The FCC just gave you a reason to hold off on buying a 4K TV

[JosephB]

I think that article is trying to point out that NONE of the present tv sets have an ATSC 3.0 TUNER for OTA broadcasts.

So, holding off a new tv purchase until they do, could be prudent for the average person.

People who are upgrading to 4K are probably using sources other than just OTA. If they're using cable or satellite, it doesn't matter. If they're cord cutters they'll probably be just fine with a separate ATSC 3.0 tuner when they drop, and unlike the ATSC 1.0 transition, there will be obvious needs for high end ATSC 3.0 tuners with 4K, HDR, etc.

Now that the HDR wars are settling out and you know the options there, there's not really a big reason to wait on 4K anymore if you really want it. Honestly, given how much interactivity and different things are in ATSC 3.0, I don't necessarily want it built into my TV anyway. And, at the end of the day, I use an external tuner (my Dish receiver) to watch ATSC 1.0 channels anyway. Even given this FCC announcement (which I knew about before hand) I don't regret buying my 4K TV 2 weeks ago at all.

so you just buy a tuner..OTA is fading away as more frequencies are stolen

Well, no one is stealing frequencies. Channels that don't want to give up their frequencies are free to keep them. The only broadcast frequencies that are going away are those that are unused or those where the broadcaster voluntarily sells them. And when it comes to unused frequencies, when is the last time a brand new built from scratch full power TV station started up in a major market?

I think take up of 3.0 will get a lot of push back. Unlike HD there is virtually no obvious consumer benefit.

The initial digital transition was delayed for years and occurred with a major physical change to panels and a clearly obvious SD to HD quality improvement. HD to 4K just doesn't have the same visual impact.

With no simulcast or subsidies planned(as of now) the cut over will kill 99% of the actual OTA consumers unless delayed until the ecosystem supports it.

Seems like its almost an acknowledgement OTA isn'the a big deal anymore, but still give the locals need an excuse to exist with less bandwidth.

Well, the thing is simulcast *is* planned, you're just wrong there. What will happen is the major networks will simulcast on one or maybe two beacon frequencies and then they will use the rest of their frequencies to load up on subchannels. 4K is not a huge upgrade, sure, but having the option to broadcast 4K for special events will be a big deal for networks heavy on sports (Fox, CBS). However, even bigger than that is the immense bandwidth that will be available for subchannels. That along with the "interactivity" (read: ways to squeeze out more ad dollars) will push some of the big broadcast companies (think the Sinclairs of the world, not necessarily the networks) hard into ATSC 3.0

 

[JosephB]

I hope compression technology improves greatly by then.

It already has. Between when ATSC 1.0 was finalized and today, MPEG-2 encoders have doubled in efficiency. ATSC 3.0 will utilize HEVC which is what DirecTV is using for 4K (and maybe Dish? haven't heard for sure about them) and is incredibly more efficient. Putting 720/1080 HD through HEVC or SD through HEVC would get dozens and dozens of channels worth of space.

Also, ATSC 3.0 uses different modulation, which means they get more bits per second out of a given 6 mhz channel too. So, more efficient codecs + more efficient radio modulation = incredibly more space per channel

 

[Skytrooper]

The average consumer don't care about 4K and HDR. Things are getting too complicated and more expensive anymore. Just hope the FCC don't let OTA disappear someday.

 

[HobbyTalk]

i did..there is no such thing as a digital frequency..obviously there were no analog sub channels..as the number of frequencies decreases..the number of sub channels will fall too

Who said anything about "digital" frequencies? ATSC 3.0 will provide the opportunity for many more channels with less spectrum.

 

[bluegras]

Who said anything about "digital" frequencies? ATSC 3.0 will provide the opportunity for many more channels with less spectrum.

And alot of them in UHD also too if stations would go this way also too a website called tvtechnology talks about all the latest news about ATSC 3.0 monday thru friday.

 

[Claude Greiner]

If I had to wait for this or wait for that I would never end up buying a new computer, Tv or smart phone.

