary, with some being fully-integrated set-top boxes, and others being smaller form-factor dongles. All of the units accept an RF input from a separate antenna, by means of an F-connector, and provide an audio/video output by means of either an HDMI jack (for a box) or a USB plug (for a dongle). 

It could not be determined whether any of the devices could provide a WiFi connection to other nearby devices; such a connection is understood to be available on other devices not in the ATSC booth. The dongles would, of course, interface with a PC, which then requires an appropriate app for display of content.

Unofficially, the products were described as having expected street prices of “sub-$100” for dongles, and “sub-$200” for set-top boxes. The price difference comes from the increased functionality of some of the set-tops, which often include two tuners plus storage for time-shifting.

Also shown or described at the ATSC booth were similar products from CeWi Networks (U.S.), and Saankhya Labs (India). At its own exhibit, Hisense—which joined the ranks of 3.0 television manufacturers LG, Samsung and Sony supporting NextGen TV in 2022—announced new products carrying the NextGen TV logo.  

Among the new products announced at the show was the “TennaTV,” a turnkey ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 1.0 tuner solution based on combined technology from China-based chipmaker Geniatech and Bitrouter, a Des Moines, Iowa-based software developer. The ATSC tuner is certified for Dolby MS12v2 and Dolby AC-4. It uses Geniatech's ATV698 MAX set-top box platform running Android 11 and BitRouter's ATSC 3.0/1.0 TennaTV system. The TennaTV system includes a full-featured app with back-end cloud support for software updates, device management and subscription management, according to the companies.

The ATV698 MAX platform with TennaTV is expected to be available with support for DVR and ATSC copy protection during the second quarter of 2023.

Certification Promises Feature Uniformity
By now, many readers will have seen the term “NextGen TV,” but may not know what that literally means. The NextGen TV logo is licensed by the Consumer Technology Association, and its use on a product is strictly controlled by the CTA, which owns that trademark. 

In 2019, the ATSC asked CTA to implement an ATSC 3.0 nomenclature and logo development program. Through extensive collaboration with the consumer electronics and broadcasting industries, and after several rounds of consumer research, the CTA’s Video Division Board approved the NextGen TV name and logo for consumer technology products optimized for the new ATSC 3.0 standard; example products now include 4K Ultra HD TVs, gateway receivers and portable devices.

In order to carry out logo certification and conformance testing, a specification has been developed by CTA, which worked with numerous parties including ATSC through its “Conformance Implementation Team.” It should be noted that neither CTA nor ATSC are performing device or system testing, which is being carried out by one or more third-party laboratories. The test suite currently includes over 135 tests covering 150 unique requirements across audio, video, captions, interactivity, service changes and more, and is available from CTA to manufacturers interested in participating in the logo licensing program. It is expected that the test suite will be updated over time, as the standards and deployed implementations evolve.

Jamaican Interest
In late 2021, the government of Jamaica announced that they would convert their analog NTSC  broadcasting infrastructure to ATSC 3.0—bypassing ATSC 1.0 entirely. One consequence of this decision is that the availability of low-cost ATSC devices is extremely important to the transition, since some proportion of Jamaican citizens will be strained to purchase a new integrated television that supports ATSC 3.0. 

Such was the case in the United States during its analog-to-digital transition with ATSC 1.0, when Congress authorized (and NTIA executed a program to define and distribute) a Coupon-Eligible Converter Box that was subsidized by taxpayers in the form of a $40 discount coupon.  With some boxes available at that time at that price, the coupon could essentially subsidize a free box.

Although it is not known whether the Jamaican government—or broadcasters—can or will subsidize a similar converter box, the target of low cost remains critical, and work is underway to define the minimum features required in such an initial product.

‘Chicken and Egg’
The transition to ATSC 3.0 shares many of the hurdles of the previous analog-to-digital transition, especially in the U.S., including the proverbial chicken-and-egg situation, vis-a-vis broadcasting deployment and consumer electronics product marketing. 

