I hope the answer is a definitive "no," because my current TVs work just fine. 

But if the National Association of Broadcasters in the U.S. gets its way, Americans would be forced to buy a brand new TV or a converter of some kind by making ATSC 3.0 the new standard for over-the-air broadcasting and turning off the old one (1.0) by 2028.

So-called "Next Gen TV" gives broadcasters a host of advantages. Like on the Internet, it can allow commercials targeted just to you, let you access info on a show or a product, and it's said to vastly improve the quality of an already pretty good HD picture.

But it would also mean most of your DVR recording equipment would be rendered obsolete and they could even make it impossible for you to record any shows. Not to mention the price of replacing one or more television sets. 

If they do it in the States, you know we will eventually be forced to follow suit, so Canadians likely won't escape this burden for long, not to mention potentially losing access to OTA channels from down south. 

"The proposal, sent to the FCC and its chairman Brendan Carr on Tuesday, would require broadcasters in the top 55 TV markets (note: Buffalo is #51, with Detroit at #11) to wind down their ATSC 1.0 signal by 2028, with the remaining stations being forced to transition to ATSC 3.0 — also known as “NextGen TV” — on a full-time basis two years later. 

“Taking into account annual viewing patterns, it is feasible and desirable for the top 55 markets to complete a transition to ATSC 3.0 on a single date in February 2028,” the NAB wrote in its petition. “An additional 18-24 months would provide sufficient time for all remaining stations to complete the work necessary to transmit in ATSC 3.0. Therefore, NAB proposes that the remaining markets should transition in or before February 2030.”

As usual, no one but the NAB asked for this and if polled, I'm sure most of us are happy with what we already have. If these guys get their way, the future will be either a very dark screen or a giant step backwards. Not to mention several new TVs with features you may not like. 

No thanks. 

Broadcast group wants FCC to mandate ATSC 3.0 switchover by 2030