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Meta's Next VR Headset Is Coming In October: What We Know About Meta Cambria, Aka Quest Pro

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Meta's Next VR Headset Is Coming In October: What We Know About Meta Cambria, aka Quest Pro

Meta's Next VR Headset Is Coming In October: What We Know About Meta Cambria, aka Quest Pro

The Oculus Quest 2 (now called Meta Quest 2) has become a surprisingly successful virtual reality headset and remains our favorite VR device despite being two years old and suddenly more expensive. What will Meta, the former Facebook, do for its encore? The company is expected to release four new headsets over the next few years, but the next on deck is coming this October, according to an interview with Meta head Mark Zuckerberg on Joe Rogan's podcast.

The headset, called "Project Cambria," was announced last year. Don't expect it to be a true sequel to the Quest 2, though. Instead, it should be a Quest Pro much like what Mark Zuckerberg told CNET back in 2021.

Project Cambria looks to be a far more expensive and advanced sort of AR/VR hybrid headset, a bridge device that could be an amazing VR device, but could also enable mixed reality combining video from the real world with VR via improved cameras.

Cambria will also add new sensor technology (notably, eye tracking and face tracking) that could introduce new possibilities for interacting in VR and animating your avatar. But that eye tracking brings questions about data privacy, too.

Mark Zuckerberg wearing headset and smiling while trying Meta Cambria — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showing a brief glimpse of the next-gen headset via Facebook.
Facebook

Stand-alone, like the Quest 2

Yes, Cambria looks to be a stand-alone device like Quest 2. But, also like Quest 2, expect it to optionally connect to PCs and, to some extent, phones. Early reported design mockups show a design that seems smaller than the Quest 2, but a larger battery could mean more weight. Meta has already confirmed the headset will be more compact where the lenses meet the face, using "pancake lenses" that can compress the distance needed to create convincing 3D effects.

The larger battery seems like it could sit on the back of the headset, creating a design that looks more like Microsoft's Hololens 2, an augmented reality headset, than Meta's existing Oculus VR goggles. VR devices like the HTC Vive Focus 3 (and Meta's own battery strap accessory for Quest 2) put batteries on the back of the headset, too.

While recent reports like those from The Information call Cambria a "laptop for your face," suggesting more self-contained power, expect the headset to connect with computers for more powerful applications much like the Quest 2 can do right now.

More sensors

Mark Zuckerberg, in a conversation with CNET last year, told me that a pro version of the Quest would focus on more sensor technology. Eye and face tracking are already known, but it's possible that Cambria will allow for more health and fitness tracking. Fitness has been a major focus for Meta's VR platforms, and the company's already acquired a subscription fitness service that measures heart rate through a paired Apple Watch. (The Oculus Move app syncs with Apple Health.) Meta is also reportedly working on its own smartwatch.

How will it mix reality?

Project Cambria's improved external cameras will capture passthrough color video, showing it on the headset's internal display. The Quest 2 can "see through" and show the outside world, too, but in a grainy black and white video feed. The Quest 2 overlays some VR with this feed, like room boundaries, creating a type of mixed reality. Expect Meta Cambria to do this far more realistically.

Mark Zuckerberg gave a brief demo of the headset's possibilities back in May via Facebook.

I've already tried one example of this tech on a very high-end VR headset made by a Finnish company called Varjo. The Varjo XR-3 uses lidar and cameras to scan the real world; it then layers VR into it in a way that can look almost as convincing as the effects in AR headsets made by Microsoft and Magic Leap. I'd expect Meta Cambria to try for something very similar.

Meta's aspirations for future AR glasses haven't been realized yet, but the Cambria could end up being a toolkit for developers to make AR-type experiences that could also use hand (and eye) tracking.

Another glimpse of Project Cambria. — Facebook's next VR headset will have face tracking and eye tracking.
Facebook

How will eye tracking work?

We don't know the specifics, but most eye tracking in VR works in a similar way: Infrared cameras measure eye movement, while some trackers also capture images of your eye. Eye tracking does a few pretty useful things: Foveated rendering can create better graphics with less processing power by only showing the highest-res details where the fovea of your eyes is looking, potentially meaning better battery life or performance in a smaller headset.