Set-top boxes and dongles may fill a need that addresses the desirability or affordability of a new television receiver, but there is one key factor in the U.S. NextGen TV transition that makes it different from the one a decade and half ago: The FCC has not mandated an end date to ATSC 1.0 transmissions—and thus there is no coupon program—and that means there is no hard incentive for U.S. consumers to shell out for a new ATSC 3.0 set or adapter, other than the advanced features it would provide. 

And despite December FCC figures touting signal availability in 68 markets reaching half of all U.S. homes, the only CE manufacturer currently putting ATSC 3.0 decoders in all of its sets remains Sony. (I did hear from a reliable source that at least one of the other majors is planning “a big splash” at NAB; too bad it wasn’t done at CES.)

Bundled into this conundrum is the relative lack of consumer awareness, which means a stronger message must come from both broadcasters and CE manufacturers, but the latter suffers from the problem of innovation without causing legacy product cannibalization. The situation was different in 2009, because the FCC had mandated two years earlier that all new TV receivers must include digital (i.e., ATSC) tuners.

With at least one major broadcaster in the New York City DMA having announced its plans to transition to ATSC 3.0, the tipping point may be imminent.

LAS VEGAS—At the start of the 2022 NAB Show, Sinclair Broadcast Group executives provided a detailed update to their NextGen TV plans, providing new details about their work with USSI Global on a datacasting trial to deliver video and data to electronic vehicle (EV) charging stations, the rollout of HDR broadcasts in 28 markets that have 3.0 signals and a new hybrid broadcast app.

The executives laid out those plans on Saturday April 23 during an 2022 NAB Show press conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“Our industry has reinvented itself to have a seat at the data distribution table,” said Chris Ripley, president and CEO of Sinclair, referring to the transition to the IP-based NextGen TV standard.

The trial with USSI Global will begin in West Palm Beach, Fla., with two charging stations equipped to receive and display “curated, targeted and unique programming” delivered over the air via NextGen TV, said Ripley.

The federal government has a goal of completing national deployment of EV charging stations by 2035 and has allocated billions of dollars to the effort.

USSI Global is hoping to leverage the local presence of Sinclair stations, local content reformatted for the kiosks and the relationships broadcasters have with local advertisers to one day generate new OTA-derived revenue, said Ted Korte, vice president of technology and engineering at USSI Global.

“Imagine you have a display on the street that tells you what’s going on,” said Korte, adding that the trial is intended to learn what is the best way to go forward with how the kiosks could be used nationally. “…[W]e are pretty excited about it.”

Central to a national deployment is a core network that broadcasters could use to distribute data from market-to-market, said Ripley. 

Local stations would use the network to enable a national footprint for data delivery while maintaining their free OTA telecasts.

Sinclair has been working on such a network internally for a decade, said Mark Aitken, vice president of Advanced Technology at Sinclair and president of ONE Media 3.0, adding that ongoing work by the ATSC to lay the groundwork for a core network is attracting interest from “a number of larger players.”

“I think you are going to see over the next two to three months coming out of the ATSC a blossoming of that activity to develop a core network for not just television broadcast but a data flow.”

Broadcast App and More
Sinclair also announced it is making its broadcast app development toolset available for free with an open license “to all that require it,” said Ripley. 

A broadcast app is considered critical to enabling interactivity on fixed and mobile devices, he said.

“We want a common approach to integrating our services with other broadcasters. Having a common broadcast app that all users can help refine is a most efficient way to proceed, and we are happy to provide the seeds to that process,” he said.

Holding up a mobile phone, Ripley also discussed efforts to bring 3.0 to wireless phones. An ongoing trial in Bangalore, India, is examining the direct-to-mobile capabilities of NextGen TV, he said.

Sinclair, which has a financial stake in Saankhya Labs, maker of 3.0 receiver chips, also highlighted the acquisition of a controlling interest in the lab by Tejas Networks, which is owned by Tata Motors. 

“It [Saankhya Labs] now has enormous resources of a premiere international company that recognizes the promise of NextGen and the benefits to the Indian market,” he said.

Aiken also touted HDR broadcasts as another selling point for NextGen TV broadcasting, noting that those HDR broadcasts were already available in 28 markets where NextGen TV signals have been launched. 

