Washington, DC– December 8, 2021 – The future of over-the-air broadcasting is now available in the Nation’s Capital region.  The Sinclair Broadcast Group Class A digital station, WIAV – Channel 30 – has deployed the new NEXTGEN Broadcast transmission standard that revolutionizes viewer experiences and enables multiple new business opportunities for content delivery.

Based on the same fundamental technology as the Internet, digital applications, and other web services, NEXTGEN TV can support a wide range of features that are currently in development.  In addition to providing a new, improved way for broadcasters to reach viewers with advanced emergency alerting, NEXTGEN TV allows viewers to be immersed in stunning video with brilliant color, sharper images and deeper contrast that will make them feel like they’re really there. NEXTGEN TV adds a whole new dimension to video viewing, with vibrant pictures and new Voice+ dialogue enhancement, to bring voices to the foreground. Viewers will feel the power of movie theater-quality sound that enables them to hear every voice clearly and offers consistent volume across channels. NEXTGEN TV is also enhanced with Internet content to get the most out of live sports, live news, live events and more, in real time.

The capabilities demonstrated today set the stage for NEXTGEN TV deployment of the major full powered television Network affiliates in Washington later this month. 

NEXTGEN TV is the most significant broadcast technology upgrade ever.  To illustrate the benefits of this new standard, WIAV is demonstrating several of the new capabilities.  Among those highlighted are:

  • Breathtaking pictures and sound
  • e/Distance learning
  • Hybrid TV, connecting broadcast and broadband content
  • Audio applications
  • Mobile reception
Mark Aitken, SVP of Advanced Technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group

NEXTGEN TV is designed to be upgradable, so a viewer’s television advances with the latest technology. Television sets capable of receiving NEXTGEN TV service are available today from multiple vendors including Sony, Samsung and LG with more receive devices, including mobile phones, on the horizon.  Features available on NEXTGEN TV may vary by device and by broadcaster as commercial service becomes available in local markets.  Other near future datacasting applications include provisioning for the Internet of Things, enhanced GPS services and autonomous driving vehicle support.
Mark Aitken, Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, said, “The promise of advanced content distribution is now here for all to see.  The features we are demonstrating will soon be standard across the nation with many more use cases to come.  As our government regulators can now witness first-hand, NEXTGEN broadcasting is most definitely worth their efforts in authorizing this revolutionary technology.”   Watch the video demo at this URL: https://vimeo.com/654193130