From inside the Gen4, Tablo uses the Sony D6802GL tuner chip. There is also documentation that shows it could also use the D6822GL chip. Both chips somehow show that they’re compatible with ATSC3.0, so maybe the current hardware could eventually support ATSC3.0. This is just speculation.
Sony D6802GL
The Sony D6802GL is not a standalone consumer electronics device, but rather an internal digital TV tuner module (the Sony SUT-D6802GL). It is primarily known in hardware teardowns and FCC filings as the over-the-air (OTA) ATSC 3.0/ATSC 1.0 tuner component integrated into next-generation Tablo OTA DVRs. [1, 2]
The tuner’s specifications enable next-generation broadcast reception and tuning:
- Broadcast Standards: Dual ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) and ATSC 1.0 (legacy digital TV) support.
- Modulation Type: 8VSB (for ATSC 1.0) and COFDM (up to 4096-QAM for ATSC 3.0).
- Video Format Support: Capable of passing 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR), and 120 fps video streams (hardware-dependent on the DVR processor).
- Audio Output: Supports Dolby AC-4 and Next-Generation Audio (NGA).
- Interface: Tuned via I²C bus and connects via standard RF coax inputs.
- Frequency Range: Covers standard VHF (54-216 MHz) and UHF (470-806 MHz) OTA bands.
Sony D6822GL
The Sony SUT-D6822GL is an internal digital TV tuner module that serves as the hardware successor to the older D6802GL variant. It is manufactured by the Sony Corporation and integrated directly into late-generation over-the-air (OTA) receiver systems, most notably inside the Tablo 4th Gen Multi-Tuner OTA DVRs under Nuvyyo Inc. device families (FCC ID: 2AOR7-TABLO401).
The technical specifications for this receiver hardware module focus on broadcast decoding and board-level deployment:
- Tuner Architecture: Integrated Multi-Tuner silicon module featuring a split coax radio-frequency (RF) signal path.
- Broadcast Format Reception: Native hardware decoding for legacy ATSC 1.0 digital broadcasts alongside multi-layered ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) signals.
- Modulation Demodulation: Supports up to 4096-QAM COFDM (Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) pipelines for ATSC 3.0, and standard 8VSB for legacy channels.
- Signal Processing: Supports 4K UHD video streams, High Dynamic Range (HDR10/HLG color grading transfer paths), and Dolby AC-4 next-generation audio streams.
- Interface Control: Controlled and switched via a low-level internal standard I²C board-to-board serial data bus.
- Frequency Range: Covers standard global terrestrial TV tuning brackets across High-VHF and UHF segments.