Step into a world where the focus is keenly set on Samsung The Premiere. Within the confines of this article, a tapestry of references to Samsung The Premiere awaits your exploration. If your pursuit involves unraveling the depths of Samsung The Premiere, you've arrived at the perfect destination.
Our narrative unfolds with a wealth of insights surrounding Samsung The Premiere. This is not just a standard article; it's a curated journey into the facets and intricacies of Samsung The Premiere. Whether you're thirsting for comprehensive knowledge or just a glimpse into the universe of Samsung The Premiere, this promises to be an enriching experience.
The spotlight is firmly on Samsung The Premiere, and as you navigate through the text on these digital pages, you'll discover an extensive array of information centered around Samsung The Premiere. This is more than mere information; it's an invitation to immerse yourself in the enthralling world of Samsung The Premiere.
So, if you're eager to satisfy your curiosity about Samsung The Premiere, your journey commences here. Let's embark together on a captivating odyssey through the myriad dimensions of Samsung The Premiere.
Samsung The Frame on sale: Wall-art TV gets Black Friday pricing of up to $800 off
Samsung The Frame on sale: Wall-art TV gets Black Friday pricing of up to $800 off
Samsung's The Frame looks like no other TV. Its ultrathin screen can double as a place to display digital art and measures just 24.9mm thick, similar to a typical picture frame. By subscribing to Samsung's Art Store for $5 per month, users can gain access to over 1,400 pieces of art to show on the screen. Design-conscious buyers might also enjoy the 6GB of on-board storage, which is enough to hold approximately 1,200 ultra high resolution photos -- and that includes your own pictures, too.
The TV includes 4K resolution, QLED tech with quantum dots and Samsung's dual LED backlight structure, as well as the company's full smart-TV streaming suite.
Samsung
The Frame TV of varying sizes -- from 32 to 75 inches -- has large discounts at Amazon. Few TVs offer the unique elegance of the Frame, and some buyers may value its style over image quality. Even with the sale prices you'll pay a steep premium for The Frame's unique look.
Read more: Best TV deals for Black Friday 2021 so far
One non-Frame equivalent is the Samsung Q60A series, which has similar picture quality and costs about $300 less at the 55-inch size. Other TVs also cost less and have better image quality. For example, the Vizio M-7 Series Quantum achieves superior picture quality using full-array local dimming -- a feature these Samsung TVs lack -- and costs $430 less than The Frame at 55 inches.
Hisense debuts brighter mini led tvs and even more lasers at lowe s hisense debuts brighter mini led tvs and even more lasers at academy hisense debuts brighter mini led tvs and cold hisense debuts brighter mini led vs oled hisense debuts brighter mini led monitor hisense debuts brighter blooms hisense debuts brighter horizons hisense debuts an introduction hisense debuts theater
Hisense debuts brighter mini-LED TVs and even more lasers at CES 2022
Hisense debuts brighter mini-LED TVs and even more lasers at CES 2022
This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon.
Hisense unveiled its 2022 range of televisions, which include models equipped with mini-LED backlights and a pair of so-called Laser TVs -- short-throw projectors with screens included. Some sets include new technologies such as NextGen ATSC 3.0 tuners and gaming-friendly HDMI 2.1 ports, and employ either the Google TV or the older Android TV system. All will be available by the middle of the year and unlike most CES 2022 announcements, Hisense detailed its pricing.
There are three main offerings: the ULED range, a selection of Laser TVs and the entry-level smart TV 'A' range. All of the TVs bar the smallest A4H models boast 4K resolution.
The ULED series is helmed by the U9H and U8H models, and both now include mini-LED backlights for higher brightness (up to 2,000 nits) and as many as 1,200 zones of local dimming. The U8H is an upgrade on last year's U8G which CNET's David Katzmaier said offered "more raw brightness than just about any I've reviewed." These TVs are followed by the midrange U7H and entry-level U6H.
The 120-inch L5G laser TV
Hisense
Last year, Hisense debuted its first dual-cell LCD – the U9DG – which promised better contrast than traditional LCD, but there is no word on a replacement for 2022.
Meanwhile, the PX1-PRO TriChroma Laser Cinema and L5G 4K TVs expand the company's laser TV offerings for 2022. These are short-throw laser projectors that take on models like the Samsung Premiere and include features such as Dolby Vision and Android TV. Prices start at $3,999 and unlike the rest of the range, the laser TVs are available right now.
Lastly, the standout of the A-series is the A7H which offers a massive 85 inches for $1,700 and will ship in the spring. Like the laser TVs, these models will feature the older Android TV OS instead of Google TV.
Here are the rest of the details on the new models, including the sizes and major step-up features for each one:
U9H Series
76-inch
2,000 nits of peak brightness
1,280 full-array local dimming zones
Auto low-latency mode, Game Mode Pro, variable refresh rate and FreeSync
Late summer 2022
$3,200
U8H Series
55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch
1,500 nits
Mid-summer 2022
Starting at $1,099
U7H Series:
55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch and 85-inch
Quantum Dot
FreeSync
120Hz
Mid-summer 2022
Starting at $800
U6H
55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch
60Hz
Integrated Google assistant
Summer 2022
Starting at $580
A7H, A6H and A4H Series
A7H, 85-inch, spring 2022, $1,700.
A6H, 43-inch/50-inch/55-inch/65-inch/70-inch, spring 2022, starting at $300
A4H, 32-inch/40-inch/43-inch, spring 2022, starting at $200
Laser TVs
PX1-PRO TriChroma Laser Cinema, $3,999
L5G 4K Smart Laser TV, $4,499 (100-inch) and $4,999 (120-inch)
§
NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, is continuing its rapid rollout across the country. Major markets like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Houston and more all have stations transmitting. Meanwhile New York, Boston, and many other markets are slated to have broadcasts later this year. While not every station in every market has a NextGen TV counterpart, more and more are coming on the air.
