Digital HD 4K Free-to-air TV - CNC3 TTT TV6 now available on Trial station on Ch 24

[redmanjp]

Digital signals expected by mid 2025. Trial digital signal launched on Channel 24.
Each analog channel to continue for about 6 months after digital signal switched on but in phases for each channel of each broadcaster -e.g. TV6 has 6, 18,19. every 6 months 1 of those would be turned off. set top boxes would be available during transition.
Some mobile devices may be able to receive OTA content.
On demand programming possible
All current free channels will remain free but premium content would be possible for a fee. (maybe DRM encrypted?)

[redmanjp]

https://tatt.org.tt/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DTT-Update-PCC.II-43rd-Meeting-April-2024-CITEL.pdf

[Habit7]

[redmanjp]

wait, smart vehicles going to use the DTT signal too?

[redmanjp]

full segment

[Les Bain]

Not a kek post but what's on local TV?
I havent had terrestrial TV or cable since 2012 and eh suffering for either. Also at noonish, the lunch room TV at work was either showing small church scheming, Alexander's crime show or a long form ad for Modern Caribbean.

[maj. tom]

Soap operas Hollywood, Bollywood and now Mexican redub. I think cricket does play on local stations too when it have a match. Early hours church scam. Kids animation shows from Canada around 9, I see it at doctor's waiting room. Entertainment for kindergarten days. Lotto time checks. Then insert a sitcom and one drama. Sometimes the government propaganda. Then when school over they load up like two or three lame cartoons. More soap opera. Local crime watch opinion hour. News. Then some other drama show and the night done.

And then the daily 6 hours of the OmegaXL scam inside all that.

It's a basic schedule that air TV programming has across the North America region. If anything happens they just jump to a live feed from CNN or something.

It's just something to have on whole day while the early boomers rock in the hammock. The younger boomers and after are well proficient in tablets and apps (facebook), once they have it set up on the Android box they using on-demand content.

[sMASH]

Get al jazeera from one cnc3

They trying hard to generate local content cause like they can't afford to buy foreign.
Real reruns of shows a decade ago, and the Spanish soaps.



U dont really need a TV these days.

[Les Bain]

That sounds like a dryer version of the template I remembered from the mid-late 90s.

As for the local content, what comes from the talk generated at Anime Caribe, or is that no longer running? Last I heard from them was excitement for NFT's....and I tuned them out. What I've experienced of local content creation is either hot air, derivative anime/superheroes in a local setting, unrealistic expectations with low budgets, and "funny social media content" that eh even fit for an enamel posie. I wish I coulda endure my dad and learned mechanics instead.

[j.o.e]

This will benefit local TV eventually. Cable is dead because of streaming content. Sports is the last bastion. Once people can get digital local TV without a cable provider it opens the flood gates for bidding for more sports. That will generate more ad revenue. Especially when world cups etc come around. The ad revenue can then be pushed into local content.

[redmanjp]

There are ATSC 3 USB dongles u can get for laptops as well as ATSC 3 DVRs and network streaming devices which would let u watch OTA TV on other devices besides just TVs

Also there will always be live events, especially World Cup 2026 which TATT highlighted in which we would benefit by finally getting an HD or 4K feed on big screen TVs rather than having to depend on online streams or paying extra for HD sports channels, and also it will especially benefit ppl who may be in rural areas with no high speed internet or cable.

TATT did indicate that a significant portion of ppl (20-25%) still use OTA TV. that could increase with the way providers constantly carrying up prices.

regarding the ad revenue- since its a digital network u can now do targeted ads just like internet and also know exactly how many ppl are watching shows like World Cup matches and thus the ads.

there is also emergency notifications like storm/hurricane/flood warnings which can be pushed out with the option to remotely turn on a device if its off to display the alert.

[redmanjp]

Tv6 has a trial digital station. Ch 24 I think.

[shaneelal]

New era of free-to-air broadcasting begins

YOU will now be able to watch high-quality television without needing to pay for a subscription or cable service, thanks to Trinidad and Tobago’s first ATSC 3.0 demo station.

The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, in collaboration with CCN Television Ltd, launched an ATSC 3.0 demo station yesterday. Powered by a 200W Rohde and Schwarz transmitter, this is the first digital television signal to be broadcast for free-to-air reception in Trinidad and Tobago.

Viewers with an ATSC 3.0 compatible television and an antenna can view several channels in HD, including CCN TV6 and the Parliament TV channel.

