ASTC 3.0 or NextGen TV..........

[Janitor Tzap]

If you haven't yet heard....

Over the Air Broadcast Television is going to a new standard.
ASTC 3.0 or as the networks are calling it NextGen TV

NEXTGEN TV (sometimes called ATSC 3.0) is the third generation of digital TV technology, and a giant technological step forward for TV viewers. It delivers stunning video with brilliant color, sharper images and deeper contrast that’ll make you feel like you’re really there. And it’s built with the Dolby Audio System for NEXTGEN TV, which intelligently enhances dialogue, maintains consistent volume as you change the channel and literally moves around you as you watch TV.

When connected to the internet, NEXTGEN TV can merge broadcast TV with content from broadband sources. That means NEXTGEN TV will be enhanced with internet content to get the most out of live sports, live news, live events and more—in real time. And with NEXTGEN TV, the TV you buy today is designed to be upgradeable with the advancements of tomorrow.

ASTC 1.0, that was developed during the 1990's, and was made the new Over Air Broadcast Standard.
{The 2009 Analog Shut Off}
Picture definitions of 1080i and 720p. It also includes standard-definition formats.
It uses The MPEG 2 for video coding.
5.1-channel surround sound, and Closed Captioning.

ATSC 3.0 has been in the works for awhile, and limited testing started back in 2016.
It uses the newer MPEG 4 video coding.

ATSC 3.0 advantages

Better image quality. ATSC 3.0 allows 4K UHD transmission, including high-dynamic-range television (HDR-TV), wide color gamut (WCG), and high frame rate (HFR).
Reception upgrades. ATSC 3.0 allows the same aerial to receive more channels with better quality.
Portable devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and car infotainment systems can receive TV signals.
Enhanced emergency alerts. Emergency signals can be geographically oriented and inform only the specific areas where they are required.
Audience measure. Telecommunication companies can easily take audience data gatherings.
Targeted advertising with the assistance of local network Wi-Fi.
Content variety and diversification.

Okay, enough of the marketing spiel........

Here's the low down.
Like the "Great Analog Turn Off" of 2009, your going to need to replace your current television with a compliant ATSC 3.0 one.
Or get a ASTC 3.0 DTV converter box to connect to your older 1.0 ASTC compliant television.
You must also supply it with a Internet connection if you want to get updates to the FIRMWARE.
And if your going to use a DVR or other features.
At the last time I checked, the ASTC 3.0 DTV converter boxes were costing any where from $60 to $160 dollars.
Unless you have a fairly large screen television, getting a converter box for anything smaller than 40" screen is just stupid.

Also,
I'm finding stores that are not stating whether or not the televisions they have, are NextGen compatible.
{Note: I checked the manuals for all my DTV sets. Not one of them states what video coding format it uses.}

Plus,
If you use a DVR to record videos.
It may not work with the new standard.
Because NextGen TV's & Converter Boxes requires a internet connection for DRM licensing copyrights.

Here's an article from Tom's Guide on the Best ATSC 3.0 TV's: https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/be ... -30-tuners
So, hopefully this will make it easier to find a compatible set, when you go out to buy one, to replace your old TV set.

Okay, okay....
A lot of you are saying.
"What do I do with my perfectly good TV, send it off to the dumpster or recycler?"
Well.......
Many TV's can also be used as Monitors for your computer.
Check the Inputs on the back of the TV.
You should have multiple types:
RCA input Jacks
VGA input Jack
DVI input Jack
HDMI input Jacks
USB input Jacks
Now check, the output video jacks on the video card in the computer you want to connect it to.
Most newer Video Graphic's cards are using DVI or HDMI jacks.
Now you have a second monitor for your computer, or if you just wanted a larger viewing screen.
Put your old monitor in the storage closet, in case the other fails.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[CeaSaR]

Just what we need, more planned obsolescence in order to keep the companies in business. Kind of makes me wonder why wee need such super high resolution when the most popular shows were made for NTSC.