What's NextGen TV? It's an update to the free HDTV you can already get over-the-air in nearly every city in the US. There's no monthly fee, but you do need either a new TV with a built-in tuner or a standalone external tuner. The standard allows broadcast stations to send higher quality signals than ever before with features like 4K, HDR, 120 Hz, and more. ATSC 3.0 proponents also claim better reception indoors and on-the-go -- whether it's on your phone, or even in your car. The best part is that if you're watching it on your TV it uses the same standard antennas available today.
One potential downside? ATSC 3.0 will also let broadcasters track your viewing habits, information that can be used for targeted advertising, just like companies such as Facebook and Google use today.
Read more:Best TV antennas for cord cutters, starting at just $10
NextGen TV to you
ATSC.org
Here's the top-line info:
If you get your TV from streaming, cable or satellite, NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 won't affect you at all.
The transition is voluntary. Stations don't have to switch. Many have already, however, for reasons we'll explain below.
It's not backwards-compatible with the current HD standard (ATSC 1.0), so your current TV won't be able to receive it. Your current antenna should work fine though.
Stations that switch to NextGen TV will still have to keep broadcasting ATSC 1.0 for five years.
There are multiple models and sizes of TV with built-in tuners available now from Hisense, LG, Sony, Samsung and others.
As of the beginning of 2022 the majority of the largest markets in the US have at least one channel broadcasting NextGen TV. By the end of 2022, nearly all major and many minor markets will have multiple channels .
Here's the map of actual stations as of January 2022. Orange denotes stations that are live now. Blue is launching before summer. White sometime after the summer.
ATSC
How it will work in your home
Put simply: If you connect an antenna to your TV you will receive free programming, just like most people can get now. Yet, that is selling the potential benefits of NextGen TV short.
NextGen TV is IP-based, so in practice it can be moved around your home just like any internet content can right now. For example, you connect an antenna to a tuner box inside your home, but that box is not connected to your TV at all. Instead, it's connected to your router. This means anything with access to your network can have access to over-the-air TV, be it your TV, your phone, your tablet or even a streaming device like Apple TV. There will be traditional tuners as well, of course, but this is a new and interesting alternative.
This also means it's possible we'll see mobile devices with built-in tuners, so you can watch live TV while you're out and about, like you can with Netflix and YouTube now. How willing phone companies will be to put tuners in their phones remains to be seen, however. You don't see a lot of phones that can get radio broadcasts now, even though such a thing is easy to implement. We'll talk more about that in a moment.
'Voluntary'
In November of 2017, the Federal Communications Commission approved ATSC 3.0 as the next generation of broadcast standard, on a "voluntary, market-driven basis" (PDF). It also required stations to continue broadcasting ATSC 1.0 (i.e. "HD"). This is actually part of the issue as to why it's voluntary.
During the mandatory DTV transition in the early 2000s, stations in a city were given a new frequency (channel, in other words), to broadcast digital TV, while they still broadcast analog on their old channel. These older channels were eventually reclaimed by the FCC for other uses when the proverbial switch was flipped to turn off analog broadcasts. Since a changeover isn't occurring this time around, stations and markets are left to themselves how best to share or use the over-the-air spectrum in their areas.
Because there's no new bandwidth, broadcasters will temporarily share transmitters. Two or more stations will use one tower for ATSC 1.0 (HD) broadcasts and those stations will use another tower for ATSC 3.0 (UHD) broadcasts. This will mean a temporary reduction in bandwidth for each channel, but potentially a limited impact on picture quality due to the better modern HD encoders. More info here.
ATSC/TVTechnology.com
While it's not a mandatory standard, many broadcasters still seem enthusiastic about NextGen. At the beginning of the roll-out, then executive vice president of communications at the National Association of Broadcasters Dennis Wharton told CNET that the improvement in quality, overall coverage and the built-in safety features mean that most stations would be enthusiastic to offer ATSC 3.0.
John Hane, president of the Spectrum Consortium (an industry group with broadcasters Sinclair, Nexstar and Univision as members), was equally confident: "The FCC had to make it voluntary because the FCC couldn't provide transition channels. [The industry] asked the FCC to make it voluntary. We want the market to manage it. We knew the market would demand it, and broadcasters and hardware makers in fact are embracing it."
Given the competition broadcasters have with cable, streaming and so on, 3.0 could be a way to stabilize or even increase their income by offering better picture quality, better coverage and, most importantly, targeted ads.
Ah yes, targeted ads…
Broadcast TV will know what you're watching
One of NextGen TV's more controversial features is a "return data path," which is a way for the station you're watching to know you're watching. Not only does this allow a more accurate count of who's watching what shows, but it creates the opportunity for every marketer's dream: targeted advertising.
Ads specific to your viewing habits, income level and even ethnicity (presumed by your neighborhood, for example) could get slotted in by your local station. This is something brand-new for broadcast TV. Today, over-the-air broadcasts are pretty much the only way to watch television that doesn't track your viewing habits. Sure, the return data path could also allow "alternative audio tracks and interactive elements," but it's the targeted ads and tracking many observers are worried about.
The finer details are all still being worked out, but here's the thing: If your TV is connected to the internet, it's already tracking you. Pretty much every app, streaming service, smart TV and cable or satellite box all track your usage to a greater or lesser extent.