Eye tracking can also be used to create more realistic eye contact for avatars, and to combine with hand tracking and controllers to improve control accuracy. It could even mean better accessibility for people who don't have full mobility, using only eye controls to operate the VR interface.

Meta looks to be adding face tracking cameras as well as eye tracking, which could be used to map emotions and facial expressions into avatars. But all of this tracking comes with additional privacy questions. While Meta has promised transparency and limits to how tracking data is used, Facebook's history of userdata abuse leaves a lot of concerns.

Mark Zuckerberg promises new avatars coming soon: will they be be more expressive, or more awkward?

Better avatars, maybe?

Zuckerberg promises that this headset will animate avatars more realistically, and could come along with upgraded Meta avatars. Mark Zuckerberg's latest cartoonish avatar in Horizon Worlds became a widely mockedmeme, but will eye tracking and better graphics make interactions feel better than what's currently possible? Meta's going to make this a big part of Cambria's efforts, but how the next headset's upgraded avatar controls interface with the rest of Quest 2 owners isn't clear.

Odds are, it won't be as much of a game console

If the Cambria headset is more than $800, there's no way it will be as popular as the Quest 2 is now. Meta seems to be hinting that's not the point of Cambria, which means that game developers may not be as focused on the new hardware.

Facebook has a history of funding lots of gaming and art projects on its VR platforms, but it sounds like Cambria may not be about debuting new games. Instead, Meta will likely focus on a wide range of business, training, fitness and AR-crossover apps to help build its metaverse visions. In that sense, current Quest 2 owners might already have the best VR game console for a while (until the PlayStation VR 2 arrives in 2023, at least).

The Information's latest report on the Meta Cambria reinforces that this headset's greatest strengths -- better display resolution, eye tracking, passthrough mixed reality -- will be tools to advance Meta's vision for work and the future of VR. Look to competing high-end VR and AR products like the Vive Focus 3, Hololens 2 and Varjo's headsets, where professional uses are the clear goal. Meta's had great success appealing to gamers, but it'll have a harder time convincing workplaces to adopt its tech.

The Quest 2 and controllers — The Quest 2, released in 2020, is still one of our favorite headsets. It may not get replaced until 2023.
Scott Stein/CNET

Should you buy a Quest 2 now or wait for Cambria (or a future Quest 3)?

A true successor to the Quest 2 may not happen until 2023, based on recent reports. That Quest 3 is expected to be a headset that would compete at the same price as the Quest 2, and possibly replace it, but not this year. Cambria, however, is not expected to be that headset. If the Cambria headset is as high-priced as Meta says it is, it probably won't even be competing with the Quest 2 for most shoppers. Instead, it may be more about pushing more advanced features (eye tracking, mixed reality, better display quality) that could eventually trickle down into more affordable products later.

Keep the concepts of "Cambria" and "Quest 3" separate in your head, and it'll help you plan your buying decisions. Cambria may only end up appealing to enthusiast and pro users with money to spend. I don't expect any VR headset to be able to compete with Quest 2's $400 price anytime soon, except for maybe Tiktok parent company ByteDance's upcoming Pico headset.

The Quest 2 is still a fantastic headset for its price, and Meta keeps updating the software with new features regularly. Unless you're a professional eager for a top-end headset at any price, you probably don't need to wait for whatever Cambria ends up becoming later this year. However, if you have a PlayStation 5, you might want to wait and see what the PlayStation VR 2 is like.

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Cost Plus Drugs: Mark Cuban's Pharmacy Startup Sells Ultra-Cheap Medications

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Cost Plus Drugs: Mark Cuban's Pharmacy Startup Sells Ultra-Cheap Medications

Cost Plus Drugs: Mark Cuban's Pharmacy Startup Sells Ultra-Cheap Medications

What's happening

Mark Cuban started a company that offers generic versions of medications at extremely low prices. A recent study calculated that Medicare could save billions with this business model.

Why it matters

Life-saving prescription drugs in the United States are often too expensive, especially for people without insurance.

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban's new company, which publicly launched in January, is selling hundreds of generic, commonly used medications with absolutely massive cost cuts. And I mean massive. Perusing the price tags will make your jaw drop.