Viewers can also receive audio from two FM radio channels, Taj 92.3 and Hott93, via their television.

ATSC 3.0 is a modern, IP-based television broadcasting standard that is meant to usher the free-to-air broadcasting industry into the digital age.

This transition will allow the free-to-air broadcasting industry to elevate their service to an experience comparable with streaming and cable TV.

The experience will include enhanced video quality, up to 4K, an electronic programming guide, interactive services, and personalisation.

CCN TV6 will host the station at its Express House location in Port of Spain.

Speaking at yesterday’s ATSC 3.0 launch at Express House in Port of Spain, TATT deputy chairman Kim Mallalieu said hundreds of thousands of existing free-to-air tv viewers in this country will be able to enjoy the features and quality of the platform.

She said the framework details key measures to ensure that no one is left behind.

“The transformative benefits of the technology in general and the ATSC 3.0 in particular include superior service features and quality and efficient spectrum use. This is good news for TATT for our national resource pool and for all our citizens,” she said.

She said the platform is perfectly timed as the world approaches digital switch on and ultimately analogue switch off.

“The demonstration is a key platform for education, exploration, and adaptation by and for broadcasters, policymakers, and citizens, ever mindful of the opportunities for innovating, inclusivity, and resilience,” Mallalieu said.

TATT provided an overview of the implementation of digital television in Trinidad and Tobago, including the planned digital switch-on for late 2025 and a phased analogue switch-off for mid-2027.

Experts in ATSC 3.0 deployments, Mike Schmidt of Heartland Video Systems and Raj Patel of Yotta Media, presented on the features of the technology and the additional services that can be offered to benefit the television broadcasters and other stakeholders in the areas of emergency alerts, distance learning, and targeted advertising.

Schmidt and Patel will continue to facilitate technical training sessions with television broadcasters today to ensure getting hands-on experience with the demo station.

The demo station will be in installed for six months, ending in May 2025.

CCN Television Ltd general manager Richard Purcell also shared his excitement for the platform at yesterday’s launch.

He said TATT is making accessible to viewers, HD quality video right into their homes. “It’s an experience of HD quality video. There will be enough sites to bring that signal right into your home and of course with all the bells and whistles of cable TV menus such as rewind,” he said.

Purcell was also excited about the benefits to broadcasters and advertisers.

“It’s measurable for advertising. I expect to be able to tell my clients in real time how many people are looking at the TV6 newscast and of course it’s targeted so you will be able to buy an ad and with that one ad you can decide to run the Tobago version of it and it can get even be more targeted. For broadcasters it means savings less stress look forward to the next couple years when it gets going fully and all will be well with broadcasting in T&T,” Purcell said.

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... a8d70.html

[redmanjp]

so for world cup 2026 which will be on a local station we can just connect a 'bat-ears' and see HD quality then for free

[redmanjp]

anyone with a fairly new TV (last 3-4 yrs) who have an antenna should be able to get tv6 station and the 2 radio stations now

EDIT: all free to air stations- TTT, TV6, CNC3 and Parliament Channel should be live on the test Ch. 24

are there any ATSC converter boxes available locally?

[paid_influencer]

just gonna post some stuff here

anyone with a fairly new TV (last 3-4 yrs) who have an antenna should be able to get tv6 station and the 2 radio stations now

there are virtually no ATSC 3.0 televisions on the island.

Even the brand new ones you just buy by Pricesmart or Courts will not pick up any ATSC 3.0 signals.

Almost all modern televisions support the older ATSC standards, BUT we are NOT going to be using those standards.
We will be ATSC 3.0, which almost no TVs currently support.

Your current television will pick up NTSC (Analog) broadcasts for TTT, TV6, CNC3, etc, provided you are within range of the broadcast tower and have a sufficiently large antenna.

are there any ATSC converter boxes available locally?

Note that you need an ATSC 3.0 converter box. Do not buy the generic ATSC converter because those only support the older standards and NOT the standard we will be using on the island.

The ATSC 3.0 converter boxes do exist but they cost a good amount of money and I don't know how much of a market there it for it. I might convince some of the retail stores that historically sold satellite equipment to bring one in for fun, but tbh I don't expect to see it selling.

so for world cup 2026 which will be on a local station we can just connect a 'bat-ears' and see HD quality then for free

I call them "wabbit ears" instead of bat ears. I think wabbit ears is the more popular term locally.

We have two main types of antennas for picking up television signals: VHF and UHF.