Return data path is still in the planning stages, even as the other aspects of NextGen TV are already going live. There is a silver lining: There will be an opt-out option. While it also requires Internet access, if this type of thing bothers you, just don't connect your TV or NextGen TV receiver to the internet. You will inevitably lose some of the other features of NextGen TV, however.
That said, we'll keep an eye on this for any further developments.
Free TV on your phone?
Another point of potential contention is getting ATSC 3.0 tuners into phones. At a most basic level, carriers like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are in the business of selling you data. If suddenly you can get lots of high-quality content for free on your phone, they potentially lose money. Ever wonder why your phone doesn't have an FM radio tuner? Same reason.
T-Mobile made a preemptive strike along those lines all the way back in September 2017, writing a white paper (PDF) that, among other things, claims, "In light of the detrimental effects that inclusion of ATSC 3.0 can have on the cost and size of a device, the technology trade-offs required to accommodate competing technologies, and the reduced performance and spectral efficiency that it will have for other mobile bands and services, the decision as to whether to include ATSC 3.0 in a device must be left to the market to decide."
"The market" determined you didn't need an FM tuner in your phone, and in the few phones that had an FM tuner, if you bought it through an American provider, it was almost always disabled.
TV broadcasters, on the other hand, are huge fans of ATSC 3.0 on mobile phones. It means more potential eyeballs and, incidentally, a guarantee of active internet access for that return data path. John Hane of the Spectrum Consortium feels that tuners built into phones is "inevitable," and that international adoption of ATSC 3.0 will help push it forward. Wharton says that the focus is getting TVs to work, but mobile is in the plan.
Then there's portable TVs, of which there are HD versions on the market and have been for years. The next-generation ATSC 3.0 versions of these will likely get better reception in addition to the higher resolution offered by the new standard.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Cost (for you)
NextGen TV is not backward compatible with current TV tuners. To get it, you'll eventually need either a new TV or an external tuner.
However, you shouldn't feel a push to upgrade since:
1. NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 isn't mandatory, and it doesn't affect cable, satellite or streaming TV.
2. HD tuners cost as little as $30 to $40 now, and NextGen TV tuners, which currently sell between $200 and $300, will eventually be cheap as well.
3. Even after they start NextGen broadcasts, stations will have to keep broadcasting regular old HD.
Here's the actual language:
"The programming aired on the ATSC 1.0 simulcast channel must be 'substantially similar' to the programming aired on the 3.0 channel. This means that the programming must be the same, except for programming features that are based on the enhanced capabilities of ATSC 3.0, advertisements and promotions for upcoming programs. The substantially similar requirement will sunset in five years from its effective date absent further action by the Commission to extend it."
In other words, the HD broadcast has to be essentially the same as the new 3.0 broadcast for five years, perhaps longer depending on future FCC actions.
Which brings us to point 3. By the time people had to buy them, HD tuners were inexpensive and are even more so now. The HD tuner I use is currently $26 on Amazon. The first generation NextGen tuners available now are more expensive than that, though they're not outrageous. We'll discuss those below. By the time anyone actually requires one, however, they'll almost certainly be affordable.
Which is good, because there aren't any planned subsidies this time around for people to get a tuner for cheap. I'm sure this is at least partly due to how few people actually still use OTA as their sole form of TV reception. Maybe this will change as more stations convert, but we're a ways away from that.
As you can see, there are lots of parts that need to get upgraded all along the chain before you can get 3.0 in your home.
ATSC/TVTechnology.com
Here's another way to think about it: The first HD broadcasts began in the mid-90s, but when did you buy your first HDTV? As far as the 3.0 transition is concerned we're in the late-90s, maybe generously the early 2000s, now. Things seem like they're moving at a much more rapid pace than the transition from analog to DTV/HDTV, but even so, it will be a long time before ATSC 3.0 completely replaces the current standard.
How to get NextGen right now
LG
If you want to check it out for yourself, many of you already can. The first stop is to go to WatchNextGenTV.com. That website will help you find what stations in your area are broadcasting, or which ones will soon.
Next up you'll need something to receive it. If you're in the market for a new TV there are several options available from Hisense, LG, Samsung, and Sony. Here's our list of all the 2022 TVs with built-in next-gen tuners.
If you want to check out NextGen TV without buying a new television, you'll need an external tuner. It's still early days, so there aren't many options.
The Tablo ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI DVR
Nuvvyo
At CES 2022 Nuvvyo announced the Tablo, a quad-tuner box that can connect to a TV directly, or transmit over a network to Rokus, Apple TVs, or computers on your home network.
The Silicon Dust has two models, the $199 HomeRun Flex 4K and the $279 HomeRun Scribe 4K. Both have ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuners.
If you want a more traditional tuner, BitRouter plans to start shipping its first ZapperBox M1 tuners in the spring. You can reserve one now for $249. It doesn't have internal storage, but BitRouter plans to add the ability to save content on network-attached storage, or NAS, devices via a firmware update. They also plan to add the ability to send the content around your home network, like what the Scribe 4K does.
Zapperbox
Then there's what to watch. Being early in the process, you're not going to find much 4K content, possibly not any. This was the same with the early years of HDTV. It's also going to vary per area. There is certainly a lot of 4K content being produced right now, and that has been the case for several years. So in that way, we're in better shape than we were in the early days of HD.
Basic and paid cable channels over-the-air?
One company is using the bandwidth and IP nature of NextGen to do something a little different. It's a hybrid paid TV service, sort of like cable/satellite, but using over-the-air broadcasts to deliver the content. It's called Evoca, and right now it's available only in Boise, Idaho. Edge Networks is the company behind it, and it wants to roll it out to other small markets where cable offerings are limited, and broadband speeds are slow or expensive.
It's an interesting idea for underserved and often forgotten-about markets.