The generic version of Actos -- prescribed for patients with diabetes and typically sold for $74.40 at standard pharmacies -- is available for $6.60 for 30 pills, according to the website. The generic version of Apriso -- prescribed for patients with gastrointestinal disease and sold for $122.70 at standard pharmacies -- goes for $36.60 for 30 pills.

And that's just a snippet. The medication ledger of the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (yes, that's the full name) is long. The drugs treat conditions ranging from mild migraines to acid reflux to cancer to neurological disorders. Cost Plus Drugs also sells the generic versions of a variety of mental health medications like Wellbutrin, used to treat depression, and Adapin, sometimes prescribed for anxiety.

Overall, Cost Plus Drugs appears to operate in the name of combatting a few very pressing public health issues in the United States. "If you don't have insurance or have a high deductible plan, you know that even the most basic medications can cost a fortune," Cuban said in the company's mission statement.

"Every American should have access to safe, affordable medicines," he adds, and "we also think that it is just as important to introduce transparency to the pricing of drugs so patients know they are getting a fair price."

With regard to the latter, the Cost Plus Drugs website outlines precisely what you might be wondering right now. How is it possible to slash drug prices?

The mechanics of Cost Plus

Generally, it's pretty complicated how prescription drugs -- like Humira, meant for patients with Crohn's Disease, or the EpiPen, employed to treat severe allergic reactions on-the-spot -- are priced.

There are a lot of moving parts behind-the-scenes, involving the drug companies themselves and insurers, to name just two. But at the end of the day, the cost of name-brand medication reflects its demand.

That means prices aren't necessarily dictated by what it took for drug manufacturers to gather ingredients and do the work to actually make the medication. And while the cost of research is sometimes used to justify high prices, a 2016 study found that "there is no evidence of an association between research and development costs and prices; rather, prescription drugs are priced in the United States primarily on the basis of what the market will bear."

For instance, EpiPen raised its price by 500% between 2007 and 2016, though that's definitely a more extreme example of such a change.

Further, when compared with global prescription drug prices, "there are many economic factors at work that lead the US to pay two-to-six times more for prescription drugs than other countries," John Clark, clinical associate professor at the College of Pharmacy and director of pharmacy services at Michigan Medicine, said in 2020. Those factors are also hidden within the complex ins and outs of drug manufacturing in the first place.

Cost Plus Drugs has quite a different approach from the norm.

First, the company aims to remove all the elusive complexities behind drug manufacturing. Second, it intends notto charge much more than manufacturing costs.

"Every product we sell is priced exactly the same way," Cuban said in the mission statement. "Our cost plus 15%, plus the pharmacy fee, if any."

As an example, Cost Plus Drugs' cost for albendazole, which treats tapeworms, is $26.08 per course, which is then marked up by 15% for company costs to equal a total of $30. Add on the pharmacy fee of $3 and you get a grand total of $33. That's the final price, the company states, not including shipping.

And, per Cuban, the company also has a second method of keeping costs as low as possible: Cost Plus Drugs doesn't intend to spend any money on marketing, but rather rely on word-of-mouth.

"We started this company as an effort to disrupt the drug industry and to do our best to end ridiculous drug prices," he said in his statement.

Medicare could save billions

Like many experts, Harvard Medical School researchers were intrigued by this ultra-money-saving pharmaceutical endeavor -- which is why they decided to quantify exactly how helpful these low-cost drugs would be on a larger scale.

They conducted a study, published in June in the Annals of Internal Medicine, to calculate how much money Medicare could have saved in one year if all the generic drugs they offered to patients came from Cost Plus Drugs instead of pharmaceutical companies with standard retail prices.

In short, billions.

For 109 generic medications sold by Cost Plus Drugs on Feb. 8 of this year, the research team identified the price -- including pharmacy dispensing and shipping fees -- for the minimum and maximum quantities available to sell in bulk. Minimum quantity referred to 30 count, and maximum to 90 count.

Then, the team looked up 2020 Medicare Part D spending for 89 of those 109 drugs. They left out 20 because those were the ones deemed incomparable to parallel, retail generic medication at a close-enough degree.

