The air broadcasting returns with perks

Over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV has long been considered a thing of the past, with many households opting for streaming services instead. However, the introduction of NextGen TV has changed the game, offering a combination of benefits that no other content delivery option can match.


The story of NextGen TV began four decades ago, when the federal government, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), and the private industry decided to transition OTA TV transmission from analog to digital. This was a massive undertaking that involved spectrum auctions, channel reallocations, the development of new transmission blueprints, aspect ratio conversion, and expensive equipment changes. As of 2009, legacy tuners could no longer receive OTA broadcasts in the US, and millions of televisions had to be modified to accept digital OTA signals.


The government provided up to two $40 coupons for digital-to-analog converters for each household, but demand exceeded expectations, and allocations fell short. Still, most households that needed the converter got one.


The hard work of the past has made the transition to NextGen TV much easier for consumers. Advances in semiconductor, RF, and digital signal processing technologies have reduced the size and cost of the required converter. For retrofitting existing TVs, the solution is a small box connected to the TV’s RF coaxial input. Most major TV manufacturers have already integrated the tuner within their latest models, and all will have them in the next few years.


The true benefits of NextGen TV lie in its hybrid architecture. Signals captured over the air are combined with a broadband connection to the internet, making it interactive. NextGen TV combines two-way communication capabilities and other features available only via an IP-based connection. It supports legacy SD video resolution up to 720 x 480, interlaced HD video resolution up to 1920 x 1080, progressive-scan 4K UHD video with resolution up to 3840 x 2160, and frame rates up to 120 fps. To achieve its spectral efficiency, NextGen TV uses H.265 HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding) rather than MPEG-2 used in ATSC 1.0. So, while the channel width remains 6 MHz wide, it can transmit more video channels at higher resolution in half the bandwidth.


In conclusion, NextGen TV has brought OTA broadcasting back to the forefront, offering a combination of benefits that no other content delivery option can match. With enhanced picture clarity and audio quality, interactivity, and free access, it is a viable alternative to streaming services and cable TV. With most major TV manufacturers already integrating the NextGen TV tuner into their latest models, it's only a matter of time before it becomes the new standard for TV viewing. 

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