The Annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention begins tomorrow, April 5, 2025, in Las Vegas, and one of the first show -related news hitting my mailbox, detailed a new ATSC 3.0 Digital TV tuner from electronics manufacturer ADTH.
ADTH NEXTGEN TV USB is a $ 69,99 adapter that offers a cheap way to upgrade any TV with an Android, Google or Four TV Smart TV system to receive TV channels broadcast in ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV format that provides benefits such as High Dynamic Range Support and Dolby Atmos Audio.
Some of the best TVs from brands such as Samsung, Sony, Hisense, TCL and Panasonic have built in ATSC 3.0 tuners, but the feature has not yet been implemented universally. This situation has created a niche market for external tuners, most of which cost $ 200 and up, making the ATSC 3.0 compatibility for an expensive upgrade.
Now, with an external tuner selling for less than $ 70, upgrading a TV with ATSC 3.0 will be a easier to weak concept to a wider range of viewers.
ATSC 3.0: Why do you need it
According to ATSC, an industry group that develops the standards used for TV and radio broadcasts, ATSC 3.0 or Nextgen TV, is on the way to reach 80% of viewers in the United States (see the latest coverage card below).
Along with a high dynamic range (including Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats) and Dolby Atmos Audio, the benefits that ATSC 3.0 offers above ATSC 1.0 -TV (which is still active and supported even by TVS with ATSC 3.0 tuners) include interactive features such as personalized program guides and even games.
The format also supports 4K broadcasting, although this feature has not yet been implemented, and so far it seems that it will be darkened by HDR, which can be used for 1080p broadcasts and has already been used extensively for sports and other programs.
While many TV producers now supply ATSC 3.0 tuners in their TVs, the feature is sometimes reserved for the highest end models. Samsung’s 2025 8K mini-led TVs like Samsung QN990F, for example, provides ATSC 3.0 support, while some of its 4K models have an ATSC 1.0 tuner.
LG also used to include an ATSC 3.0 tuner on its G-Series OLED TVs such as the LG G3. From 2024, however, LG ceased ATSC 3.0 support for all its TVs, making an external tuner a necessity for them to receive ATSC 3.0 broadcasts.
Obviously, LG’s popular OLED TVs would be a perfect fit for a relatively cheap, add-on device like ADTH NextGen TV USB, which is connected to a USB port on a TV and connects to one of the best indoor TV antennas.
But brands like LG and Samsung use a proprietary Smart Interface for their TVs (webos to LG, Tizen to Samsung), and as mentioned above, ADTHS USB receiver only works with Android TV, Google TV and four TV Smart TV systems.
Will LG bring ATSC 3.0 support to its TVs and will Samsung start implementing it in lower cost models? It’s impossible to tell.
ATSC 3.0 -Support is growing, as is clearly demonstrated by Hisense, who added ATSC 3.0 tuners to its full Hisense 2025 TV lineup. Until then, many viewers will have to be dependent on external solutions, and unlike the new ADTH USB receiver, they will not be cheap.