After adjusting all collected prices to remove any confounding variables, like ingredient cost between 2020 and 2022, the team concluded that if Medicare purchased generic drugs in the maximum quantity supplied by Cost Plus Drugs, it could have saved $3.6 billion on 77 of 89 generic drugs in just the year 2020. If Medicare purchased them in the minimum quantity, it could have saved $1.7 billion on 42 of 89 of the drugs.

The team also said this is a conservative estimate because, since this analysis, Cost Plus Drugs had added a bunch more medications. Nevertheless, the study said, "our findings suggest that Medicare is overpaying for many generic drugs."

Source

TV Shopping? Consider Buying A 2021 TV (and Save Money)

TV Shopping? Consider buying a 2021 TV (and Save Money)

TV Shopping? Consider buying a 2021 TV (and Save Money)

What's happening

New 2022 TV models are now available, but plenty of 2021 TVs are still out there.

Why it matters

2022 TVs might be newer, but they're also more expensive and have similar features to the 2021 models. You'll save money right now by grabbing a 2021 unit. Or wait until the fall when 2022 TVs will be on sale.

If you're looking to get a new TV without breaking the bank, opting for last year's model or waiting a few months until prices drop on 2022 models are your best bets to get all the features you want while still saving money. That's because TVs are a mature technology, which means that new, groundbreaking features don't come out every single year. Changes are incremental, with new models adding only minor updates year-over-year. For example, a 2021 TV at a given size or price will generally have similar picture quality and features to its 2022 counterpart. There are still deals on 2021 TVs, which are significantly less expensive than the current models.

When deciding which TV to buy and when, everyone should know about the annual television pricing cycle. It starts at CES, the huge tech show that happens every January, when new TVs (plus other tech like laptops and car technology) are announced each year. Later in the spring and summer -- basically now -- many of the new models are already on the shelves. But those new sets are at their highest prices of the year. During the fall, manufacturers start slashing prices to make way for next year's crop of new TVs.

If you want the latest and greatest technology you're probably already set on a 2022 model and you'll certainly be able to save money on those in the fall. But if you're looking to get a new TV right now, scooping up a deal on a 2021 set is going to be the most affordable option. Just know that you'll probably have to jump on a bargain when you see them, as eventually manufacturers will sell out of their 2021 models.

Read more: LG C1 vs. LG C2: Which OLED TV Should You Buy?

a95k-lifestyle-front-position — Sony and Samsung TVs with QD-OLED, a new technology promising better picture quality, are expensive and only available in 55- and 65-inch sizes.
Sony

If I buy a 2021 model now, what new features am I missing?

To put it succinctly, not too much. There's always something new around the corner, but changes from year-to-year are usually incremental. If you worry about missing out on the latest and greatest tech, it should give you peace of mind that even if something really new hits the market, it's going to be very expensive.

New QD-OLED TVs from Samsung and Sony are a good example. They combine OLED displays with quantum dot technology, and claim higher brightness and better color compared to current OLED TVs. One of these new sets might sound enticing, but QD-OLEDs come with a premium price tag, so they might be tough to recommend over more-affordable OLEDs like the LG C2.

Read more: QD-OLED: Everything We Know About the Newest TV Tech From Samsung and Sony

In 2022, traditional OLED TVs are arriving in untraditional sizes. This year, LG introduced the 42-inch C2 Series TV, the smallest OLED on the market, while also laying claim to the largest OLED available with the 97-inch G2 TV.

p1055558 — New for 2022, LG's OLED C2 now comes in 42- and 97-inch sizes.
Richard Peterson/CNET

Mini-LED TVs are also on the rise and could deliver close-to-OLED picture quality, but the new models we know about so far will also be expensive. The Sony Z9K and X95K are the company's first models with mini-LED, and the TCL X925pro has a new kind of slimmer mini-LED backlight, but none of them will be cheap. Samsung, TCL and Vizio are expected to announce more TVs later this year, many of which will use mini-LED, but we doubt they'll offer huge improvements over the 2021 models.

Also rolling out across the country is NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0. This is free over-the-air 4K TV, and it's moving forward quite quickly -- it might already be available in your city. In 2022 we'll see more TVs with built-in tuners that cost less than ever. Don't feel you need to rush to upgrade, or get those specific models however, since in the worst case you'll be able to buy a cheap external tuner and connect that to your TV.

