The Hisense U7H and U8H lineups of 4K TVs with integrated ATSC 3.0 tuners arrived at retail starting at $799 list, said Pearl TV Tuesday. A third series of Hisense 3.0-capable TVs will debut later in the year, said Pearl. The sets were announced at CES 2022 (see 2201040038). “Hisense brings more broadcast options and upgrades to viewers who are ready for 4K OTA content,” said Pearl. Few, if any, broadcasters in 3.0's 50-plus U.S. markets are transmitting 3.0 signals over the air in 4K. The Pearl-operated WatchNextGenTV.com consumer education website says the technology built into 3.0-capable TVs “adapts as new features become available, so your TV will keep improving over time.” Heavy discounting was already evident at Best Buy on some new Hisense 3.0-capable sets, we found when we checked the online store Tuesday. Best Buy was lopping $450 from the $1,149-list U8H-series mini-LED 55-inch product. There’s no mention in Best Buy’s product overview or in its extended spec sheet about 3.0 support in the product, though the topic gets two mentions in the readers’ Q&A section.

Though Ericsson doesn't participate in ATSC 3.0 standards-setting activities, it worries about the “chilling effect” an FCC effort to regulate reasonable and nondiscriminatory (RAND) 3.0 patent licensing would have on “other important areas of innovation” before the commission, including 5G, commented the company in docket 16-142 in the FCC’s NPRM on 3.0 (see 2207060019). Promulgating FCC rules that regulate royalties for 3.0-essential patents, including agency attempts to define what constitutes RAND licensing terms, “would create unintended consequences and harm future communications innovation,” plus it would “exceed the scope” of the commission’s “legal authority,” it said. “In the rare case where the FCC has intervened with patent and license negotiations, the Commission found that such action was necessary to carry out its explicit statutory directive, but even then did not directly regulate patent licensing,” said Ericsson.

Sinclair Broadcast reached agreements with two Korean networks to collaborate on ATSC 3.0 tech in both Korea and the U.S., it said in a news release Monday. The deals with Korean Broadcast System (KBS) and Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. (MBC) include developing 3.0 TV technology and data distribution business opportunities, the release said. "KBS is interested in revitalizing the ATSC 3.0 receiver market including vehicles and mobile devices, developing disaster broadcasting technologies, and discovering various innovative service models that combine terrestrial broadcasting and 5G communication technologies,” said KBS President Eui-chul Kim. “I hope that the ATSC 3.0 Enhanced GPS technology, which has succeeded in commercialization in Korea, will be expanded to the U.S. self-driving mobility market in cooperation with the three companies,” said Sung-Jae Park, MBC president.

Radio communications and TV "hobbyist" Roger Davis, a self-described “rural resident at the fringe” of a small TV market in eastern Ohio, sees the ATSC 3.0 transition “as an opportunity for broadcasters to serve rural populations in ways never before possible,” said his filing posted Thursday at the FCC in docket 16-142. His were the very first comments received in the FCC’s NPRM on all aspects of 3.0, five years into its voluntary deployment (see 2207060019). On the NPRM’s call for feedback on the market availability of 3.0 receivers, “my perception as a consumer is that while receivers are available, they are extremely limited in terms of choice at this time,” said Davis. He has been researching new TVs from several top manufacturers, “but I see that the ATSC 3.0 tuner capable models are restricted to higher priced units,” he said. Since NextGenTV stations “are generally simulcasting on lighthouse transmitters with no additional content or features, there is no compelling reason for me to switch to a new expensive television at this time,” he said. The 3.0-capable SiliconDust gateway device he bought in October 2020 “is fine for my hobbyist needs right now,” he said. But he worries that “much of the promise of ATSC 3.0 will be left behind as streaming options become more profitable and more prevalent,” he said. NextGenTV’s backers cite the current availability of many dozens of 3.0-capable TV models from LG, Samsung and Sony, at price points starting under $500, with approximately eight more models on the way from Hisense later this year. Comments in the NPRM are due Aug. 8, replies Sept. 6.

