New cable box with atsc 3.0 coming for true 4K?

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@Eazydeazy wrote:

Has Xfinity announced a new cable box with atsc 3.0 for true 4K broadcasts yet? Shouldn't they have one announced by now? TV's with atsc 3.0 will be on store shelves within months. 

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ATSC is a broadcast system not a cable system. the network and local channels are delivered to xfinity head-end-in-the-cloud via fiber-optic cable. that signal is then sent via a numbered channel using the set top box or via TVIP stream to other devices. it does not affect cable TV service. the 4K service is not yet offered by commercial stations on other than a testing with FCC basis at this time.

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@Eazydeazy wrote:
If you don’t have a TV that is atsc 3.0 compatible then you need to buy a converter box to plug into your tv. So it would be rediculous to plug a converter box and a cable box into the same tv if your tv doesn’t have it built into the tv. Lol. So it would probably be in xfinity’s best interest to build atsc 3.0 compatibility into the X1 cable box (it’s not a software upgrade, it’s new hardware)

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atsc like ntsc is over the air not cable TV. your current tv doesn't use a tuner unless you have an antenna connected to it. cable TV channels do not come over the air. 

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@Eazydeazy wrote:
If you don’t have a TV that is atsc 3.0 compatible then you need to buy a converter box to plug into your tv. So it would be rediculous [sic] to plug a converter box and a cable box into the same tv if your tv doesn’t have it built into the tv. Lol. So it would probably be in xfinity’s best interest to build atsc 3.0 compatibility into the X1 cable box (it’s not a software upgrade, it’s new hardware)

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That makes no sense. 

That wasn't true for the change to ATSC 1.0 digital broadcasts, where cable boxes are STILL able to wortk with the older analog TVs even as you needed a new digital converter to pull in OTA channels.

So why would you expect new ATSC 3.0 boxes to work otherwise? 

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@darkangelic wrote:

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@Eazydeazy wrote:
If you don’t have a TV that is atsc 3.0 compatible then you need to buy a converter box to plug into your tv. So it would be rediculous [sic] to plug a converter box and a cable box into the same tv if your tv doesn’t have it built into the tv. Lol. So it would probably be in xfinity’s best interest to build atsc 3.0 compatibility into the X1 cable box (it’s not a software upgrade, it’s new hardware)

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That makes no sense. 

That wasn't true for the change to ATSC 1.0 digital broadcasts, where cable boxes are STILL able to wortk with the older analog TVs even as you needed a new digital converter to pull in OTA channels.

So why would you expect new ATSC 3.0 boxes to work otherwise? 

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the converter boxes were to convert broadcast TV ATSC to NTSC analog RF. the 'new converter boxes will be to receive over the air ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 and outputting via ATSC RF (coax) or HDMI outputs. Cable receives over the air channels via fiber cables and prepares them to transmit via cable or streaming IPTV video. cable boxes do not 'pull in' (receive) over the air broadcast signals.  

Did you try to buy movies via 4k cable tv streaming on the app? You don't need atsc 3.0 to watch 4k native movies or cable tv live if you tried it as verizon FiOS does this with international channels and soccer matches in Japan even at 8k. 

closing old thread