Read more: Gaming Modes, Webcams and QD-OLED: Which 2022 TV Trends Stand Out?

There's also HDMI 2.1. While 2.1 has several new technologies that are great, it's not going to make any current TVs obsolete (unless it's a current 8K TV, but that's yet another story). As long as your current TV works with your current sources, you should be fine.

Really old TVs, older than 10 years, might have issues connecting to modern streaming and disc sources, but there's no real workaround for that. If your TV doesn't work with a new Roku or Blu-ray player, then you might need to upgrade if you want to use one of those.

Do I need to upgrade?

Forget all the new tech. If your TV works and you're happy with it, keep it. Don't feel any pressure to upgrade.

Modern TVs are, on average, brighter and have better picture quality than the TVs from a few years ago. Unless you're the type of videophile who wants to tweak every setting and fixates on nits and color accuracy, however, you probably don't need a new TV.

The pressure to upgrade is pervasive in our tech culture, but TVs tend to last (and be perfectly functional) longer than most devices. They don't, for example, have batteries that lose capacity like mobile phones -- or have wires that wear out like headphones. A TV from five or even 10 years ago likely works fine, though it might not look as good as the current 4K HDR TVs. So again, if that's not a huge deal for you, you can likely keep what you have for a few more years.

Read more: Best TVs for PS5 and Xbox Series X, Series S

This is even true when considering new consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. If you've got a PS4, Xbox One or any console connected via HDMI, the new consoles should work fine. They might look better on a new TV, but they'll still look great on yours.

If your TV is having issues, or you just want something larger, that's a different story. New TVs are much cheaper per inch than TVs of the past. You'll be able to replace your current TV with something the same size, looks better and is cheaper than your old TV. Or you can pay the same amount as your old TV and get something that's far bigger.

When is the best time to buy a TV?

TV sales are the biggest in the fall and culminate on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There are always some incredibly cheap 4K TVs on offer, but that's not the whole story.

First of all, the TVs that get the huge discounts are usually either no-name brands, or low-end models from name brands. They're fine if you just want a cheap TV, but they're not going to offer the picture quality of an even slightly higher-end model. The best TVs go on sale as well, but deep discounts on those are less common.

Entrance of a Best Buy store during a day with blue clear — TV sales happen all year, but Black Friday season sees the biggest discounts.
Roberto Machado Noa/Getty Images

Second, massive discounts on TVs are rare in general. It might be counterintuitive, but TVs typically don't have much mark-up. There isn't a lot of profit in a $500 TV. So unless the store is trying to clear out stock, you shouldn't expect a gigantic drop in price even during sales. Plenty of good discounts are available, they're just not going to be "50% off" or similar, unless there's a specific reason that model is getting such an extreme discount. Or it's a doorbuster in limited quantities.

Third, most big companies don't allow stores to offer their own pricing. This is called UPP, or unilateral pricing policy. It means that a TV from that company is going to cost the same, whether it's on Amazon, in Best Buy, or anywhere else. Well, anywhere else that wants to continue selling TVs from that company. If this sounds sketchy, it is, but that's a topic for a different article.

the-frame-3 — The Samsung Frame may look sophisticated, but your current TV might work just as well.
Samsung

All in all, is it worth upgrading my TV?

Here's the short version:

Get a new TV now if:

Your current TV is having issues, or is too old to connect to a streaming service like Netflix.
You're willing to buy from a place that has a price-match policy, in case there's a sale.
You want something bigger than what you have now.

Don't get a TV now if:

Your current TV works fine.
There's literally anything else you need or want to spend money on.

If you've got the itch for something new, but you're still on the fence, consider giving your TV a bit of a makeover. If you've never adjusted the settings, it's easy to do and will probably make your TV look better than it ever has. That might tide you over for a bit.

And if you finally decide that, yes, you're ready to buy a new TV now, we at CNET do have some guidelines and suggested models.

As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff Morrison does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, airplane graveyards and more.

You can follow his exploits on Instagram and his travel video series on YouTube. He also wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel.