Comments are due Aug. 8, replies Sept. 6, in docket 16-142 in the FCC’s NPRM on all aspects of the ATSC 3.0 deployment (see 2206220067), including the possible sunset of the substantially similar requirement, and whether 3.0-essential patents are being licensed on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, said a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register. The NPRM also seeks comment on the availability of 3.0 devices to consumers.

The FCC unanimously approved a Further NPRM Tuesday seeking comment on all aspects of ATSC 3.0, including the possible sunset of the substantially similar requirement, and whether 3.0-essential patents are being licensed on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. The NPRM also seeks comment on the availability of 3.0 devices to consumers. “While broadcasters have incentives to provide the programming their viewers want, after making significant investments in ATSC 3.0 technology they may also have incentives to favor their ATSC 3.0 offerings,” said the NPRM. As expected (see 2205310047), the item is broad and doesn’t appear to contain tentative conclusions but seeks comment on the proliferation of 3.0, MVPD carriage, whether the ATSC A/322 standard should be allowed to sunset, and whether broadcasters have begun offering the high-quality viewer experiences 3.0 was supposed to provide. “Without the substantially similar rule, how can the Commission ensure that 1.0 viewers are able to keep watching the same programming they watch today, as well as any new programming offerings on a broadcaster’s primary channel?” asks the NPRM. The item also seeks comment on how long the transition is expected to take, and asks about the availability of cheaper converters. “We are not aware of any low-cost set-top boxes or converters (e.g., external tuners or dongles), or any converter devices that can be purchased offline in a ‘brick and mortar’ location,” said the FNPRM. Comments will be due 30 days after it's published in the Federal Register.

A draft further NPRM that was circulated to FCC commissioners’ offices last week would seek comment on whether to allow the sunset of the requirement that stations broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 also offer an ATSC 1.0 stream that is “substantially similar,” industry and FCC officials said (see 2204250021). That requirement is set to sunset July 17, 2023, a date that was set by the 2017 order that authorized ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. The draft item is seen as broad and isn’t expected to feature many tentative conclusions, industry officials said. The FNPRM seeks comment on the state of the NextGenTV transition and on the scheduled sunsets of two rules adopted in that order, an FCC spokesperson told us. The 2017 3.0 order included sunsets on both the substantially similar requirement and on the requirement that broadcasters use the A/322 standard on physical-layer protocol for 3.0 transmissions. The 2017 order said the agency would monitor the 3.0 transition and a year before the sunsets were to expire would seek comment on whether marketplace conditions warranted an extension, the spokesperson said. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told the NAB Show in April that she sees the current framework of 3.0 as the correct one right now, and she and Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer mentioned concerns about the standard’s lack of backward compatibility (see 2204250067). Pearl TV and other broadcast organizations have argued that allowing the sunset to occur won’t lead to viewers being disenfranchised because of market forces -- adoption of 3.0-ready devices isn't yet widespread and stations need viewers to sell ads.

Evoca went live Thursday with its 60+-channel lineup in Portland, Oregon, and includes Root Sports Northwest, TV home of the Trail Blazers and Timbers in Portland, the Kraken, Mariners and Seahawks in Seattle, plus the Gonzaga University Bulldogs, said the ATSC 3.0 pay TV service. The basic Evoca service costs $25 a month, plus the receiver, and newly added Sling TV programming options enable Evoca customers to access all their content through the Evoca channel guide at higher-priced tiers (see 2205250001).

New and current Evoca customers can add one of three Sling TV programming options to their subscriptions and access all their content through the Evoca channel guide, said the ATSC 3.0-based pay TV service Wednesday. Evoca subscriptions with either Sling Orange or Sling Blue cost $55 a month, plus the receiver, and include a $5 discount on the bundles. Evoca subscriptions with both Sling Orange and Sling Blue cost $70 a month, plus the receiver, also with the $5 discount. The stand-alone Evoca subscription is $25 a month, plus the receiver.

Gray Television’s Tallahassee ATSC 3.0 station is using Pearl TV’s Run3TV app, not Sinclair’s open-source broadcast application (see 2204260057)