ATSC 3.0 is on the air in Pittsburgh!

June 17, 2020 Off By Eric O'Brien

TVNewsCheck.com reports Sinclair Broadcast Group’s WPGH-TV (53), and WPNT-TV (22), and Hearst Television’s WTAE-TV (4) have become among the first in the nation to begin broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 (or NextGen TV. The new technology is able to support a wide range of features currently in development. That includes immersive audio and video up to 4K, broadcasting to mobile devices, personalized viewing tools, and perhaps most importantly advanced emergency alerts providing rich media rather than simple text messages. The technology will also allow full integration with 5G technology.

PBRTV.com alerted you in May to the FCC approval of the license modifications back in April. The technology has been in development for a decade and the local stations involved have been planning and preparing for at least a year.

WPGH and WPNT’s new ATSC 3.0 signal is using the antenna that WPNT had used to carry its programming. Over-the-air viewers will have to rescan their sets and boxes to get WPNT’s regular broadcast.

The technology is expected to be at stations in the top 40 markets by year’s end.

Are you an over-the-air viewer? Please let us know what you had to do.

Are you a user of the advanced technology? What are you able to see?

Email us: info@pbrtv.com