I buy the latest and greatest at the time and deal with it.

It's just as bad as when I sold Dish and people would say they where not signing up till the new whatever receiver is coming out.

 

[fmj77]

If I had to wait for this or wait for that I would never end up buying a new computer, Tv or smart phone.

I buy the latest and greatest at the time and deal with it.

It's just as bad as when I sold Dish and people would say they where not signing up till the new whatever receiver is coming out.

I like your attitude. I might just upgrade to the Hopper 3 even though I only have one TV.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I like your attitude. I might just upgrade to the Hopper 3 even though I only have one TV.

Hey that's recording 16 things and not having to share the DVR space.


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[Troch77]

My new Vizio P75-C1 is called a display instead of a TV because it has no OTA tuner at all. Now that is thinking ahead. Of course I have my H3 with OTA adapter so I am able to watch OTA channels anyway. When ATSC 3.0 comes about I'm sure there will be the same kind of adapter to receive it both for my H3 and all TVs as well....

My Vizio M55-D0 also has no Tuner as well.
As far as I know, Vizio only has Built-in Tuners in the D series.
And soon that will probably stop as well.

 

[Troch77]

Absolutely there will be ATSC 3.0 adapters for existing tuners just as before.
I for one don't need to worry there has been no OTA in this area for 30 years.

In my case, OTA is not an option either.
But I use our Cable for YES and CSN Philly.
So I needed the Adapter.
I didn't even know if it works yet, Because I haven't even tried it yet.

 

[sam_gordon]

The only broadcast frequencies that are going away are those that are unused or those where the broadcaster voluntarily sells them.

Actually everything above channel 37 is "going away", at least as it concerns broadcast TV. I think what's happening is a more efficient use of the spectrum. Just for grins, I looked up the tvfool.com report for New York, and they list 30 channels in the "green" zone and another 10 in the next one. That market will probably have some channels going away. I still feel that will be the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Juan]

Who said anything about "digital" frequencies? ATSC 3.0 will provide the opportunity for many more channels with less spectrum.

Internet will have the best 4k

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[Bruce]

Internet will have the best 4k

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It already does based on how much quantity they have, Netflix alone has over 700 hours in UHD and more every month, then we have Amazon Prime then Amazon, Vudu and Fandango Now for PPV in UHD.

But again not Dish's fault, no broadcasters are stepping up and providing a UHD version of their channels and I believe it will be a long time till they do.


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[Juan]

It already does based on how much quantity they have, Netflix alone has over 700 hours in UHD and more every month, then we have Amazon Prime then Amazon, Vudu and Fandango Now for PPV in UHD.

But again not Dish's fault, no broadcasters are stepping up and providing a UHD version of their channels and I believe it will be a long time till they do.


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Dish ahead of the game with slingtv..perfect platform for 4k channels

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[comfortably_numb]

It already does based on how much quantity they have, Netflix alone has over 700 hours in UHD and more every month, then we have Amazon Prime then Amazon, Vudu and Fandango Now for PPV in UHD.

But again not Dish's fault, no broadcasters are stepping up and providing a UHD version of their channels and I believe it will be a long time till they do.


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Just out of curiosity, I pay the extra $2 a month for 4 screens of Netflix, which says it comes with UHD. None of my TV's are 4K, just 1080p. Will I notice any difference, or will it just stream at a higher bitrate?

 

[JosephB]

I like your attitude. I might just upgrade to the Hopper 3 even though I only have one TV.

I'm a single guy who lives alone and I have a Hopper 3. Lots of reasons to have one instead of any other Dish receiver. I never record 16 things at once, but I utilize the 4K output, the Sports Bar mode, Dish Anywhere/Sling, and integrated OTA with the USB adapter. I do have a Joey in my bedroom, but I haven't turned it on for more than maybe an hour since it's been installed. You don't need to have a house full of people maxing out the tuners to get anything out of a Hopper 3.