“The ability to offer differentiated content on the 3.0 that a platform is one of its primary advantages,” said Aiken. “There are many things we're doing here, but one example is the work that we're doing with respect to HDR with advanced HDR by Technicolor. The reason we're doing that is so that we can bring a substantially increased viewing experience to the television programming that we can offer. We've got activities going on, coupled with Bally Sports with respect to HDR. Today there are 28 markets offering that today, 3.0 markets that are offering HDR content. So the ability to provide differentiated content, better content, broadcast that providing more engagement, more stickiness, to the nature of the programming is going to drive” a lot of interest.

WASHINGTON—CES 2021 has wrapped up, but not before a number of new technologies and TV sets designed for the ATSC 3.0-powered NextGen TV standard were highlighted.

Prior to CES 2021, there were more than 20 TV models that were ATSC 3.0 compatible and available on the market, primarily from LG, Samsung and Sony. During the virtual conference, LG and Sony announced new TVs to add to those that are NextGen TV ready.

All of the TV models that Sony introduced as part of its Bravia XR line are ATSC 3.0 compatible. This includes the MASTER Series Z9J 8K LED TV models; MASTER Series A90J OLED TVs; A80J OLED TVs; X95J 4K LED TVs; and X92 and X90J 4K LED TVs. In total, between the different sizes available, Sony has 16 new models available that support NextGen TV.

LG, meanwhile, did not provide specific details on what, or how many, models now feature NextGen TV support, but it says that all of its new 2021 4K and 8K UHD TVs—which come in 55-, 65-, 77- and 88-inch sizes—are ATSC 3.0 compatible. In addition, LG says it has integrated the HD HomeRun app into its new webOS 6.0 smart TV platform, interfacing with the ATSC 3.0 receiver in the HD HomeRun Connect gateway device. The new OS is included in LG’s 2021 OLED, QNED and Nanocell 4K and 8K TV models.

Samsung, meanwhile, provided no new TVs that support ATSC 3.0, but continues to sell their previously announced models.

“The stars are aligning to make 2021 the tipping point for NextGen TV powered by ATSC 3.0,” said Dr. Jong Kim, senior vice president, LG Electronics and president of LG’s Zenith R&D Lab.

In addition, BitRouter announced during CES that its ZapperBox platform is now available to be licensed by other brands and that ZapperBox itself will be coming out in the second quarter of 2021. ZapperBox is an ATSC 3.0 set-top box. BitRouter also announced a new ATSC 3.0 receiver, 3pi.

Pearl TV, a business group comprised of owners of more than 750 broadcast stations, are pleased with the advancements of this initial rollout of NextGenTV-equipped receivers from LG, Samsung, Sony, BitRouter and HD HomeRun-maker Silicon Dust. The availability of these technologies will only help as Pearl TV and broadcasters across the country push for the rollout of NextGen TV.

“As the consumer technology industry begins to diversify its choices with more models and more affordable products for viewers, broadcasters will continue to push ahead with plans to initiate NextGen TV service in key markets throughout the country,” said Anne Schelle, Pearl TV managing director.

Pearl TV is also attempting to educate consumers on the benefits of NextGen TV, as well as what products are currently available to them, through its consumer website, www.WatchNextGenTV.com.  

PHOENIX—SiliconDust, which recently concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign to develop one of the first NextGen TV receivers on the market, says it is having to delay shipment of the units until August. 

The company originally hoped to make its HDHomeRun Quatro 4K (HDHR5 4K) receiver available starting at $199 to donors to its Kickstarter campaign this month, but said that manufacturing glitches will lead to a delay. 

“Manufacturing started as planned, but we found a problem during the testing of the first 1,000 units,” the company announced on its website over the July 4 holiday weekend. “The problem is understood and we have sample units arriving next week for verification/sign-off. For delivery, this means July deliverables will be August. August deliverables will be later than planned but still be August.”

The company, which has been manufacturing its HDHomeRun brand of digital tuners for more than a decade, wrapped up its Kickstarter campaign in May, raising more than $600,000. Its original goal was $50K.

