Updated · Radio & Television Business Report · Jul 20
Silicondust Enables Internet-Free TV Viewing on HDHomeRun App, Citing DRM Limits in ATSC 3.0
Updated
Updated · Radio & Television Business Report · Jul 20
Silicondust Enables Internet-Free TV Viewing on HDHomeRun App, Citing DRM Limits in ATSC 3.0
2 articles · Updated · Radio & Television Business Report · Jul 20
Summary
Silicondust said the latest HDHomeRun app can keep live broadcast channels, recordings and Emergency Alert notifications available during an internet outage over a home network.
A July 9 filing to the FCC said company testing showed the HDHomeRun gateway architecture works without broadband, with the main remaining gap limited to DRM-encrypted channels.
Nick Kelsey said that gap does not affect ATSC 1.0 or unencrypted ATSC 3.0 signals, and no deployable A3SA-approved method yet preserves the same outage compatibility for encrypted channels on popular devices.
Silicondust urged broadcasters to temporarily transmit channels without DRM while the ATSC 3.0 ecosystem develops a broadly compatible solution that maintains reception during outages.
The update lands as the FCC reviews ATSC 3.0 rules and emergency-access concerns, highlighting broadcast TV's resilience advantage when broadband service fails.