** Oooooohhhh, it's a SPARKLY!"
Thank you Jeremy Crow. (The Secret of NIMH)

[dacflyer]

Just like sci-fi tv show predicted..One day in the future tv and radio will be obsolete.
you never see tvs in the future. ( Star Trek, deep space9 and other such shows..)
Soon they will make it so that you can't watch free tv at all..
I gave up cable because of the cost, I gave up my C-Band when they changed formats.
If i have to buy a new tv or converter box, I'm liable to give up tv all together..
Like CeaSar said,, Most free OTA tv is low resolution anyway, and ancient reruns.
Seems only commercials are 4k but you still can't read that fine print at the bottom...lol

[haklesup]

seems that OTA is catching up with streaming and cable services. One question begs, how many stations are broadcasting now? your description implies new TVs won't also have a ATSC 1.0 Complient tuner as well, I think they will. my New TV still has a useless NTSC Analog tuner. I also expect older TVs will still recieve the station but not at the best resolution and limited features.
https://www.atsc.org/nextgen-tv/deployments/

[Janitor Tzap]

seems that OTA is catching up with streaming and cable services. One question begs, how many stations are broadcasting now? your description implies new TVs won't also have a ATSC 1.0 compliant tuner as well, I think they will. my New TV still has a useless NTSC Analog tuner. I also expect older TVs will still receive the station but not at the best resolution and limited features.

As far as I have been able to find.
The new ATSC 3.0 compliant televisions will also decode the older ATSC 1.0 video coding, and may also still include a NTSC tuner.

I'll do some more digging, and see if I can find some brands that do just that.

EDIT:
After much digging....

I found this 2022 Samsung QN65S95BAFXZA, 65" Class OLED S95B.
It has all three tuners.
But they really didn't make it easy to find out the specs on the set.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[haklesup]

and the rollout is already in jeopardy due to Patent disputes. (This may change again). And the Lawyers are doing their thing again.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/30/2389 ... oadcast-tv

https://www.via-la.com/licensing-2/atsc-3-0/
$ 0.30 per unit licensing fee, does not seem like it should be a bank breaker for customers.

Seems to be hit or miss right now and if you stream or use cable, you probably won't miss it. Set top boxes are slightly expensive but expect that to drop as demand increases. There is no reason they should not settle into the $50 range eventually unless that patent issue is what's driving the high cost. Tuners with USB-A output seem to be inexpensive for some reason though.

[Janitor Tzap]

and the rollout is already in jeopardy due to Patent disputes. (This may change again). And the Lawyers are doing their thing again.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/30/2389 ... oadcast-tv

https://www.via-la.com/licensing-2/atsc-3-0/
$ 0.30 per unit licensing fee, does not seem like it should be a bank breaker for customers.

Seems to be hit or miss right now and if you stream or use cable, you probably won't miss it. Set top boxes are slightly expensive but expect that to drop as demand increases. There is no reason they should not settle into the $50 range eventually unless that patent issue is what's driving the high cost. Tuners with USB-A output seem to be inexpensive for some reason though.

Hmmm........
I may of been a bit hasty in starting this post......

Well,
For now we can sit back an relax, till the Lawyers finally settle the disputes.
{Which may take another decade.}
Only, I was liking the reception upgrades that ATSC 3.0 has.
No more stations blanking or breaking up.
When a plane, truck, car, bicycle, trees, wind, or even a person walking by that causes it to happen.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[haklesup]

Ya, this El Nino storm killed cable for almost a day, Watching the Grammys on OTA was a chore with all the audio dropouts. To be fair, my outdoor Aireal also blew down and was lying on its side.

[Janitor Tzap]

ADDITION:
This past week end, I spent several days trying to find a Television to replace a 19" Insignia TV.
The Insignia TV had burned out the LED's for the Back Lighting 18 months after I had purchased it.
Thus, it was just 6 months out of warranty.

Well.......
I found the same 19" Insignia TV, and I brought it home and set it up.
But, now the remote that came with it, was on the same IR Frequency as a TV/Monitor that was connect to a computer.
Took it back, and traded it for a 24" ROKU TV.

