That only works if they broadcast in HD/SD not UHD.
Without a mandate to force a switch to ATSC 3.0 tuners, who are they going to be broadcasting to? You will need viewers to see the many new ads and subchannels.
BREAKING NEWS: FCC Approves Next-Gen TV for OTA Broadcasting
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I'm sure a lot of broadcasters would love to go there but in the largest markets, the repack perhaps hasn't left a whole lot of room for ATSC 3.0 and they would need almost half of what DTV is using now in addition to what DTV occupies.
The HDTV transition basically provided two types of tuners. The subsidized on was very basic and only put out composite video NTSC. The expensive one had an HDMI/component outputs, but was a couple hundred dollars and was mostly vaporware. I have one of the pricier ones laying around that connected to an old Sony XBR CRT set.The tuners will come and they will be cheap. They are not worried.
In either case, the boxes had such poor interfaces that they weren't much more than a stopgap.
Yeah, I know I'm not saying anything most of us don't already know. I am just of the opinion that promises of future upgrade paths never seem to work out.
I’d be excited to see an ATSC-3 tuner as small as a cell phone!
Carrying around a Channel Master 3671 might be a tad bit off putting, though.
And that is what makes ATSC so much better than ATSC 2. More people and devices will be able to pick up the signals plus you can use it on the go.
DTV tuners (and I expect ATSC 3.0 tuners) are much smaller and cheaper now. You can get a DTV tuner with rudimentary DVR functionality for around $30. For ATSC 3.0, there will likely be some considerable technology licensing fees (HDCP, h.265, Dolby audio) that weren't there 11 years ago.
I hope you're not assuming that ATSC 3.0 is somehow going to violate the physics of RF transmission and allow a device to magically work without a TV antenna.More people and devices will be able to pick up the signals plus you can use it on the go.
At intro, or 5-10 years out?
No doubt, ATSC 3.0 tuners will be inexpensive WHEN AND IF the transition is successful. The transition will only be successful if there is a well thought out transition plan, if TV manufacturers can incorporate ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuners at a reasonable cost, and when broadcasters see a reasonable percentage of sets with 3.0 capability to justify cutting off the 1.0 feed. No broadcaster will have the bandwidth to provide both and also provide the popular subchannels.
The current plan is to simply throw it over the wall and see if something develops. Frankly, we tech geeks are not going to be the ones to make this successful. We need Joe 6-pack clamoring for improved football, and if he feels that the current 1080i on a 50" set is good enough, it isn't going to happen.
Antenna is built into the case. Remember when Cell Phones use to have these big antennas you had to pull out?
And what sort of range is that going to get? At my office I’m only 20 miles or so from several 1 million watt sticks, and I still have to have an antenna on the roof of the building to get them all. Not everybody is in downtown New York or Chicago or LA. I can’t imagine my iPhone is going to be somehow better at pulling down my locals than the antenna up on the roof. Cellco’s have MANY towers, TV has one tower in one location unless you’re lucky enough to have a repeater nearby.
Have you ever used such an antenna with a conventional TV? As I said, I think they've used shock and awe to distract people from thinking about the underlying physics.
I'd be willing to wager that the demo they did in Las Vegas was done with a highly specialized and carefully tuned antenna and the whole assembly was the size of a laptop computer. VHF doesn't lend itself to antennas that small and VHF is where most of the available bandwidth is. If you remember the Casio LCD TVs of old, they had a fairly long telescoping whip antenna and that's not going to change with a different modulation scheme (unless they go cellular).
I could see a 3 inch antenna working for VHF low, as long as i placed it at the focal point of my 12 foot dish and aimed directly at the transmitter 20 miles from me.
Let's not forget that the wavelength of channel 4 is ~4.35 meters. It doesn't much matter how much reflector you have for a 3" antenna which is better suited to frequencies in the Gigahertz rangeI could see a 3 inch antenna working for VHF low, as long as i placed it at the focal point of my 12 foot dish and aimed directly at the transmitter 20 miles from me.
That's incorrect. The current FCC ruling mandates any broadcaster who starts transmitting in 3.0 must simulcast in 1.0 for 5 years from the point that they first initiate 3.0 transmission. If it takes a station 2 years to get up and running, for example, add 5 more years to it before the 1.0 signal disappears for a total of 7 years. Considering the bundle of money broadcasters had to spend just a few short years ago for the forced digital conversion I'm not expecting a stampede to spend it all over again for something that is voluntary.
I'm not even excited about 4K since there's not much content yet, to cause me to buy yet another new Tv. So I'm certainly not getting excited about 3.0 and a transition to that. I think it will pay to wait a while to get a new Tv, unless someone really needs one. Buy a 4k now and then in a few years let's buy another Tv for 3.0. Don't have $$$ to spend like that
Stations who decide to go with ATSC 3.0 will use their presently assigned channel... or new repack channel if they're moving. They have to find another station to carry their ATSC 1.0 programming for 5 years.
I'm thinking that some of the stations that have to buy new transmitters for their move to their new repack channel might decide to go with ATSC 3.0 equipment on their newly assigned channel instead of buying another ATSC 1.0 transmitter.
Larry
Without affordable tuners, there will be no voluntary transition. The gubmint knew this prior to the DTV transition and that's why they mandated the coupon program and DTV tuner inclusion.
ATSC 3.0 brings with it the possibility of a little better sound, the possibility of HDR/WCG in HD and perhaps ultimately UHD. What the viewers actually get will far outweigh what the broadcasters gain. Viewers won't be on board if they don't gain something tangible.
I'd be willing to wager that by 2020 (after which Ajit Pai will have had a career change forced on him), the approach to ATSC 3.0 adoption in the US will have changed radically or it will be declared stillborn.
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