Pearl TV today announced significant progress in its industry-wide initiative to make NEXTGEN TV converter boxes more affordable and accessible to consumers, marking an important step in preparing consumers and the television industry for an easier transition to NEXTGEN TV broadcasting powered by the ATSC 3.0 standard.
The announcement, made just ahead of NAB Show New York, includes new pricing from patent owners, technology licensors, testing and security providers for affordable NEXTGEN TV converter boxes, enabling technology to support advanced emergency information, and ongoing work with consumer technology manufacturers.
NEXTGEN TV is now on the air in 78 U.S. markets, reaching more than 75 percent of television households. More than 19 million certified and security-verified NEXTGEN TV sets have shipped to retailers since deployment began. Affordable converter boxes will enable all consumers to access this content without buying a new television.
Pearl also highlighted the expansion of NEXTGEN TV viewer features. High Dynamic Range (HDR) services are available today over-the-air to more than 80 million NEXTGEN TV viewers, with native HDR for sports and entertainment programming rolling out later this year. The industry's first 4K Ultra-HD over-the-air NEXTGEN TV broadcasts are expected in 2027.
Read the full press release here.