1 of 1- RadioActive
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If You Don't Have To Buy A New Set, Will You Buy Into ATSC 3.0?
I still don't quite get the point of trying to force TV watchers to head to yet another new standard, not long after they forced you to buy a new television to keep watching HD broadcasts.
ATSC 3.0 is the next standard in signals, and it comes with some advantages - and at least one huge problem. The technology promises better picture (I'm pretty happy with HD to be honest) and interactive features, including game playing, music channels, addressable commercials and more.
But it also brings digital rights management to your living room, meaning if they so choose, you won't be able to record a show for later viewing. Or they can stop you from watching an over-the-air broadcast if you haven't subscribed. In other words, changing free TV to a cable-like model - pay up or you can't watch.
While I really doubt governments would ever let it get that far, given the expected outcry from the public, some manufacturers are looking for a compromise.
Which brings us to the Consumer Electronics Show, where new gadgets have appeared to make your current set ATSC 3.0 ready without having to buy a new one. The details on that - and a new kind of DVR that will make it possible to record those shows - is outlined below.
But I still hope this never happens. It's great for them, but horrible for the rest of us. And I don't want it.
How ATSC 3.0 aims to win over cord-cutters in 2026
- Shorty Wave
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Re: If You Don't Have To Buy A New Set, Will You Buy Into ATSC 3.0?
We have bought four different TVs in the past 20+ years, each time to upgrade. To be honest, I am quite happy with the last set we got and hopefully it will last a few years as I’m in no hurry to buy a new one, ATSC 3.0 or otherwise! However, I wouldn’t mind attending CES one day, bucket list!
- mace
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Re: If You Don't Have To Buy A New Set, Will You Buy Into ATSC 3.0?
I'm with Rogers, so this won't affect me. However, if I was an OTA guy, I would definitely have some concerns over the DRM issue.
- RadioActive
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Re: If You Don't Have To Buy A New Set, Will You Buy Into ATSC 3.0?
mace wrote:
I'm with Rogers, so this won't affect me. However, if I was an OTA guy, I would definitely have some concerns over the DRM issue.
And that's what scares me most about ATSC 3.0. I get it. There are a ton of sites on the web where you can go to watch illegally posted movies and TV shows. I know where some of them are. But if they try to make it impossible to record certain shows or events, they're just extending a deadline that will come to an end eventually.
The fact is someone will always find a way to beat the encryption. I saw it for myself in my old C-Band satellite days. It's a never-ending game that just costs everyone money. As the old expression in the movie War Games goes, "The only way to win is not to play."
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Thread Starter- RadioAaron
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Re: If You Don't Have To Buy A New Set, Will You Buy Into ATSC 3.0?
I'm with Rogers, so this won't affect me. However, if I was an OTA guy, I would definitely have some concerns over the DRM issue.
Don't worry, it's not going to happen. Rogers and Bell can already do this and they don't. That's not going to change because of a new OTA standard that almost nobody will have.
- RadioActive
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Re: If You Don't Have To Buy A New Set, Will You Buy Into ATSC 3.0?
I'm with Rogers, so this won't affect me. However, if I was an OTA guy, I would definitely have some concerns over the DRM issue.
Don't worry, it's not going to happen. Rogers and Bell can already do this and they don't. That's not going to change because of a new OTA standard that almost nobody will have.
I'm counting on you being right about this, but some station owners and set makers in the U.S. are lobbying hard for this, because it will benefit them. And the viewers? Who cares about the viewers? If they were to do this, we'd know what the answer is to that question.
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