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A long-in-the-works upgrade to broadcast television is now live in the same market as the government officials who approved its development. Three and a half years after the first test broadcasts began in Phoenix<\/a>, five DC-area stations just began airing NextGen TV<\/a> signals alongside their digital-TV broadcasts.<\/p>\n They include the local channels of the four major networks\u2013ABC-affiliated WJLA, NBC\u2019s WRC, Fox\u2019s WTTG, and CBS\u2019s Tegna\u2019s WUSA\u2013as well as Howard University\u2019s PBS member station WHUT, which is hosting<\/a> all five in its facilities in the District.\u00a0<\/p>\n NextGen TV\u2013originally known as ATSC 3.0, after the Advanced Television Systems Committee<\/a> that governs this and the earlier ATSC 1.0 digital-TV standard\u2013gets DTV up to speed with the two decades of digital progress that followed its development in the late 1990s.<\/p>\n This Internet Protocol-based standard uses much more efficient compression (one reason WHUT has the capacity for four other stations' signals) and delivers better picture quality that can include HDR and 4K UHD resolution, audio upgrades like surround sound and the ability to enhance dialog over background noise, more robust reception, upgraded emergency alerts, and onscreen interactivity that stations expect will include more precisely targeted advertising.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The FCC proposed<\/a> the standard back in 2017, with large-scale deployment beginning in 2020<\/a>. The addition of these five stations, by TV Technology\u2019s count<\/a>, brings the total number of NextGen TV markets in the US to 39\u2014with such major markets as Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York still in a to-do phase.\u00a0<\/p>\n The availability of compatible sets\u2014existing TVs can\u2019t pick up these signals without a NextGen tuner\u2014has lagged behind broadcast support<\/a> but has improved considerably since the start of the year<\/a>. The list at WatchNextGenTV.com<\/a> now features several dozen models from LG, Samsung, and Sony, with the cheapest among them being a 43-inch Sony<\/a> discounted to $450.<\/p>\n Because the newNextGen TV channels in DC don\u2019t occupy the same frequencies as their DTV predecessors, Washington-area viewers with compatible sets will need to rescan the airwaves to map these new signals and, in WHUT\u2019s case, to continue receiving its DTV broadcasts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sign up for What's New Now<\/strong> to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.<\/p>\n This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRecommended by Our Editors<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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