Houston is finally getting ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV starting December 2, 2021 and CW39 KIAH is the first local station that I've seen announce the transition.
UPDATE DECEMBER 2021
Houston TV stations launch NEXTGEN TV
KIAH owner Nexstar Media Group has been a big proponent of the new standard which is built on an internet protocol backbone.
Just make sure to rescan your TV on 12/2/21 to get the change (more on this down below).
So why should you care?
ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV promises to eventually deliver 4K HDR video, better reception, more streams/channels, mobile television and most importantly to broadcasters...more targeted ads.
"You don’t have to run out and buy a new television," KIAH Director of Engineering Alberto Herrera said on the station's website. "Understand you still will get your current 1.0. We had to shuffle the frequencies. That’s why you need to rescan."
How do you watch ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV in Houston?
You will need to buy a new TV that as an ATSC 3.0 tuner or hook up an ATSC 3.0 tuner to your TV.
As Herrera noted, the ATSC 1.0 standard will be here for awhile, so Houston television viewers will still be able to see our channels as normal for a few years. Think back to the early 2000s when stations were changing from analog to the digital ATSC 1.0 standard. And by the way, it appears ATSC 2.0 is just being skipped over.
Don't expect to notice much of those above promised features immediately as stations are still making sure everything is working. I'm not even sure if any network is transmitting 4K shows at the moment anyway.
As a TV nerd, I'm excited about ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV, but we seem to have time before normal viewers should get too worked up about it.
It's unknown at this point when the other Houston television stations will switch over to ATSC 3.0 as they have not made any announcements that I have seen.
Stay tuned as we learn more.