Read more: Cable TV channels and 4K from an antenna?
Seeing the future
The transition from analog broadcasting to HD, if you count from the formation of the Grand Alliance to the final analog broadcast, took 16 years.
Though many aspects of technology move rapidly, getting dozens of companies, plus the governments of the US and many other countries, all to agree to specific standards, takes time. So does the testing of the new tech. There are a lot of cogs and sprockets that have to align for this to work, and it would be a lot harder to fix once it's all live.
But technology moves faster and faster. It's highly doubtful it will take 16 years to fully implement NextGen TV. As we mentioned at the top, dozens of stations are already broadcasting. Will every station in your city switch to NextGen TV? Probably not, but the bigger ones likely will. This is especially true if there are already other NextGen TV stations in your area. There's a potential here for stations to make additional money in the long run with 3.0, and that's obviously a big motivator.
There's also the question of how much content there will be. If it follows the HDTV transition model, big sporting events in 4K HDR will come first, followed by lots and lots of shows featuring nature scenes and closeups of bugs. Seriously -- this was totally a thing. Then we'll see a handful of scripted prime-time shows. My guess would be the popular, solidly profitable ones that are produced (not just aired) by networks like CBS and NBC.
So should you hold off buying a new TV? Nope, not unless you only get your shows over the air. And even if you do, by the time there's enough content to be interesting, there will be cheap tuner boxes you can connect to whatever TV you have.
For now, NextGen TV seems to be well on its way.
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.
He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.
Hisense debuts brighter mini led tvs and even more lasers at walmart hisense debuts brighter mini led tvs and even more lasers at academy hisense debuts brighter mini led tvs and even more lasers at harbor hisense debuts brighter mini led tvs and even more lasers rick hisense debuts brighter mini led lights hisense debuts brighter mini led flashlight hisense debuts brighter mini led christmas hisense debuts brighter minimum hisense debuts brighter mini golf hisense debuts brighter dental hisense debuts theater
Hisense debuts brighter mini-LED TVs and even more lasers at CES 2022
Hisense debuts brighter mini-LED TVs and even more lasers at CES 2022
This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon.
Hisense unveiled its 2022 range of televisions, which include models equipped with mini-LED backlights and a pair of so-called Laser TVs -- short-throw projectors with screens included. Some sets include new technologies such as NextGen ATSC 3.0 tuners and gaming-friendly HDMI 2.1 ports, and employ either the Google TV or the older Android TV system. All will be available by the middle of the year and unlike most CES 2022 announcements, Hisense detailed its pricing.
There are three main offerings: the ULED range, a selection of Laser TVs and the entry-level smart TV 'A' range. All of the TVs bar the smallest A4H models boast 4K resolution.
The ULED series is helmed by the U9H and U8H models, and both now include mini-LED backlights for higher brightness (up to 2,000 nits) and as many as 1,200 zones of local dimming. The U8H is an upgrade on last year's U8G which CNET's David Katzmaier said offered "more raw brightness than just about any I've reviewed." These TVs are followed by the midrange U7H and entry-level U6H.
The 120-inch L5G laser TV
Hisense
Last year, Hisense debuted its first dual-cell LCD – the U9DG – which promised better contrast than traditional LCD, but there is no word on a replacement for 2022.
Meanwhile, the PX1-PRO TriChroma Laser Cinema and L5G 4K TVs expand the company's laser TV offerings for 2022. These are short-throw laser projectors that take on models like the Samsung Premiere and include features such as Dolby Vision and Android TV. Prices start at $3,999 and unlike the rest of the range, the laser TVs are available right now.
Lastly, the standout of the A-series is the A7H which offers a massive 85 inches for $1,700 and will ship in the spring. Like the laser TVs, these models will feature the older Android TV OS instead of Google TV.
Here are the rest of the details on the new models, including the sizes and major step-up features for each one:
U9H Series
76-inch
2,000 nits of peak brightness
1,280 full-array local dimming zones
Auto low-latency mode, Game Mode Pro, variable refresh rate and FreeSync
Late summer 2022
$3,200
U8H Series
55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch
1,500 nits
Mid-summer 2022
Starting at $1,099
U7H Series:
55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch and 85-inch
Quantum Dot
FreeSync
120Hz
Mid-summer 2022
Starting at $800
U6H
55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch
60Hz
Integrated Google assistant
Summer 2022
Starting at $580
A7H, A6H and A4H Series
A7H, 85-inch, spring 2022, $1,700.
A6H, 43-inch/50-inch/55-inch/65-inch/70-inch, spring 2022, starting at $300
A4H, 32-inch/40-inch/43-inch, spring 2022, starting at $200
Laser TVs
PX1-PRO TriChroma Laser Cinema, $3,999
L5G 4K Smart Laser TV, $4,499 (100-inch) and $4,999 (120-inch)
§
NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, is continuing its rapid rollout across the country. Major markets like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Houston and more all have stations transmitting. Meanwhile New York, Boston, and many other markets are slated to have broadcasts later this year. While not every station in every market has a NextGen TV counterpart, more and more are coming on the air.
What's NextGen TV? It's an update to the free HDTV you can already get over-the-air in nearly every city in the US. There's no monthly fee, but you do need either a new TV with a built-in tuner or a standalone external tuner. The standard allows broadcast stations to send higher quality signals than ever before with features like 4K, HDR, 120 Hz, and more. ATSC 3.0 proponents also claim better reception indoors and on-the-go -- whether it's on your phone, or even in your car. The best part is that if you're watching it on your TV it uses the same standard antennas available today.
