ATSC 3.0 Downconverters, Premium NextGen TV Shopping List

By Vicki Way Kipp
SBE Chapter 24 Newsletter 01/2022

ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV’s voluntary rollout is ramping up in some DMAs, but the consumer electronics industry’s rollout of budget-priced NextGen TVs has not followed suit.

Supply-Driven Scarcity

The pandemic-related chip shortage and supply chain issues have actually increased the supply of high-end NextGen TVs manufacturers are producing. TV set manufacturers have prioritized high-profit margin products such as large NextGen TVs, given the scarcity of chips. The supply shortage is delaying the rollout of lowpriced NextGen receivers.

Dolby NextGen Ad Campaign

Dolby is expected to launch a TV ad campaign called “Dolby’s Sound Decisions,” promoting NextGen audio features like dialogue enhancement and a consistent volume level. Dolby’s ad titles include “Dialogue Drama” and “Sound Surprise.”

CES NextGen logo

Manufacturers may put the official CES NextGen logo on their TVs if they meet ATSC 3.0 interoperability test specifications, but logo use is optional. www.cta.tech/Membership/Member-Groups/Video-Division/NEXTGENTV

Chipset

It’s worth noting that most ATSC 3 receiver chips contain both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 receivers.


Now shipping…

TVs

$1,599.99 Samsung Neo 55″ QLED 4K Smart TV QN90A

$1,299.99 Sony Bravia 65″ 4K HDR Full Array LED with Smart Google TV (2021) XR-65X90J

$1,799.99 LG GX Gallery 55″ 4K Smart OLED TV with Alexa (2020) OLED55GXPUA

$1,999.99 LG G1 Gallery 55″ 4K Smart OLED Evo TV with Alexa, AI-Power, Dolby, WiSA Ready (2021) OLED55G1PUA

$2,199.99 Sony Bravia 65″ A80J 4K OLED Smart TV (2021) XR65A80J

$2,999.99 Sony Bravia 75″ 4K HDR Full Array LED with Smart Google TV (2021) XR-75X95J

$2,799.99 LG G1 65″ with Gallery Design 4K Smart OLED TV w/AI ThinQ® OLED65G1PUA

$2,799.99 Samsung Neo 65″ QLED 8K Smart TV (2021) QN800A

$3,499.99 LG QNED 65″ MiniLED 99 Series 8K Smart TV w/ AI ThinQ® (2021) 65QNED99UPA

$2,499.99 Sony Bravia 55″4K HDR OLED with Smart Google TV (2021) XR-55A90J

$3,799.99 Samsung Neo 65″ QLED 8K Smart TV QN900A

$5,499.99 Sony Bravia 75″ 8K HDR Full Array LED with Smart Google TV (2021) XR-75Z9J

$19,999.99 Sony Bravia 100″ 4K HDR Full Array LED with Smart Google TV (2021) XR-100X92

Dual ATSC A/53 and A/322 DTV Receiver Chipsets

Sony “Project Ashley” Demodulator CXD2878ER

Sony “Project Luke” Tuner and Demodulator CXD6801GL

Saankhya Labs Pvt. Ltd. Mobile SL3000, SL3010

A/322-only NextGen Mobile Receiver Chipsets

Saankhya Labs Pvt. Ltd. Mobile SL4000 Mobile ATSC 3.0 receiver*

*Used in ONE Media’s Mark One Android phone w/ UHF ATSC 3.0 RX for T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon. The Mark One is named after Mark Aitken, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Senior VP of Advanced Technology.

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/one-medias-atsc-30-smartphone-becomes-a-reality

Professional Receivers

Bitrouter ATSC3Pro Linux-based ATSC 3.0 single stream professional receiver software. Demodulator sold separately.

DekTec Atsc3Xpert – ATSC-3 reception and analysis software

DS Broadcast BGD4100 -3G 4K UHD/HD Integrated Receiver Decoder

Open Source SRT+STLTP: ATSC 3.0 Virtual Demod and ROUTE object extraction for remote market deployment testing by Jason Justman, NGBP.org

Sencore ARD 3400 ATSC 3.0 Decoder

StreamScope XM Verifier ATSC 3.0 broadcast stream analyzer and verification software

Packet Capture Dongles

There are downconverters that can capture packets to reveal portions of the ATSC 3.0 transport stream’s protocol stack.

NGBP Open Source Tools: ATSC 3.0 STLTP pcaps captures MMT and ROUTE-DASH and A/344 Broadcaster Application payload ATSC 3.0 transmissions. Created by Jason Justman, NGBP.org.

Silicon Dust promotes the HDHomeRun HDFX-4K-DEV is promoted for “development and tinkering if you want to do more than watch TV. Only useful for developers.”

I suspect that the Development edition could be useful for broadcast engineers, as well. Silicon Dust’s counsel that the HDFX-4K-DEV is “Only useful for developers” actually heightens its appeal. And that is why I could not resist buying a HDFX-4K-DEV even though there’s no ATSC 3.0 in my area.

The HDFX-4K-DEV can extract ALP and IPv4 PCAP files for Wireshark. ATSC 3.0 Link Layer Protocol (ALP) decoder for Wireshark by Nick Kelsey of SiliconDust.

https://github.com/Silicondust/wireshark

https://shop.silicondust.com/shop/product-category/hardware/?scrollto=663495

AirWayvz, meanwhile, offers ATSC 3.0 analyzer software called TvXplorer Suite for their Redzone dongle RZR-1400. https://redzonereceiver.tv/

ModCod Simulators

If you want to get a jump start at deciding how to divide your bandwidth and configure your PLPs,

DekTec Atsc3Xpress – ATSC-3 signal generator software

Enensys ATSC 3.0 Calculator (Free)

Outlook

If the ATSC 1.0 transition is any indication, NextGen consumer receivers should start to come down in price as soon as the pandemic-related chip shortage and supply chain issues are resolved.



Leave a Reply

About Me

Hello there! My name is Vicki Kipp, and I am a closed caption maker. Making closed captions is time consuming and complicated, so this blog is a collection of all of the knowledge and experiences I have gained. I hope my collection of tips and tricks might help you with your closed caption work the way it has helped me!

Discover more from Broadcast Writer

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading