Yet another ATSC 1 or 3 back and forth article

[MartyDe]

The beat goes on.

NAB Slams NextGen TV Critics for ‘Protecting Their Turf'

Broadcaster group responds to last month's FCC meeting with NCTA, CTA and others

www.tvtechnology.com

 

[navychop]

Where do I pour the gasoline?

 

[moonwink]

Wake me when it's over...

 

[Brct203]

at this point, shutting down atsc 1.0 means killing off OTA, as very few TVs are currently able to receive atsc 3.0 and there's no credible and afordable converter boxes (the only boxes that appear to work reliably cost as much as a new TV). Just go to Costco or Walmart or Best Buy and try to figure out what TVs can do atsc 3.0. If you can even figure it out, you'll find that it's a very small percentage. It makes about as much sense as if they decided that gas stations would no longer be allowed to sell gasoline by 2028 and would only sell hydrogen.

But then maybe killing off OTA IS the goal

 

[moonwink]

I bought an ADTH-ATSC-3.0-Gateway in September of 2023 and I'm very happy with it. I'm in a very poor reception area with hills all around so there's no way I can get a good line of sight to the towers. I've got 3 tuners - one in my ViP 211k Dish receiver, one in the TV and the ADTH. Of the three, the ADTH ATSC-3.0 tuner is the most reliable of the three and the one I use for the weakest signal. I'll have a good signal one second but every time a vehicle goes down my street or a plane passes between me an the towers, the reflections screw over my picture. The Dish tuner flips out and has to recompose when a solid signal is established again. The TV tuner pixelates and sometimes freezes but gets over it a lot quicker than the Dish receiver. The ADTH Gateway handles the situation the best with the least interruption. I paid $105 for the ADTH Nextgen Gateway. I worked with their support awhile to see if there was anything they could do and software updates helped considerably but couldn't eliminate it. I've got a filter in the feed from the antenna on the roof but it does seem to help much - I tried two or three different brands without much difference. So, yes, I'm using ATSC-3.0 and it didn't cost me all that much. The Gateway tuner tunes both ATSC-1.0 and ATSC-3.0 and the 3.0 works better for the weaker station.

 

[Comptech]

I am using Zapperbox, dual tune for here for almost two years, work fine on DRM channels and records great, I am now on my 3rd box as the tuner seems to go bad at a year, but one email and the new one is on the way, no shipping no questions. Overall a good box, and they are constantly making improvements learning. Customer support is out of this world and I think they a very worthwhile.

 

[FTA4PA]

From the article:

The association said the current transitory phase, in which one station in a market hosts other stations also broadcasting 3.0, is preventing TV stations from taking full advantage of 3.0, which combines traditional radio frequency broadcast with internet protocol, allowing broadcasters to transmit higher resolution video, multichannel audio, advanced alerting and interactive advertising and programming.

My guess is the bolded one is the most important to them.

 

[llokey]

I am using Zapperbox, dual tune for here for almost two years, work fine on DRM channels and records great, I am now on my 3rd box as the tuner seems to go bad at a year, but one email and the new one is on the way, no shipping no questions. Overall a good box, and they are constantly making improvements learning. Customer support is out of this world and I think they a very worthwhile.

Does the Zapperbox handle DRM transmissions without an internet connection?

 

[Brct203]

I bought an ADTH-ATSC-3.0-Gateway in September of 2023 and I'm very happy with it. I'm in a very poor reception area with hills all around so there's no way I can get a good line of sight to the towers. I've got 3 tuners - one in my ViP 211k Dish receiver, one in the TV and the ADTH. Of the three, the ADTH ATSC-3.0 tuner is the most reliable of the three and the one I use for the weakest signal. I'll have a good signal one second but every time a vehicle goes down my street or a plane passes between me an the towers, the reflections screw over my picture. The Dish tuner flips out and has to recompose when a solid signal is established again. The TV tuner pixelates and sometimes freezes but gets over it a lot quicker than the Dish receiver. The ADTH Gateway handles the situation the best with the least interruption. I paid $105 for the ADTH Nextgen Gateway. I worked with their support awhile to see if there was anything they could do and software updates helped considerably but couldn't eliminate it. I've got a filter in the feed from the antenna on the roof but it does seem to help much - I tried two or three different brands without much difference. So, yes, I'm using ATSC-3.0 and it didn't cost me all that much. The Gateway tuner tunes both ATSC-1.0 and ATSC-3.0 and the 3.0 works better for the weaker station.

thanks for that info - glad to hear it's working well for you

Would you say that its atsc 3.0 tuner is quite sensitive? At my location there are 2 atsc 3.0 stations: one in UHF from Hartford CT with a decent signal (i'd say about 22 dB), and one VHF-High from NYC with about 16dB. I'm confident that the UHF one should bring stable reception, but am not sure that the VHF one would even work at all

also on the ADTH site i see they mention a box with DVR capability. Do you know if that's already available or just a possible future thing?

 

[moonwink]

I'm glad you asked about DVR. I just checked for updates and see the latest one says "Enable DVR". I just installed it but haven't tried connecting a hard drive yet.
I see it has 5Gb of internal storage.

Using an amplifier, I have very good signal strength (90%) but poor signal quality (+/- 50%). ADTH support recommended I bypass the amplifier but if I do that, signal quality drops to nothing with about 1/2 the signal strength.

 

[primestar31]

Does the Zapperbox handle DRM transmissions without an internet connection?

Yes, after some updates a few updates ago. IMO, it's the best one out there, with the best support. Too bad they charge so much for it. I think it's overpriced by double what it's worth.

 

[zippyfrog]

Yes, after some updates a few updates ago. IMO, it's the best one out there, with the best support. Too bad they charge so much for it. I think it's overpriced by double what it's worth.

Does it work the first time without the internet connection? I thought the first time it had to have an internet connection then it was 'persistent' (or whatever the word was they used). I thought the true offline DRM where no internet was needed isn't slated until December and version 4 of their software? I love my Zapperbox and it is always connected to the internet, so I can't check for sure.

 

[Comptech]

I am not happy with the tuner failures, but must say customer support if excellent one email and a new box is on the way and have it in to days, no arguments that the tuner is overheating, just a email say we are trying new iductors to fix the problem anda new box with the upgrade will be there in two days. Comes with a prepaid return lable with the option of sending it back or not. I always due, but they know the problem when I upload diagnostics. Very good company and can honestly say they stand behind it and are trying to fix the tuner problems. It is a good tuner, they acknowledge they have a problem, but it is a work in progress. Still is the same or less than my flex4K that has no support. I endorse them, so far so god, they have not thrown the towel in and given up. I will continue to support and commend them on the constant work they do and the customer support!

 

[primestar31]

Does it work the first time without the internet connection? I thought the first time it had to have an internet connection then it was 'persistent' (or whatever the word was they used). I thought the true offline DRM where no internet was needed isn't slated until December and version 4 of their software? I love my Zapperbox and it is always connected to the internet, so I can't check for sure.

Here's the official thread: Zapperbox ATSC 3.0 Tuner