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 .

atsc-3-stations-2022 — 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.

atsc-transmitter-sharing — 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.

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.

atsc-upgrade-path — 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

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.

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.

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.

Source

TV Shopping? Consider Buying A 2021 TV (and Save Money)

Tv buying guide 2021 how to buy a tv 2021 tv buyers guide 2021 how to buy a new tv 2021 television buying guide 2021 at home tv shopping channels uk tv shopping uk

TV Shopping? Consider buying a 2021 TV (and Save Money)

TV Shopping? Consider buying a 2021 TV (and Save Money)

What's happening

New 2022 TV models are now available, but plenty of 2021 TVs are still out there.

Why it matters

Read more: LG C1 vs. LG C2: Which OLED TV Should You Buy?

If I buy a 2021 model now, what new features am I missing?

Read more: QD-OLED: Everything We Know About the Newest TV Tech From Samsung and Sony

Read more: Gaming Modes, Webcams and QD-OLED: Which 2022 TV Trends Stand Out?

Do I need to upgrade?

Forget all the new tech. If your TV works and you're happy with it, keep it. Don't feel any pressure to upgrade.

Read more: Best TVs for PS5 and Xbox Series X, Series S

When is the best time to buy a TV?

TV sales are the biggest in the fall and culminate on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There are always some incredibly cheap 4K TVs on offer, but that's not the whole story.

All in all, is it worth upgrading my TV?

Here's the short version:

Get a new TV now if:

Your current TV is having issues, or is too old to connect to a streaming service like Netflix.
You're willing to buy from a place that has a price-match policy, in case there's a sale.
You want something bigger than what you have now.

Don't get a TV now if:

Your current TV works fine.
There's literally anything else you need or want to spend money on.

And if you finally decide that, yes, you're ready to buy a new TV now, we at CNET do have some guidelines and suggested models.

You can follow his exploits on Instagram and his travel video series on YouTube. He also wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel.

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 .

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.

'Voluntary'

Ah yes, targeted ads…

Broadcast TV will know what you're watching

That said, we'll keep an eye on this for any further developments.

Free TV on your phone?

"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.

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.

How to get NextGen right now

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.

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.

Basic and paid cable channels over-the-air?

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.

For now, NextGen TV seems to be well on its way.

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.

Source

what does it mean to mark up a price

Meta's Next VR Headset Is Coming In October: What We Know About Meta Cambria, Aka Quest Pro

Meta's Next VR Headset Is Coming In October: What We Know About Meta Cambria, aka Quest Pro

Stand-alone, like the Quest 2

More sensors

How will it mix reality?

How will eye tracking work?

Better avatars, maybe?

Odds are, it won't be as much of a game console

Should you buy a Quest 2 now or wait for Cambria (or a future Quest 3)?

Cost Plus Drugs: Mark Cuban's Pharmacy Startup Sells Ultra-Cheap Medications

Cost Plus Drugs: Mark Cuban's Pharmacy Startup Sells Ultra-Cheap Medications

What's happening

Why it matters

The mechanics of Cost Plus

Medicare could save billions

TV Shopping? Consider Buying A 2021 TV (and Save Money)

TV Shopping? Consider buying a 2021 TV (and Save Money)

What's happening

Why it matters

If I buy a 2021 model now, what new features am I missing?

Do I need to upgrade?

When is the best time to buy a TV?

All in all, is it worth upgrading my TV?

NextGen TV to you

How it will work in your home

'Voluntary'

Broadcast TV will know what you're watching

Free TV on your phone?

Cost (for you)

How to get NextGen right now

Basic and paid cable channels over-the-air?

Seeing the future

Tags:

TV Shopping? Consider Buying A 2021 TV (and Save Money)

TV Shopping? Consider buying a 2021 TV (and Save Money)

What's happening

Why it matters

If I buy a 2021 model now, what new features am I missing?

Do I need to upgrade?

When is the best time to buy a TV?

All in all, is it worth upgrading my TV?

NextGen TV to you

How it will work in your home

'Voluntary'

Broadcast TV will know what you're watching

Free TV on your phone?

Cost (for you)

How to get NextGen right now

Basic and paid cable channels over-the-air?

Seeing the future

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