One potential downside? ATSC 3.0 will also let broadcasters track your viewing habits, information that can be used for targeted advertising, just like companies such as Facebook and Google use today.
Read more:Best TV antennas for cord cutters, starting at just $10
NextGen TV to you
ATSC.org
Here's the top-line info:
If you get your TV from streaming, cable or satellite, NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 won't affect you at all.
The transition is voluntary. Stations don't have to switch. Many have already, however, for reasons we'll explain below.
It's not backwards-compatible with the current HD standard (ATSC 1.0), so your current TV won't be able to receive it. Your current antenna should work fine though.
Stations that switch to NextGen TV will still have to keep broadcasting ATSC 1.0 for five years.
There are multiple models and sizes of TV with built-in tuners available now from Hisense, LG, Sony, Samsung and others.
As of the beginning of 2022 the majority of the largest markets in the US have at least one channel broadcasting NextGen TV. By the end of 2022, nearly all major and many minor markets will have multiple channels .
Here's the map of actual stations as of January 2022. Orange denotes stations that are live now. Blue is launching before summer. White sometime after the summer.
ATSC
How it will work in your home
Put simply: If you connect an antenna to your TV you will receive free programming, just like most people can get now. Yet, that is selling the potential benefits of NextGen TV short.
NextGen TV is IP-based, so in practice it can be moved around your home just like any internet content can right now. For example, you connect an antenna to a tuner box inside your home, but that box is not connected to your TV at all. Instead, it's connected to your router. This means anything with access to your network can have access to over-the-air TV, be it your TV, your phone, your tablet or even a streaming device like Apple TV. There will be traditional tuners as well, of course, but this is a new and interesting alternative.
This also means it's possible we'll see mobile devices with built-in tuners, so you can watch live TV while you're out and about, like you can with Netflix and YouTube now. How willing phone companies will be to put tuners in their phones remains to be seen, however. You don't see a lot of phones that can get radio broadcasts now, even though such a thing is easy to implement. We'll talk more about that in a moment.
'Voluntary'
In November of 2017, the Federal Communications Commission approved ATSC 3.0 as the next generation of broadcast standard, on a "voluntary, market-driven basis" (PDF). It also required stations to continue broadcasting ATSC 1.0 (i.e. "HD"). This is actually part of the issue as to why it's voluntary.
During the mandatory DTV transition in the early 2000s, stations in a city were given a new frequency (channel, in other words), to broadcast digital TV, while they still broadcast analog on their old channel. These older channels were eventually reclaimed by the FCC for other uses when the proverbial switch was flipped to turn off analog broadcasts. Since a changeover isn't occurring this time around, stations and markets are left to themselves how best to share or use the over-the-air spectrum in their areas.
Because there's no new bandwidth, broadcasters will temporarily share transmitters. Two or more stations will use one tower for ATSC 1.0 (HD) broadcasts and those stations will use another tower for ATSC 3.0 (UHD) broadcasts. This will mean a temporary reduction in bandwidth for each channel, but potentially a limited impact on picture quality due to the better modern HD encoders. More info here.
ATSC/TVTechnology.com
While it's not a mandatory standard, many broadcasters still seem enthusiastic about NextGen. At the beginning of the roll-out, then executive vice president of communications at the National Association of Broadcasters Dennis Wharton told CNET that the improvement in quality, overall coverage and the built-in safety features mean that most stations would be enthusiastic to offer ATSC 3.0.
John Hane, president of the Spectrum Consortium (an industry group with broadcasters Sinclair, Nexstar and Univision as members), was equally confident: "The FCC had to make it voluntary because the FCC couldn't provide transition channels. [The industry] asked the FCC to make it voluntary. We want the market to manage it. We knew the market would demand it, and broadcasters and hardware makers in fact are embracing it."
Given the competition broadcasters have with cable, streaming and so on, 3.0 could be a way to stabilize or even increase their income by offering better picture quality, better coverage and, most importantly, targeted ads.
Ah yes, targeted ads…
Broadcast TV will know what you're watching
One of NextGen TV's more controversial features is a "return data path," which is a way for the station you're watching to know you're watching. Not only does this allow a more accurate count of who's watching what shows, but it creates the opportunity for every marketer's dream: targeted advertising.
Ads specific to your viewing habits, income level and even ethnicity (presumed by your neighborhood, for example) could get slotted in by your local station. This is something brand-new for broadcast TV. Today, over-the-air broadcasts are pretty much the only way to watch television that doesn't track your viewing habits. Sure, the return data path could also allow "alternative audio tracks and interactive elements," but it's the targeted ads and tracking many observers are worried about.
The finer details are all still being worked out, but here's the thing: If your TV is connected to the internet, it's already tracking you. Pretty much every app, streaming service, smart TV and cable or satellite box all track your usage to a greater or lesser extent.
Return data path is still in the planning stages, even as the other aspects of NextGen TV are already going live. There is a silver lining: There will be an opt-out option. While it also requires Internet access, if this type of thing bothers you, just don't connect your TV or NextGen TV receiver to the internet. You will inevitably lose some of the other features of NextGen TV, however.
That said, we'll keep an eye on this for any further developments.
Free TV on your phone?
Another point of potential contention is getting ATSC 3.0 tuners into phones. At a most basic level, carriers like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are in the business of selling you data. If suddenly you can get lots of high-quality content for free on your phone, they potentially lose money. Ever wonder why your phone doesn't have an FM radio tuner? Same reason.
T-Mobile made a preemptive strike along those lines all the way back in September 2017, writing a white paper (PDF) that, among other things, claims, "In light of the detrimental effects that inclusion of ATSC 3.0 can have on the cost and size of a device, the technology trade-offs required to accommodate competing technologies, and the reduced performance and spectral efficiency that it will have for other mobile bands and services, the decision as to whether to include ATSC 3.0 in a device must be left to the market to decide."
