The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of NEXTGEN TV

An Update on the New IP-based TV Broadcast System That Promises Many New Features

- Michael Heiss

ATSC 3.0, also known as NEXTGEN TV, is a totally new IP-based TV broadcast system that can do many things that ATSC 1.0 (FCC approved in1993) cannot do: 4K and HDR video, multiple captioning options, targeted emergency alerts, immersive sound such as Dolby Atmos, more closed captioning options, special in-program supplemental material such as sports stats, and much more.

That’s the promise anyway. The reality is that you probably will not see all of these ATSC 3.0 features right away from broadcasters, and some stations might not implement them at all.

NEXTGEN TV is still relatively new, so you probably have some questions about it. In this article, let’s answer some of them using the same technique that your high school English teachers taught you about writing write a term paper or book report. If you’ve forgotten, that involves addressing the “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” of the topic at hand.

Perhaps the question most asked is “Why?” “Why do we need a new broadcast TV system in a world of cord-cutting, and isn’t the system we have good enough?”

That “Who” may well be you. With pricing for cable and streaming services continuing to rise, shouldn’t something that is, by definition, free a good deal? Think about it. Now that there are ad-supported versions of some of the streaming services, why pay a news, sports and entertainment programming that you can receive at no charge? That answers the “Who” and part of the “Why”.