VHF antennas tend to have very long elements. Like the wabbit-ears, very long once stretched out.
UHF antennas are much smaller, sometimes they are even a little square or circle.

Some outdoor antennas have elements for both VHF and UHF. Some indoor antennas are UHF only. Wabbit-ears are indoor antennas that are VHF only.

Why does it matter?

TATT declared that the new digital television signals will be only on the UHF band.
So you need a UHF antenna.

Existing analog television reception is mostly in the VHF band. So if you want to pick up TTT today, a wabbit-ears might work provided you are close to the broadcast tower and you don't have much obstructions in the way, like hills, concrete walls, florescent lighting, etc. If you are struggling with reception because of your area or position, you might have to get an outdoor antenna.

Anybody heard where the ATSC 3.0 trial broadcast tower is located? If it quite up north idk if it make sense to try to pick it up way down south by me.

[redmanjp]

^ depends on your antenna. we are an island the signal not far away

u have an ATSC 3 tuner in your tv?

[paid_influencer]

^ depends on your antenna. we are an island the signal not far away

u have an ATSC 3 tuner in your tv?

I have a LG C2 OLED, which supports the original ATSC standard but not ATSC 3. It wouldn't be able to pick up the broadcast without a converter box.

I donno if that one transmitter could feed the whole island. Parts of the island with mostly flat land (like Penal) tend to have good signal but in San'do we does have real problems to pick up the regular local stations. except TTT, that one strong.

[redmanjp]

apparently it's not just TV6, all 4 free to air stations- TTT, CNC3, TV6 & Parliament channel are broadcasting on this test signal.

https://rbr.com/an-atsc-3-0-demonstration-station-arrives-in-the-caribbean/

Free-to-air television stations CCN TV6, TTT, Parliament TV and CNC3 are the HD stations available on the demonstration system on UHF Channel 24 to viewers with an antenna and a television that is ATSC 3.0 compatible.

Additionally, viewers can use their television to listen to sounds from Taj 92.3 and Hott93, two FM radio stations. This is a technology being pioneered in the U.S. by Sinclair Inc.

[paid_influencer]

anybody want to sponsor me $100 US to buy a ATSC tuner?

[redmanjp]

anybody want to sponsor me $100 US to buy a ATSC tuner?

u can get a USB dongle for $59 US on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/shop/antennaman/list/3FY4K15FJDT05

[paid_influencer]

I not buying no USB dongle. I doesn't watch TV on my computer.

I would buy an ATSC 3.0 STB. but let me put an offer for you redmanjp.

I order an ATSC 3.0 STB, but only if I can resell it to you for half the cost price after I test it. So you sponsoring half the cost and get to keep the STB as the exchange. But I get to test it out first. Works or not, I only paying half.

Real legit thing, not facebook scam. Serious as a heart attack.

Looking at this one, if you have another one I could do that. Max budget is like $200 USD on my end.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYSMKMXH/?c ... _lig_dp_it

[redmanjp]

i have to check and see if i still have my antenna from before i got Digicel+. then ill consider the offer.

also if u know anyone without cable u can pitch it to them as well.

[redmanjp]

[paid_influencer]

dah forking guy from Standard say all LG TV line up have ATSC 3.0 but LG dropped it since last year. He just flat out wrong on it

a next guy from Guardian say yea boi old ppl just have to buy a step top box and they on. leaving out the STB is $100+ USD and they are all basically crap hardware right now too

that segment make me so forking mad oui

all these well dressed idiots forking over poor ppl that want to watch TV

[paid_influencer]

somebody should call in and tell them the emperor has no clothes that hardware support for ATSC 3.0 is pathetic and the standard is DOA

[paid_influencer]

i googled and found dis chit

https://www.atsc.org/nextgen-tv/deployments/

Look at the map

LOOK AT DIS FORKING MAP

see that tiny little bit of orange concentrated in rich ppl area? That is the coverage map. So even if I could convince poor people to spend $1000+ for chitty hardware, they have no coverage.

[paid_influencer]

why can't they be honest about the hardware situation. why can't that standards guy apologize for his blatant lie about LG TVs having support across their whole line up. LG actually dropped support across their whole line up since last year because of a lawsuit. none of their TVs support it.

the hardware support is dead and atsc 3.0 as a whole with it

be hoenst with ppl

[DMan7]

[redmanjp]

cud be he have older LG tvs?

also they haven't officially launched digital service yet - what they have is just a test signal which i guess is only for POS & environs