"The market" determined you didn't need an FM tuner in your phone, and in the few phones that had an FM tuner, if you bought it through an American provider, it was almost always disabled.
TV broadcasters, on the other hand, are huge fans of ATSC 3.0 on mobile phones. It means more potential eyeballs and, incidentally, a guarantee of active internet access for that return data path. John Hane of the Spectrum Consortium feels that tuners built into phones is "inevitable," and that international adoption of ATSC 3.0 will help push it forward. Wharton says that the focus is getting TVs to work, but mobile is in the plan.
Then there's portable TVs, of which there are HD versions on the market and have been for years. The next-generation ATSC 3.0 versions of these will likely get better reception in addition to the higher resolution offered by the new standard.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Cost (for you)
NextGen TV is not backward compatible with current TV tuners. To get it, you'll eventually need either a new TV or an external tuner.
However, you shouldn't feel a push to upgrade since:
1. NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 isn't mandatory, and it doesn't affect cable, satellite or streaming TV.
2. HD tuners cost as little as $30 to $40 now, and NextGen TV tuners, which currently sell between $200 and $300, will eventually be cheap as well.
3. Even after they start NextGen broadcasts, stations will have to keep broadcasting regular old HD.
Here's the actual language:
"The programming aired on the ATSC 1.0 simulcast channel must be 'substantially similar' to the programming aired on the 3.0 channel. This means that the programming must be the same, except for programming features that are based on the enhanced capabilities of ATSC 3.0, advertisements and promotions for upcoming programs. The substantially similar requirement will sunset in five years from its effective date absent further action by the Commission to extend it."
In other words, the HD broadcast has to be essentially the same as the new 3.0 broadcast for five years, perhaps longer depending on future FCC actions.
Which brings us to point 3. By the time people had to buy them, HD tuners were inexpensive and are even more so now. The HD tuner I use is currently $26 on Amazon. The first generation NextGen tuners available now are more expensive than that, though they're not outrageous. We'll discuss those below. By the time anyone actually requires one, however, they'll almost certainly be affordable.
Which is good, because there aren't any planned subsidies this time around for people to get a tuner for cheap. I'm sure this is at least partly due to how few people actually still use OTA as their sole form of TV reception. Maybe this will change as more stations convert, but we're a ways away from that.
As you can see, there are lots of parts that need to get upgraded all along the chain before you can get 3.0 in your home.
ATSC/TVTechnology.com
Here's another way to think about it: The first HD broadcasts began in the mid-90s, but when did you buy your first HDTV? As far as the 3.0 transition is concerned we're in the late-90s, maybe generously the early 2000s, now. Things seem like they're moving at a much more rapid pace than the transition from analog to DTV/HDTV, but even so, it will be a long time before ATSC 3.0 completely replaces the current standard.
How to get NextGen right now
LG
If you want to check it out for yourself, many of you already can. The first stop is to go to WatchNextGenTV.com. That website will help you find what stations in your area are broadcasting, or which ones will soon.
Next up you'll need something to receive it. If you're in the market for a new TV there are several options available from Hisense, LG, Samsung, and Sony. Here's our list of all the 2022 TVs with built-in next-gen tuners.
If you want to check out NextGen TV without buying a new television, you'll need an external tuner. It's still early days, so there aren't many options.
The Tablo ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI DVR
Nuvvyo
At CES 2022 Nuvvyo announced the Tablo, a quad-tuner box that can connect to a TV directly, or transmit over a network to Rokus, Apple TVs, or computers on your home network.
The Silicon Dust has two models, the $199 HomeRun Flex 4K and the $279 HomeRun Scribe 4K. Both have ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuners.
If you want a more traditional tuner, BitRouter plans to start shipping its first ZapperBox M1 tuners in the spring. You can reserve one now for $249. It doesn't have internal storage, but BitRouter plans to add the ability to save content on network-attached storage, or NAS, devices via a firmware update. They also plan to add the ability to send the content around your home network, like what the Scribe 4K does.
Zapperbox
Then there's what to watch. Being early in the process, you're not going to find much 4K content, possibly not any. This was the same with the early years of HDTV. It's also going to vary per area. There is certainly a lot of 4K content being produced right now, and that has been the case for several years. So in that way, we're in better shape than we were in the early days of HD.
Basic and paid cable channels over-the-air?
One company is using the bandwidth and IP nature of NextGen to do something a little different. It's a hybrid paid TV service, sort of like cable/satellite, but using over-the-air broadcasts to deliver the content. It's called Evoca, and right now it's available only in Boise, Idaho. Edge Networks is the company behind it, and it wants to roll it out to other small markets where cable offerings are limited, and broadband speeds are slow or expensive.
It's an interesting idea for underserved and often forgotten-about markets.
Read more: Cable TV channels and 4K from an antenna?
Seeing the future
The transition from analog broadcasting to HD, if you count from the formation of the Grand Alliance to the final analog broadcast, took 16 years.
Though many aspects of technology move rapidly, getting dozens of companies, plus the governments of the US and many other countries, all to agree to specific standards, takes time. So does the testing of the new tech. There are a lot of cogs and sprockets that have to align for this to work, and it would be a lot harder to fix once it's all live.
But technology moves faster and faster. It's highly doubtful it will take 16 years to fully implement NextGen TV. As we mentioned at the top, dozens of stations are already broadcasting. Will every station in your city switch to NextGen TV? Probably not, but the bigger ones likely will. This is especially true if there are already other NextGen TV stations in your area. There's a potential here for stations to make additional money in the long run with 3.0, and that's obviously a big motivator.
