May 2023

The May 2023 Live and Online Meeting

Date: Saturday, May 27, 2023, 2:00 PM EDT

Place: Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Rd, Lexington, MA 02421

Phone: 781.698.4800

Guests: BAS Members John Emerson, Alvin Foster, & John Hajinlian

Topic: Tests of 2 New ATSC 3.0 Tuners – ZapperBox  and HDHomeRun


Six Boston television stations launched NextGen TV broadcasts. The Boston launch marks the expansion of NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 signals into another major U.S. market, the 10th-largest television market in the United States, serving more than 2.5 million households. It is poised to replace the existing US digital television delivery system (ATSC 1). This new form of hybrid, over-the-air, and broadband-connected TV is now available in many US television markets. Our tests will report on their distance pickup, features, and multipath rejection.

Viewers in the Boston metro who have NextGen TV capable TVs or equipment can now watch six channels over-the-air (OTA) providing NextGen TV signals on: TelevisaUnivision's WUNI (Univision; channel 27); Hearst Television's WCVB (ABC; channel 5); Cox Media Group's WFXT (Fox; channel 25); GBH (PBS; channel 2); CBS' WBZ (CBS; channel 4) and NBCUniversal's WBTS (NBC; channel 10).

ATSC 3.0 supports Dolby AC-4 and MPEG-H 3D Audio. ATSC 3.0 supports three video formats: legacy SD video, interlaced HD video, and progressive video. Progressive video supports resolutions up to 3840×2160 and supports HEVC Main 10 profile at Level 5.2 Main Tier. Progressive video supports frame rates up to 120 fps and the Rec. 2020 color space, and HDR.

As the transition is voluntary, the FCC will not require ATSC 3.0 tuners to be included in new televisions, and there will not be a subsidy program for the distribution of ATSC 3.0-compatible equipment.

Unlike the current standard, the ATSC 3.0 standard is Internet Protocol (IP) based and thus promises to expand the potential for broadcast spectrum capacity to support new services beyond traditional over-the-air video in ways that will complement the nation’s burgeoning 5G network, ranging from A/V to health, pets, robots, chess, and body art.

Hope to see you then.

The Boston Audio Society
PO BOX 260211
Boston MA 02126

problems? email Barry: webmaster@bostonaudiosociety.org

updated 4/14/23