Today the FCC voted 3 to 2 to approve the voluntary rollout of the 3.0 over the air TV standard.
This authorizes TV stations to start the move to the new OTA ATSC 3.0 transmission on a voluntary basis. There is protection though for viewers who do not want to spend the money on a new TV or upgrade their box. The FCC rule will require broadcasters who decided to upgrade to 3.0 to simulcast in 1.0 the current over the air TV standard.
That means after you local broadcaster makes the move to the new 3.0 standard you will have an additional 5 years before you would need to upgrade your TV or get a converter box. Now that starts when the move to 3.0 standard happens so we are likely looking at 6 or 7 years before TV stations start to turn off the current 1.0 standard. It seems the FCC is hoping most over the air TV subscribers will be upgrading their device before that happens.
We are already seeing new TVs with the 3.0 over the air TV standard built in as an option alongside the 1.0 tuner on some new LG TVs. So it is very likely your next TV will already support the 3.0 over the air TV standard.
With 3.0 OTA TV you will see better OTA coverage, 4K, and the ability to air more channels. Allowing TV stations to roll out more subchannels than they could with the current OTA standard.
Want to learn more about 3.0 OTA TV? Check out this guest post from Antenna Direct.
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews.
Need cord cutting tech support? Join our new Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.