You could be right. I have not heard any rumors. Could be that their R&D has turned to OTA and OTT as premium providers move on from TiVo/physical DVRs. We don't really know what anyone is doing about ATSC 3.0. So far, we have seen televisions with ATSC 3.0 tuners and Silicondust network tuners. Have to think TabloTV DVRs with ATSC 3.0 tuners are in the works. Same for Sling's devices. Amazon too. I think we are still years from any of this mattering.
Only TiVo knows, and they are not sharing. That said, they probably have plans. And plans for plans. And plans for plans for plans. But that does not mean those plans will turn into shipping product.
While I am sure you can find exceptions, all the tuner silicon available (which SiliconDust used too) does ATSC 1.0 in addition to ATSC 3.0. However it is (still) a rather expensive silicon offering, which for an (all) ATSC 3.0/1.0 tuner TiVo would increase the BoM substantially. SiliconDust fudged their offering by providing just a pair of ATSC 3.0/1.0 tuners in addition to a pair of ATSC 1.0 (only) tuners (so four tuners total, but only two are ATSC 3.0/1,0 capable). In previous years one might expect the 2Q (April-ish) NAB conference for some vendors to announce their new silicon, but NAB has been pushed back to 4Q (October-ish) this year.
From what I read Silicon Dust retrofitted the 2 hybrid tuners into their existing quatro tuner and they only have 100Mbs ethernet on the quatro box so they don't have the band width to support 4 ATSC 3.0 tuners. Not sure they have the bandwidth to support 2 ATSC 3.0 streams either since I think ATSC 3.0 can use 57Mbs. I think this new box is only $20 more than the previous model.
That is consistent with what they have said. It was done to give them something to offer so that they (and the early adopters) can test out certain ways of dealing with ATSC 3.0. Both the early adopters, and SiliconDust, have found that there are some real world issues as some of the stations have done the most interesting things (HEVC interlaced? Who would have thought? [as I understand it, pretty much no one implemented HEVC interlaced rendering correct (except for LG)]). And while the issues will get understood/resolved, it is still early times.
Well, $50, so (while perhaps a little profit there) ~$25 extra per tuner over the previous variant.
I thought I read awhile back that if two different channels were on the same ATSC 3.0 tower/frequency, then a single ATSC 3.0 tuner in the new Silicon Dust device could record both. And, of course, there's a lot of channel sharing going on. Here in Nashville, we have two 3.0 towers going. The one on UHF 21 hosts three HD channels, our local CBS, Fox and MyTV while the one on UHF 30 hosts 2 HD and 1 SD, our local ABC and CW, plus the diginet TBD. So my thinking was that the Silicon Dust device could record simultaneous shows on, say, the local CBS and Fox using just one of its two 3.0 tuners.
Yeah, at this point it feels like too many promises and too little evidence that they will deliver on these promises anytime soon. It will likely be many years before 4k over the air broadcasts are the norm.
When 4K is commonplace, they will be touting ATSC 4.0 or ATSC 5.0 with *true* HD (Holographic Display) support.
Interesting points, but MVPD's are still losing subscribers and it is the streaming services who have the massive numbers today, and keep them for the foreseeable future. Two big hurdles for many who MAY want OTA using an OTA antenna: impossible to get signal due to obstruction; the pain for many to purchase (extra cost), and install the antenna, and the hard time of finding anyone willing to install it for you for a price. I will also add the usual additional cost and implementation of a separate system to handle the OTA stations. This does not go well in many households with multiple users. This is why still today, a big disappointment about some of the MVPD's is that they do NOT offer local channels, the most expensive cost for an MVPD if they are to provide channels to a clear majority of DMA's. OTA viewing from OTA antennas is still a niche that probably never get any bigger than it is today, unless someone can develop a device that can easily integrates streaming, OTA, etc. for a reasonable price--not the overpriced few options today. And obviously, TiVo failed rather miserably at it. Such a device could be a separate device that can integrate it all (with Straming service recording would be nice), not necessarily a "ONE box" concept that TiVo had.
You don't need new TVs -- a single HDHomeRun will cover your home network:
MVPDs are losing subs but they're still in a majority of US homes and way more Americans watch local channels via MVPDs than by OTA antennas.
Agreed. But network-connected "gateway" ATSC 3.0 tuners -- similar to HDHomeRun's line of OTA tuners -- could be the answer. Connect your OTA antenna and then connect it to your home network. Optionally plug in a storage device for DVR service. Then all the devices on your home network can access live (and DVR'd) OTA TV. That's the concept that the group behind ATSC 3.0 has been touting for years (in addition, of course, to tuners built into TVs). But if such devices are going to take off with the general public, then it will take a concerted effort on the part of OTA broadcasters to advertise (and maybe even subsidize) them, and perhaps join together to produce a single standard free "NextGen TV" app for all the main platforms (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, iOS, Android, Samsung TV, LG webOS, Xbox, PlayStation, etc.). It remains to be seen whether that will happen and, even if it does, to what degree US households will bother with it versus just getting the same content via MPVDs and/or streaming apps like Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, PBS, CW, etc.
That's all fine for you and me, but not for the vast majority of the population, IMHO. I have NO ONE in my entire two sides of the family who could do ANY of the steps you provided in your reply, nor have ANY idea that ANY of this stuff (like HD Homerun) exists and have NO CLUE how to go about instlling it. Yes, they really CAN NOT do all that easy stuff--for you and me--to get it all to work. It is just about impossible for even find anyone who installs OTA antennas. It took me months to find ONE guy who did (at the time I could not dare go on the roof--now I can). Also, some of these prospective users are older and do NOT go on roofs anymore no have the younger brain power to "figure out how to connect and set stuff up."
. People find things like HDHomeRun and even the Fire Recast (which did not sell as well as Amazon was hoping likely because the install process was way beyond who most people can handle) are just too complicated for the vast majority, so they don't get it even if they know it exists.
This is so true. Hell, a lot of senior citizens have problems with cell phones, even the simple cell phones. What is second nature for a kid or a young adult, and what becomes an acceptable task in figuring out for an middle aged adults, is totally impossible for older adults. Not because they're stupid, but because the technology just isn't ingrained in their minds. We senior citizens long for the days of just picking up the phone hanging on the wall and dialing a few digits, turning on the TV and tuning in one of 13 channels. No, not really, I'd never want to go back to the old days, and I'm sure most of my peers agree. But all of that's second nature to us. All that stuff, at least what we choose to remember of it, was very user friendly. Before you get a chance to retort, yea, I know, fine turning the TV, turning the antenna, replacing tubes, the list goes on, it really wasn't always as convenient, but when it was working, it was simple. OTOH, most kids today wouldn't know how to deal with a dial on a phone, or use a manual transmission and choke in a car.
