Week ending Oct. 25, 2026 · About a 4-minute read
Pearl TV has announced licensing and certification arrangements for low-cost NEXTGEN TV converters, with new products expected to be unveiled in early 2027. Emergency-information display requirements are also part of the program.
The week in brief
Pearl adds commercial terms and an alert-display requirement. Its converter program brings patent, audio, video and certification organizations into the effort to make ATSC 3.0 reception more affordable.
Brazil's receiver study gains a proposed scale. EAF's outgoing president describes a plan for about 800,000 TV 3.0 converters, with equipment and ongoing support costs included.
Pearl names licensing and testing arrangements for converter makers
Pearl's Oct. 19 announcement identifies tailored licensing arrangements from participating Avanci Broadcast patent owners, Dolby and Advanced HDR by Technicolor. Resillion and the ATSC 3.0 Security Authority, or A3SA, have established special testing and security-certification pricing.
Converters let viewers receive antenna broadcasts on an existing television through an HDMI connection. Their cost includes the technology licenses and qualification work needed to bring a finished receiver to market.
Qualifying boxes must now support recommended user-interface requirements for advanced emergency information: the way alerts and related information appear to viewers.
Pearl says several manufacturers are developing products and expects new unveilings in early 2027.
EAF describes a proposal for about 800,000 Brazilian converters
Brazil's Entidade Administradora da Faixa, or EAF, has developed a proposal for about 800,000 TV 3.0 converters, outgoing President Gina Marques told Tele.Síntese in an Oct. 22 interview. She said the work accounts for equipment, assembly, maintenance, support and communications.
TV 3.0, branded DTV+, is Brazil's next-generation television system. EAF administers obligations arising from the country's 5G spectrum auction. In August, EAF said its oversight group, Gaispi, had authorized a feasibility study for converters serving low-income families, initially in São Paulo, Brasília and Rio de Janeiro.
The new interviews put a quantity behind that earlier study. They describe a proposal for consideration by Gaispi; Teletime's account places its presentation in the following week. Further action remains subject to the government approval process EAF outlined in August.
Around ATSC 3.0
Event: Reuters Events' Automotive USA agenda includes a panel on whether software-defined vehicles need broadcast delivery. The Oct. 27–28 Detroit event lists ATSC 3.0's role alongside cellular networks, with speakers from FreeStream Technologies and EdgeBeam Wireless.
Participant report: K-EnterTech Hub examines Sinclair's proposed K82 distribution approach, including broadcast-guide placement for internet-delivered Korean programming and interactive services. The publisher discloses a commercial role in the project; its account describes plans for a Washington, D.C., pilot and later expansion.
Company perspective: Castanet's Oct. 21 update presents its case for combining ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast in the same channel. It outlines the company's pilot work and view of a future mobile-device market.
Profile: ATSC profiles iWedia's Živko Radonjić, whose work spans television software, partnerships and ATSC's technical group. He discusses the business opportunities he sees in IP-based broadcasting in the United States and Brazil.
About ATSC Now
ATSC Now is a free weekly briefing on the policy, standards, receivers, deployments and business activity shaping ATSC 3.0.
Written by Mark Barrington and published by Barrington Technology. ATSC Now is an independent publication and is not affiliated with ATSC. All opinions are our own.