Today at CES Sinclair announced a new chip to power ATSC 3.0 TV. This new chip will allow TVs and other devices like phones to receive the new 3.0 OTA TV standard.
“These mobile 3.0 chips validate the ‘sea change’ in over-the-air distribution of, not only television, but all digital data,” said Mark Aitken, president of ONE Media 3.0, in a statement. ‘Broadcasters are doing their part by deploying the Next-Gen transmission facilities, and now there will be devices enabled to recieve that data – personalized and in mobile form. This chip is the key to that disruptive future in a 5G world.”
What is ATSC 3.0?
ATSC 3.0 is a new standard that will bring a long list of new features to over-the-air TV. Two main features that will really excite cord cutters are 4K HDR picture with better sound and better over-the-air TV coverage.
There are other great features such as detailed custom weather alerts and internet active news stories.
Will you need a new TV?
The good news is NO, but you may need a new box. The FCC requires TV stations that move to 3.0 OTA to offer the current OTA standard for five years after the move. That means if a station moves to 3.0 OTA TV next year, the day they turn on 3.0 OTA the clock starts for five years to still offer the current standard.
This new chip is meant to be built into new devices but other companies have announced plans to roll out converter boxes to add ATSC 3.0 to your current TV.
If you don’t want to buy a new TV, you won’t have to to enjoy 3.0 OTA TV. Several companies say they will have dongles or set-top boxes for sale soon that will let you connect your antenna to the box and the box to your HDMI port on your TV.
With that said we are looking at six to seven years before anyone is forced to upgrade their TVs or devices.
We hope this post has helped answer some of the questions you have. Keep an eye on the site as we will have full coverage of the move to ATSC 3.0.
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