WASHINGTON—With 76% of U.S. households now able to receive a NextGen TV broadcast signal, Pearl TV and the broadcast stations who back the group have announced that a wide variety of new NextGen TV a.k.a. ATSC 3.0 technologies will be shown at this week’s CES in Las Vegas, taking place Jan. 7-10.
The show will see the introduction of new ATSC 3.0 receivers, ranging from high-end NextGen TV sets to affordable accessories that can transform Android and Fire TV devices already in consumer homes into 3.0 receivers. New interactive channels using NextGen TV broadcast, expanded support for HDR and other developments will also be on display.
“We are very excited about the expanded offerings from accessory device manufacturers for NextGen TV,” Pearl TV managing director Anne Schelle said. “The new, low-cost ADTH USB receiver, powered by Tolka, is built for existing Android and Fire TV televisions and will, at a very affordable price, expand the reach of NextGen TV into homes who already have those sets. ADTH is also about to introduce a new model that works without an internet connection and will be doing a software update for deployed ADTH devices to give them the same functionality. In addition, Zinwell is adding pause functionality to their accessory device, with an add-on hard disc drive. In 2025, RCA is also coming to market with two new NextGen TV sets that will join TV options already available from Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Hisense, and TCL. We congratulate all of the manufacturers who are selling thousands of receivers each day to consumers looking for the best possible video and audio quality from local stations.”
During the show, attendees will also be able to see how broadcasters are loading up new services with new features for NextGen TV viewers, including interactive gaming options that will be launched by GameLoop.
GameLoop TV launches in Las Vegas on local NextGen TV channel 3.2 and will bring gaming directly to viewers with no additional hardware or subscriptions required. At the heart of GameLoop’s innovation is the channel’s exciting “Play Now” feature, which allows NextGen TV viewers to instantly play games showcased on the channel simply using their TV remote or mobile phone.
“We also salute TV broadcasters Gray and Sinclair, who are working to bring fun, interactive gaming to the living room through GameLoop—a service that utilizes NextGen TV for web-based family fun that will work seamlessly with millions of installed NextGen TV sets. Easy interactivity is literally going to be a game-changer for viewers,” Schelle predicted.
Pearl TV also reported that HDR functionality is now live on more than 200 local NextGen TV services throughout the country, with more being added to enhance viewing of key sports games and other spectacles.
Broadcasters are promoting the advantages of NextGen TV this sports season on stations throughout the country and plan to continue these promotions as they continue to rollout HDR and Dolby Atmos services nationwide.
A holiday promotion effort in NextGen TV markets that began before December continues through early February, with broadcasters now indicating onscreen to viewers when local NextGen TV programming is available in High Dynamic Range (HDR).
"We're very excited to announce that broadcast stations throughout the country are adding HDR10+ capability in their NextGen TV broadcast services to accommodate a broad array of TV manufacturers,” Schelle said. “With other flavors of HDR that also may be present in the service, this allows every receiver to present the best picture possible, showing that local television just keeps getting better and better, which is exactly what we promised with the rollout of NextGen TV services.”
In addition to providing better video quality through HDR, many markets are also adding Dolby Atmos audio coding, which delivers immersive audio capabilities.
"HDR began for sports with the Kentucky Derby last spring,” Schelle said. “It really made the Olympic Games pop with brilliant video. We know that sports is a big driver for buying new TV sets as well as for enjoying broadcast services—your favorite games look even better in High Dynamic Range.“
Pearl TV also stressed that local stations are also using ATSC 3.0 to add more channels through broadcast internet protocol, or broadcast IP. These additional channels, available as NextGen TV channels, have added more choices for viewers in a range of markets, from public to commercial broadcasters who now have their programming available for NextGen TV viewers.
Pearl TV is backed by Cox Media Group, Graham Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst Television, Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, E.W. Scripps and Tegna.
More information is available at https://pearltv.com/for-broadcasters/.