Actually everything above channel 37 is "going away", at least as it concerns broadcast TV. I think what's happening is a more efficient use of the spectrum. Just for grins, I looked up the tvfool.com report for New York, and they list 30 channels in the "green" zone and another 10 in the next one. That market will probably have some channels going away. I still feel that will be the exception rather than the rule.

Yes, everything above a certain channel is "going away" but no broadcaster is losing their license without their consent. Some of them will be moved to different frequencies, but they will be reimbursed to do so, and they will still end up with a 6mhz broadcast frequency license that is required by law to cover at least the same amount of viewers as their old one. Not one single TV station will go off the air involuntarily. I'm sure NYC will lose a few channels, but it will be because the owners decided to sell, not because they were forced to.

 

[Juan]

I'm a single guy who lives alone and I have a Hopper 3. Lots of reasons to have one instead of any other Dish receiver. I never record 16 things at once, but I utilize the 4K output, the Sports Bar mode, Dish Anywhere/Sling, and integrated OTA with the USB adapter. I do have a Joey in my bedroom, but I haven't turned it on for more than maybe an hour since it's been installed. You don't need to have a house full of people maxing out the tuners to get anything out of a Hopper 3.



Yes, everything above a certain channel is "going away" but no broadcaster is losing their license without their consent. Some of them will be moved to different frequencies, but they will be reimbursed to do so, and they will still end up with a 6mhz broadcast frequency license that is required by law to cover at least the same amount of viewers as their old one. Not one single TV station will go off the air involuntarily. I'm sure NYC will lose a few channels, but it will be because the owners decided to sell, not because they were forced to.

To clarify..I said the number of available frequencies is going away..and will continue to be shrunk down..the stations will survive in one form or another

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[Tampa8]

I don't think there is any doubt 3.0 will be instituted. I'm not an advocate of it nor really against just stating what I see as fact. Also even when made available it will be sometime before the 1.0 signals are cut off. We also know there will be a converter so present TV's, TIVO's etc will be able to utilize it. Some already exist. Unlike going from Analog to Digital there should be a converter that still allows channel changing from the device itself, not the converter or some form of integration.

Forgetting 3.0 I don't recommend anyone to get a 4K TV simply as an upgrade. It just isn't one yet, it is more for those that want the best available or the cutting edge. Even when there is 4K programming now much of it is hard to discern over 1080 and especially 1080P and little of it uses HDR and of course there isn't one HDR standard being used. Given time and 3.0 upgrade that will all change.
That said, if I need a TV rather than saving some money on a remaining HD TV I would get a 4K. Just overall they can often produce a better picture just because of technology. And Samsung and Sony in particular have what may be the best convertors yet in a TV so the HD signal looks very good converted to 4K.

 

[KAB]

The average consumer don't care about 4K and HDR. Things are getting too complicated and more expensive anymore. Just hope the FCC don't let OTA disappear someday.

I don't think there is any doubt 3.0 will be instituted. I'm not an advocate of it nor really against just stating what I see as fact. Also even when made available it will be sometime before the 1.0 signals are cut off. We also know there will be a converter so present TV's, TIVO's etc will be able to utilize it. Some already exist. Unlike going from Analog to Digital there should be a converter that still allows channel changing from the device itself, not the converter or some form of integration.

Forgetting 3.0 I don't recommend anyone to get a 4K TV simply as an upgrade. It just isn't one yet, it is more for those that want the best available or the cutting edge. Even when there is 4K programming now much of it is hard to discern over 1080 and especially 1080P and little of it uses HDR and of course there isn't one HDR standard being used. Given time and 3.0 upgrade that will all change.
That said, if I need a TV rather than saving some money on a remaining HD TV I would get a 4K. Just overall they can often produce a better picture just because of technology. And Samsung and Sony in particular have what may be the best convertors yet in a TV so the HD signal looks very good converted to 4K.

What he said!

 

[pattykay]

I lost OTA when the twin towers fell 17 years ago..

17 years? Not until September 2018.