WASHINGTON—ATSC 3.0 (aka NextGen TV) promises a future of resolution-agnostic broadcasts that include video resolutions up to 8K, high dynamic range, and targeted emergency alerting and advertising. As an approved standard that is optional for broadcasters to use, there is now a smattering of TV stations in the U.S. transmitting ATSC 3.0—but how many viewers are watching?

We all know how the chicken-and-egg discussion goes, but if you build it, will they really come? It’s been widely announced that some television set manufacturers (notably LG, Sony and Samsung) will have TV sets with built-in ATSC 3.0 tuners sometime in 2020, but what about the tens of millions of HD and 4K sets that are already in homes and businesses? And what about broadcasters that want to test an ATSC 3.0 signal?

FROM PRO TO CONSUMER

We are now starting to see professional solutions that will receive ATSC 3.0 and provide data on location, signal strength and other technical parameters. At the International CES in January, a handful of companies showed outboard ATSC 3.0 receivers for consumers, but with no pricing or delivery details. However, the professional ATSC 3.0 suppliers will likely lead the way with their form factors, if not their pricing.

“We’re licensing our software to OEMs who will bring consumer products to market,” said Gopal Miglani, president of BitRouter, a manufacturer of professional ATSC 3.0 receiver systems. “One such OEM customer is ZapperBox.”

For consumer applications, Miglani said that ease of use is the biggest consideration.

“We want to hide all the complexity and keep all the advantages up front,” he said. “ZapperBox will use the same software and chips that are used in [our] gen-3 ATSC3pro. However, it will not have any digital interfaces like USB ports that may preclude it from being certified for content security. That will be the biggest difference between the BitRouter ATSC3pro and consumer units.”

BitRouter’s ATSC3pro’s form factor is that of a set-top box. In fact, it is the same form factor that ZapperBox uses, except that the ATSC3pro has USB ports for data connectivity so that a computer can process the reception data from the unit.

Currently, ZapperBox has a webpage up to raise awareness of the unit, but there is no pricing or delivery date.

IN THE REDZONE

If using a USB dongle is more to your liking, there is the RedZone Receiver Plus RZR-1400. A new model that was released in March, it is based on a tuner and demodulator chipset from Sony.

Like the BitRouter ATSC3pro, Airwavz.bTV’s RedZone RZR-1400 is targeted at professionals and not consumers, although it is small and has a consumer-friendly USB dongle form factor.

“[Compared to our previous model], the RZR-1400 provides better support for multiple physical layer pipes [PLP] situations, uses significantly less power, and gives a more detailed look at signal parameters as well as better access to signal-quality metrics,” said John Casey, chief technology officer and cofounder of RedZone. “And the RZR-1400 is capable of receiving ATSC 3.0, ATSC 1.0, DVB-T, DVB-T2, ISDB-T, and several varieties of QAM for cable TV.”

All that sounds very tasty for high-end consumers who have both cable and off-air capability, but both the RedZone RZR-1400 and BitRouter’s ATSC3pro are priced for professional use, and have features that consumers would never need, such as measuring and recording error rates and multipath data. Neither of the units has the ability to record off-air programs, which is a necessity for consumer use.

Still, Casey wouldn’t rule out some version of his company’s hardware ending up in a consumer-friendly format.

“We aren’t in a position to announce upcoming products at this time but as ATSC 3.0 rolls out to consumers there is nothing preventing the RZR-1400 RedZone Receiver Plus hardware from being paired with other software solutions to address early adapters and eventually wide consumer deployments,” he said.

The standard for ATSC 1.0 was finalized in 1996 (although there was a revision in 2009), and ATSC 3.0 got the FCC’s final approval in 2017. Obviously, a lot of technological advancement occurred between 1996 and 2017, and that shows up in capabilities of the current ATSC 3.0 receivers.

“We’ve been working on ATSC 1.0 receivers since 1996, and our ATSC 1.0 software shipped in around 30 million receivers under brands like Sony, Panasonic and RCA,” Miglani said. “We have been working on our ATSC 3.0 software since January 2017, and there are many differences between 1.0 and 3.0.”

