What is ATSC 3.0?
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Written by Free TV Project Staff
Updated over a week ago

ATSC 3.0, also known as NextGen TV, is the new over-the-air TV standard that’s launching in the United States. Features include better reception, 4K picture, HDR and on-demand content. While some markets already have ATSC 3.0 on the air, it’s still in the very early stages. As of now, there is little improvement in picture quality for technical reasons. This will change in the future as more TV stations launch new broadcasts.

Right now, the only benefit of upgrading to ATSC 3.0 or NextGen TV is better reception. ATSC 3.0 is easier for a TV to decode than the current TV standard. If your TV reception is unreliable and you can verify that ATSC 3.0 is available in your area, it might be worth upgrading your tuner. You can find a map of where ATSC 3.0 is already available here.

Getting started

Watching free, over-the-air TV with an antenna is simpler than you may think. In many cases, you can take an antenna out of the box, connect the cable to your TV, run a channel scan and voila! You have dozens of local channels to surf.

The number of channels you can access and how clearly they come in is based on a number of factors, including your distance from the point of broadcast towers, the type of antenna you have and where it’s located in your home.

Not sure what kind of antenna you need? Take our simple quiz to help narrow down the options. You can also find a general list of recommended antennas here.

Pair your antenna with an OTA DVR device to record your favorite shows

Did you know you can use an antenna similarly to how you watch cable? Ditch the costly subscription fees, but keep the cable capabilities (record, pause, rewind and fast forward) with an OTA DVR device. Here are the products we recommend:


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