ATSC 3.0 advanced at a steady pace in 2022 after stumbling a bit like the rest of the nation during the pandemic.
As of early December, 64 markets across the United States (opens in new tab) were on air delivering NextGen TV service to viewers. In 19 markets, 3.0 was being transmitted by more than one stick.
Television sales continued at a steady pace (opens in new tab) with the addition of Hisense to the original three (LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony) offering NextGen TV models. Among the least expensive models is a 43-inch Sony set with a suggested retail price of $449. On the other end of the continuum are more costly models, topping out with a 97-inch LG model for $25,000.
CTA projected sales (opens in new tab) for 2022 place the number of new 3.0 NextGen TV (opens in new tab) sets being purchased daily by consumers at 12,000.
To address the millions of households not quite ready to give up their existing televisions, Pearl TV announced in the fall a Fast Track (opens in new tab) program that aims to accelerate CE maker development of HDMI 3.0 receiver dongles to retrofit TVs and computers for NextGen TV.
Other notable advancements revolved around automotive, technology and broader adoption. 2022 saw the successful proof of concept trial of 3.0 as a data and entertainment delivery path to moving vehicles (opens in new tab) with the coast-to-coast Michigan trial and the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Hyundai Mobis (opens in new tab) to collaborate on development of 3.0-based automotive business models.
Among the many 3.0-related tech advancements were the rollout of Pearl TV’s RUN3TV (opens in new tab) web TV platform—now available in 20 markets; Evoca (opens in new tab)’s announcement of its desire to leverage MIMO technology to boost data throughput; an effort by Sinclair and USSI Global to trial EV charging stations from kiosks (opens in new tab) equipped with a 3.0 receiver and television; and continued trials of 8K OTA and OTA-OTT delivery via 3.0.
2022 also saw the adoption of ATSC 3.0 by Jamaica (opens in new tab), which joins the U.S. and South Korea, as well as Brazil, which is adopting elements of the standard.