There's also the question of how much content there will be. If it follows the HDTV transition model, big sporting events in 4K HDR will come first, followed by lots and lots of shows featuring nature scenes and closeups of bugs. Seriously -- this was totally a thing. Then we'll see a handful of scripted prime-time shows. My guess would be the popular, solidly profitable ones that are produced (not just aired) by networks like CBS and NBC.
So should you hold off buying a new TV? Nope, not unless you only get your shows over the air. And even if you do, by the time there's enough content to be interesting, there will be cheap tuner boxes you can connect to whatever TV you have.
For now, NextGen TV seems to be well on its way.
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.
He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.
Apple tv plus review small library but the quality is not good apple tv plus review small library but the quality is good apple tv plus review small library button apple tv plus reviews apple tv plus movies apple tv plus channels apple tv 4k
Apple TV Plus Review: Small Library but the Quality Is Topnotch
Apple TV Plus Review: Small Library but the Quality Is Topnotch
Apple made its official entry into the streaming wars in November 2019. Apple TV Plus debuted weeks before Disney Plus, putting both streaming services in the competitive spotlight. At $5 a month, Apple TV Plus is the lowest-priced premium, ad-free streaming platform around, but it still packs high-end features like 4K resolution, HDR and mobile downloads -- as well as some of Hollywood's biggest stars, such as Jennifer Aniston, Jason Momoa, Tom Hanks and Samuel L. Jackson.
One of the youngest streamers in the game, Apple TV Plus produces high quality, award-winning content. Its feature film CODA earned an Oscar, making it the first streaming service to win Best Picture. While the popular comedy show Ted Lasso has garnered multiple honors, other releases such as The Morning Show, Pachinko, The Tragedy of Macbeth and Severance showcase how Apple TV Plus invests in premium content.
Like
Low cost
Ad-free
Top-quality, star-studded originals
Mobile downloads
4K HDR and Dolby Vision and Atmos
Don't Like
Very small catalog
No older content
Unavailable on Android devices
Confusing app experience
The platform now has more than 60 original exclusive TV shows and movies and began streaming its first live sports events with Friday Night Baseball for Major League Baseball's 2022 season. But in some ways, the service is still an underdog. The number of titles on the streamer is tiny compared to Netflix, Disney Plus or HBO Max, in part because Apple TV Plus has almost no back catalog of shows and movies.
Whether the service is worth $5 a month for you -- or less, depending on whether you get it for free with a new Apple device or a discount as part of Apple's Apple One bundle -- depends on how excited you are to watch those originals. Its biggest breakout hit so far has been Ted Lasso, the Jason Sudeikis dramedy about an American football coach who gets hired to coach an English Premier League soccer team. Shows like Mythic Quest, Severance and Schmigadoon! have also garnered critical praise, but few have made cultural waves the way that, say, The Mandalorian did for Disney Plus.
All original content, nothing familiar to binge
Apple's current slate of original shows and movies includes comedies, dramas, documentaries and talk shows. At launch in 2019 it had only nine titles on the whole platform, with a strategy that seemed to be focused on keeping it small and high-quality. Its marquee drama, The Morning Show, which stars Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carrell, had a huge, $300 million reported budget.
Ted Lasso, a fish-out-of-water sports dramedy, has been one of Apple TV Plus' most popular shows.
Apple
For a while, that was the closest the platform had to a real breakout -- until Ted Lasso premiered in August 2020 and made the title character the world's midwestern sweetheart. Though Apple doesn't report viewership data, Deadline reported that Ted Lasso became the most-watched show on the platform in 2021 across all top 50 countries and that it greatly increased subscriptions. Other originals at launch included the postapocalyptic thriller See starring Jason Momoa, the alternative retelling of the space program For All Mankind and the Hailee Steinfeld-starring comedy Dickinson about poet Emily Dickinson.
New additions include the sci-fi spectacle Foundation, book adaptation The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray, historical drama Pachinko and the genre-bending series Severance. You'll find a few selections for kids, like Snoopy in Space, Luck, Amber Brown, and Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show but the catalog is definitely more adult-oriented.
Though you won't find a treasure trove of blockbuster films on the service, Apple Original Films partners with the studio A24 for theatrical and streaming productions. For example, The Tragedy of Macbeth debuted in movie theaters in December 2021 and landed on Apple TV Plus the following January. During Apple's Peek Performance event in March, the company announced a slate of new upcoming films and series. Viewers can soon watch Killers of the Flower Moon from Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese; the star-studded Argylle, featuring Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa and Samuel L. Jackson; and the Christmas comedy Spirited, starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.
Most Apple TV Plus series initially premiere a few episodes at once, followed by one new episode each week to keep you hooked. But sometimes the service drops a full season in one go, similar to Netflix. Ultimately the platform is hurt by its lack of a back catalog -- especially compared with NBC's streaming service, Peacock, which has a free tier with 13,000 hours of shows that include bingeable favorites like Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock.
Apple's strategy appears to be shifting. The company started acquiring older movies and TV shows to round out the service, but this remains very limited. So far, all we have is the 1980s Jim Henson TV series Fraggle Rock, as a complement to its own new series of shorts based on the show. But there hasn't been any other news about what an expanded back catalog will look like, or how it'll compare to those of competitors.
After adding Friday night games from Major League Baseball to its service earlier this year, the company seems to be leveling up its live sports offerings. In June, Apple struck a 10-year deal with Major League Soccer to stream matches on the Apple TV app. The catch? Only selected games will be available for Apple TV Plus subscribers.
Read more: Best TV Shows on Apple TV Plus
Severance scored 14 Emmy nominations this year.