Miglani said some of these include:

• The software is around 5x to 10x times more complex and takes that much more development effort. Just the 3.0 specifications alone are close to 20,000 pages. 
• ATSC 1.0 is based on 8-VSB modulation; ATSC 3.0 is based on COFDM. 
• ATSC 1.0 data comes in MPEG-2 packets. ATSC 3.0 data comes in IP packets using internet-style HEVC coding. 
• ATSC 1.0 signals were broadcast in the clear, but ATSC 3.0 signals require support for security and digital rights management. One reason is to prevent receivers from being hacked by unauthorized broadcasters. 
• ATSC 3.0 supports downloadable applications written in HTML5. 
• Of course, you get 4K, HDR and Dolby AC-4 audio with ATSC 3.0. 

In the years since ATSC 1.0 became the standard in the U.S., OTT television delivery has swept into popularity, giving viewers far greater choice and convenience. There is no way to order up a program on demand using an ATSC 3.0 signal from your local broadcaster, but ATSC 3.0 does support targeted advertising and emergency alert messaging, as well as other IP-friendly features.

Of course, the ancient MPEG-2 compression standard was baked into ATSC 1.0, but ATSC 3.0 lets any compression standard be used. That’s because ATSC 3.0 provides a one-way data pipe to the home, and the type of data is not as engraved in stone as it was in the earlier standard.

Some of the world’s biggest manufacturers promise integrated ATSC 3.0 receivers this year, although the COVID-19 scare may cause all schedules to shift. It looks like there are skimpy choices for consumers who want to get in on the ATSC 3.0 action, unless they are willing to pay a premium for commercial-grade hardware and software. I could find only one company (ZapperBox) committed to a consumer ATSC set-top box, and it is coy about delivery dates and prices.

PLUS: Edge Networks' ATSC 3.0 Subscription TV Service Eyes Summer Launch

Since the FCC has not required that new receivers have ATSC 3.0 capability (and it has not required that broadcasters switch to the new standard by a specific date), getting to an all-3.0 world is almost certainly going to take longer than it was for the initial version of ATSC to be adopted by consumers. Still, once the public sees the improved image/sound quality that ATSC 3.0 provides, and its other viewer-friendly features, many will decide to step up if the price is not too steep.

Set-top boxes and USB dongles play a big role in that affordability, but it’s a little too soon to get a reading on what, when and how much.

EAST LANSING, Mich.—Apollo PublicTV Platform continues to rollout technology that is geared toward helping with the transition to the ATSC 3.0 standard, announcing it will be releasing an Android-based, fully compliant NextGen TV suite of receiver devices for the B2B and B2C markets. These are expected to be the first consumer “gateway” ATSC 3.0 devices on the market.

The NextGen TV receiver is designed to operate over both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 transmission using a modular tuner approach. The receivers support all major 3.0 next-generation capabilities, including dynamic ad insertion, interactivity, NRT, Receiver and Broadcast ap, AEA, DRM and A/344.

The receivers employ USB based plug-n-play tuners and can have either a 1.0 tuner, a 3.0 tuner or both tuners. This setup will allow for users to receive 3.0 services inside 1.0 transmission by utilizing Apollo PublicTV’s three-in-one solution.

Apollo Public TV expects the release of these receivers to help accelerate 3.0 adoption because of three key factors. First, with the three-in-one technology broadcasters can start providing 3.0 services inside 1.0 transmissions; second, the receiver has a hybrid and modular design that will help reduce costs of the transition as the receiver can work in both 1.0 and 3.0; and lastly, it allows broadcasters to create carrier grade services to test market demand and inform their communities.

“The promise of NextGen TV is much closer with the availability of these low cost receivers,” said Susi Elkins, general manager at WKAR Public Media, a partner of the Apollo PublicTV Platform. “Public broadcasters who want to experiment with NextGen TV, or test market readiness for their public service and business ideas, now have access to everything they need to move confidently ahead.”

Apollo PublicTV Platform is a collaborative effort between WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University and Gaian Solutions to help with the adoption of NextGen TV by public broadcasters.