Broadcasters to Encrypt ATSC 3.0 Signals - How it Impacts Free OTA TV

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Does not surprise me. This whole thing with ATSC 3.0 / NextGenTV has never been about improving things for the viewer. It has been a money grab all along. Even if they are required by law to keep the .1 channel DRM free there is nothing stopping them from encrypting everything else and even charging a fee for it, especially if their content providers sniff a few dollars to be had. Public opinion means nothing - if they can do it they will. It may not happen right away but I definitely see it happening some day. :(
 
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I live out on the Oregon Coast where we get translators. I am 73 and I may never see 3.0 out here anyway. Are the TV broadcasters really interested in updating every translator in this country with 3.0? I doubt it. So 1.0 probably will be a standard out here for a long time. 10(?) years is the cut off date for 1.0, but that may not work out either. Right now many of the diginets already stream for free. In 10 years, probably most TV will be via streaming or something else. Am I excited about 3.0? No, as I doubt it will be a reality out here for a long time. Who knows that technology we will have in 10 years or even 5? With literally thousands of channels streaming on the Fire Stick or Roku for free, is 3.0 really all that important?
 
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Remember that the FCC is requiring broadcasters that are using the ATSC 3.0 standard to at least continue broadcasting ATSC 1.0 for a minimum of 5 years from when they started broadcasting ATSC 3.0. But 5 years is the minimum. Most will continue ATSC 1.0 for a much longer time since there are very few customers that can receive the new ATSC 3.0. which requires a new tuner. So I would not worry about ATSC 1.0 going away.
 
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mwdxer1 said:
Are the TV broadcasters really interested in updating every translator in this country with 3.0?
Click to expand...
In that NextGenTV might allow those who provide the translators (sometimes it is the stations, other times it is the jurisdictions) to halve the number of translators or better, I'm betting they are keenly interested.

The downside is that there probably aren't many hand-me-down transmitters available.
 
Justin Hill said:
I highly doubt they'll make us pay for what we can get for free...OTA is supposed to be free...they operated this way since day one...
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Times change. Except, the rich get richer.

Rule is the “.1” sub channel must be free. I expect the others to slowly migrate to fee based. Yes, even today’s soap operas and reality shows. I expect .1 to become local news and weather.

OTA WILL NOT REMAIN FREE AS WE KNOW IT. These stations did not invest millions without expecting a return on their investment. That “free” stuff will not be available anywhere for free. But it’s years away.

There are folks in the industry that think we should pay for every time we watch a movie, etc, and this will put greater pressure against optical media. I have enough DVDs, BDs and UHDs to last me until…..

Of course, if that prediction about the world being on fire in 2023 comes true- nevermind!
 
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navychop said:
Times change. Except, the rich get richer.

Rule is the “.1” sub channel must be free. I expect the others to slowly migrate to fee based. Yes, even today’s soap operas and reality shows. I expect .1 to become local news and weather.

OTA WILL NOT REMAIN FREE AS WE KNOW IT. These stations did not invest millions without expecting a return on their investment. That “free” stuff will not be available anywhere for free. But it’s years away.

There are folks in the industry that think we should pay for every time we watch a movie, etc, and this will put greater pressure against optical media. I have enough DVDs, BDs and UHDs to last me until…..

Of course, if that prediction about the world being on fire in 2023 comes true- nevermind!
Click to expand...
Broadcast TV is free TV, not pay TV, the FCC will not allow it! You're forgetting that pay satellite TV, cable, fiber optic TV and streaming still exists to get people to pay extra for channels they can not get through traditional means. The expense of cable/satellite/fiber optic TV is the reason why people are moving back to broadcast TV. The only subchannels I see being encrypted in the future are those being provided by Evoca or sports channels like ESPN...channels like MeTV, Antenna TV, Laff or Rewind, etc. will remain free...mark my words...
 
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harshness said:
In that NextGenTV might allow those who provide the translators (sometimes it is the stations, other times it is the jurisdictions) to halve the number of translators or better, I'm betting they are keenly interested.

The downside is that there probably aren't many hand-me-down transmitters available.
Click to expand...
Lots of TV transmitters out there cheap these days after the repack. I had a 6ft high UHF transmitter in my garage for a year until I was finally able to dump it on fleabay. The shipping cost was a lot more than the actual transmitter.
 

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