Select LG, Samsung & Sony 2020 TVs to feature 'Nextgen' ATSC 3.0 tuner

14 Jan 2020 | Rasmus Larsen |

Are you still watching broadcast TV? Select TVs from LG, Samsung and Sony will be the first TVs in the US to have a built-in 'nextgen' ATSC 3.0 tuner for over-the-air channels in up to 4K HDR.

'Nextgen' ATSC 3.0 tunerThe ATSC 3.0 tuner standard, also known as 'Nextgen TV', has been in development for years as a replacement for ATSC 1.0 that debuted in 2009.

ATSC 3.0 supports 4K resolution, HDR, object-based audio with the ability to enhance dialog, and interactive features. It also enables up to 120fps video, higher bitrate over the airwaves, and HEVC compression.

At CES 2020, LG, Samsung and Sony announced that select 2020 TVs will feature a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner. LG will include it in its GX, WX, and ZX (8K) OLED series, Samsung in its 8K TVs, and Sony in its X900H model.

ATSC 3.0 comes at a time where multiple TV makers have started pulling buyers towards their premium 8K TVs, but ATSC 3.0 is currently specified to support 4K resolution only - not 8K resolution yet.

- "Early-adopter consumers with these TVs will benefit from Nextgen TV's new services being launched by local TV stations across America," said Gordon Smith, President of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has adopted ATSC 3.0 as a recommended tuner standard. The ATSC system, developed by the Advanced Television System Committee, is used in countries such as the US and South Korea, while many other countries use the DVB tuner standard.

US broadcasters, including NBCUniversal and Sinclair, are planning to launch the first ATSC 3.0 channels in 40 cities in the US by the end of 2020. ATSC 3.0 is already deployed in South Korea.

Amazon, Netflix and other streaming services have been offering content in 4K HDR for years but the majority is library content. ATSC 3.0 will help the broadcast industry transition to 4K HDR and object-based audio via over-the-air broadcasts. Expect ATSC 3.0 set-top boxes to arrive later.

- Source: ATSC, LG, Samsung, Sony