Now, I started to set up the 24" ROKU TV.
Only, the ROKU TV needs to be able to connect to WIFI to do the setup, before I could even use the ASTC Tuner.
All the computers in the house use LAN cable connections, and the Central Modem/Router didn't have WIFI.
Plus, the ROKU TV didn't have a LAN Jack on it.

Before I took this ROKU TV back.
I talked to a TV/Repair Seller about what Television I should get.
He told me that currently, only ROKU TV's, and TCL TV's require WIFI for the Initial setup.

So, I traded it for a 24" VIZIO TV.
Brought it home and set it up.
It works fine, but it has no Signal Strength Meter.
Well, that's okay.
I just have too get out my portable TV/DTV converter box that has a Signal Strength Meter,
and point the antenna for the best signal.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[dacflyer]

Janitor Tzap >>> "When a plane, truck, car, bicycle, trees, wind, or even a person walking by that causes it to happen. "

I've always wondered what causes this.. are they just disrupting the signal path ? what is really going on when this happens ?
I have high traffic past my house, and an airport near by.. the traffic and planes make the tv go nuts.
Back in analog tv days.. the worst thing you got was a little snow or ghosting.. now with DTV you get total picture breakup ,sound skipping
audio out of sync. I'd rather have analog tv back any day...Plus most of the tv channels for OTA are not in HD. just standard format.
I have even noticed that on a friends tv connected to cable, even with 4kTV you still can't read that fine print on tv commercials...lol I think they do that on purpose.

[Janitor Tzap]

Multi-Path Interference

In this illustration, an object (in this case an aircraft) pollutes the system by adding a second path. The signal arrives at receiver (RX) by means of two different paths which have different lengths. The main path is the direct path, while the second is due to a reflection from the plane.

With the old Analog Television Signal, this would cause the "Ghosting" or Dual Image on your Analog Television.
{Thou, many of the last generation NTSC Televisions have a signal rejection/combiner circuit that would limit the effect.}

But with DTV ASTC 1.0 Televisions, and DTV ASTC 1.0 Converter Boxes.
They don't have a signal rejection/combiner circuit.
Thus, you'll get picture break ups, or no picture at all, due to Multi-Path Interference.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[haklesup]

ATSC should be generally immune to multipath because of error detection/correction in the digital data stream. Degraded images in DTV are usually lost data, either bits or akin to packets that the error correction cannot compensate for. and is typically due to low signal strength. OTA stations can choose to divide up their bandwidth in various ways. For main stations, that usually comes as one HD station and multiple SD side channels. I wouldn't say most are not HD.

[dyarker]

Analog degrades more gracefully than digital. Even more so when FEC is used on the digital.

... and is typically due to low signal strength.

Multipath is one cause of low signal strength. When the direct and alternate path carriers arrive at the receive antenna out of phase the signal levels subtract. 180° being the worst; if the levels happen to be the same from both paths (unlikely) the received signal will be zero.

The arrival time of bits can also be affected by multi-path. Reading a bit as the one before or after (read a bit twice or skip a bit) causes false corrections by error corrections. Though this is often short enough to not disrupt the data stream.

Cheers,

[dacflyer]

Maybe That's my issue, lot of multi path interference.. I have been using the so called omni directional antennas LAVA antenna and 1 other that i cannot recall right this second.. I still have to adjust it every once in a while .. It's funny, I can pick up stations to the south of me more than 100 miles away, but i can't pick up a stable signal north of me 50 miles away...which is where most of the stations are.. the signal strength meter is bouncing all over the dial. No matter the weather... I have a warehouse next door to me, and power lines in front of my house... Didn't have these issues way back when Analog tv was around.. I could pick up most all the stations around me with ease. even 100 miles away.. and all I had was an old raggedy Radio Shack Outdoor antenna. only thing that disrupted it was a passing tractor trailer or airplane coming in to the airport..

[dyarker]

The "raggedy Radio Shack Outdoor antenna." was directional?