Apple TV Plus
Top-tier features at a low price, but no Android phone or tablet support
You can't really beat Apple TV Plus in terms of the features. Its originals are available in 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound. Like Netflix, it's completely ad-free. You can share your subscription with up to five other people on your Apple Family plan and stream on up to six devices at once. You can download all shows to your mobile device to watch offline as well. It's available in 100 countries.
You can watch Apple TV Plus on any Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac), via AirPlay or SharePlay. You can also watch on your PC, Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV devices, Samsung, Panasonic, LG and Vizio smart TVs, as well as on the web at tv.apple.com.
Device support is narrower than most other major services, however. Apple TV Plus isn't available on any mobile devices except for iPhones and iPads, so owners of Android phones and tablets are out of luck. Since launch, Apple has added support for the PlayStation and Xbox -- and it does support some Android-powered TV devices, namely Chromecast with Google TV and Sony smart TVs.
Read more: New to Apple TV Plus? Here Are 9 of Its Coolest Hidden Features
Small selection, small price
Besides offering first-rate content, Apple TV Plus is attractive due to its low monthly price. For less than the cost of your average McDonald's combo meal, you can access every title on the platform for $5 per month. There are also a few ways to use the service for free.
New users can hop on a free seven-day trial or try out the service for free for 30 days with an Apple One bundle. The Apple One package allows you to have up to six Apple services depending on your account type. Additionally, if you purchase a new Apple device, you can receive Apple TV Plus free for three months, as long as you redeem the offer within 90 days. And if you have a T-Mobile Magenta wireless plan, the service is included for free for one year.
With the $5 monthly subscription to Apple TV Plus, up to six people can stream from one account and you can hold watch parties on FaceTime. Content is what will hold your attention, but compared to the world's other top streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus, the price is right.
Streaming Services Compared
Apple TV Plus
Netflix
HBO Max
Disney Plus
Hulu
Amazon Prime Video
Monthly price
$5
Starts at $10
$10 for basic with ads, $15 for ad-free
$8
Basic $7 with ads, ad-free Premium for $13, Live TV for $70
$9 (or included with $120-per-year Prime membership)
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, Reacher, The Wheel of Time
Mobile downloads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
4K HDR available
Yes
Yes (on Premium plan)
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Number of streams:
6
1 (2 for Standard, 4 on Premium)
3
4
2 (Unlimited with Live TV $9.99 add-on)
2
A confusing app experience
Apple TV Plus differs from other streaming services in that it doesn't live in its own app. Instead, you'll find the service inside the Apple TV app, alongside programming from other video subscriptions, as well as Apple iTunes movie and TV rentals and purchases.
In practice we found this arrangement confusing. When you enter the Apple TV app, the format is similar to other streaming services, letting you search by movies, TV shows, sports or kids. Though Apple TV Plus content is highlighted at the top of the screen, you'll see Apple TV originals mixed in with a ton of content available a la carte to buy, as well as stuff from other streaming services. At first glance, it looks like Apple TV comes with all of these shows and movies -- until you click on them and are taken to a purchase page.
You have to click on the Apple TV Plus "channel" to actually see the streaming service's offerings, which is a little confusing.
Sarah Tew/CNET
To see only Apple TV Plus content, you'll have to scroll to the Channels section of the app and click Apple TV Plus, which you'll find alongside others like Showtime, Starz and many others.
Within the channel, you'll see every show, but navigation isn't perfect. You'll find the following categories: latest originals, book adaptations, entire seasons, drama and comedy series, feature films, nonfiction series, kids and family... and that's it. No search bar, and no bar across the top where you can scroll between TV shows, movies and kids' programs that are strictly the Apple TV Plus brand, as you typically see with other streaming services. However, if you're using a mobile device such as an iPad or iPhone, there's an "Originals" icon at the bottom of the screen you can click to find branded content in that category.
You'll find the latest available trailers in the Coming Soon section, which is nice to give you an idea of what to look forward to. You'll also see a section called More From the Stars of Apple TV Plus, with black-and-white tiles of some of the big names on the platform (like Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington). Clicking one of those will take you to the Apple TV Plus show you can watch them in, as well as all of their other shows and movies on other platforms. Sort of handy, but ultimately not doing much more than IMDb in terms of connecting you to someone's body of work -- and then asking you to pay for it.
Once you select a show you'll see a large photo and the option to play the first episode or add it to your list. Underneath this section, you can scroll through the list of episodes for each season with or without having to use the drop-down menu.
The Apple TV Plus voice experience worked best on Apple TV and Roku. When on the home screen of either streaming box, when we said something like, "Watch Defending Jacob," the device would automatically open the Apple TV app and start the pilot episode, no second action needed. On the Amazon Fire TV stick, the voice command took us to another menu, where we'd have to manually select the show to watch. Otherwise, the experience was very similar across platforms.
Being a part of the Apple ecosystem can enhance your experience with the iPhone version: Under a More to Explore tab, you'll find show soundtracks and playlists in Apple Music and related books in Apple Books.
Apple TV Plus Originals feature big stars like Tom Hanks.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Should you get Apple TV Plus?
If you've bought an Apple device over the past year, or plan to do so once the iPhone 14 is released this fall, you're eligible for the free trial of Apple TV Plus -- and you should definitely take advantage of it. You (or your family) will likely find something you'd like to watch among the original shows and movies.
I'd recommend the free trial to see if any of Apple's originals strike your interest. (We can confirm that seven days is long enough to finish the first season of Ted Lasso.) If they do, $5 a month really isn't much to pay for high-quality content -- especially when most streaming services like Netflix are implementing price increases.
