List of digital television deployments by country
Encyclopedia
This is a list of digital television
deployments by country, which summarises the process and progress of transition from analogue
to digital broadcasting.
The transition to digital television is a process that follows different paces around the world. Although digital satellite television
is now commonplace, the switch to digital cable
and terrestrial television
has taken longer. See also Digital terrestrial television
.
Not all countries are compatible within each standard DVB/T, ATSC(North America), DMB (China), ISDB(Incompatible Japan and South America variations). Countries that have adopted Digital Terrestrial recently may have a single MPEG4 based system for SD and HD. Countries with more established Digital Terrestrial may use MPEG2 for SD and MPEG4 for HD. There are also variations in Middleware used. For example Ireland, UK and Italy are all DVB/T region. But UK uses "MPEG2 + MHEG5 + DVB-T" for SD and "MPEG4 + MHEG5 + DVB-T2" for HDTV. Ireland uses "MPEG4 + MHEG5 + DVB-T" for SD and HD. Italy uses MHP rather than MHEG5 Middleware. But MPEG4 receivers all have MPEG2 codec and DVB-T2 receivers all have DVB-T tuner compatibility, so UK HD system works on UK SD system and Irish SD/HD system, but Irish SD/HD system only on UK SD system. Digital Cable Broadcast tends to be DVB-C or very similar QAM in almost all countries. Broadband on Cable is mostly DOCSIS which is DVB-C on the Download path. This is important when buying TV or set-box online rather than from a local retailer who would normally only stock the compatible system. Incompatible Retail products is a severe problem in emerging Retail Digital markets where neighbouring Country has an older standard and dominates the Retail Trade, such as UK Freeview (rather than compatible "Freeview HD") product in Ireland.
Important DVB/T standards are UK D-book
for UK Freeview
and Nordig 2.2 for Scandinavia and Ireland. Ireland deviates from Nordig by using UK profile MHEG5 middleware rather than MHP.
began in 1996 with Southern African pay-TV operator DStv
. Channels were transmitted and received via satellites and digital decoders. Some years later, TVCabo, began transmitting at first through analog and later digital means using decoders and an extensive fiber optic network. On January 18, Mozambique's Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that the country would be adopting the DVB-T2
system for transmission of terrestrial television channels. The implementation is expected to be completed by 2015.
started DVB-T
based digital TV deployment on February 2007.
Digital TV is now available in the following cities and their regions: Casablanca, Benslimane, Settat, Nouaceur, Mediouna, Mohammedia, Rabat, Salé, Skhirat-Temara, Kenitra, Sidi Kacem, Khemisset, Meknes, Fes, Oujda, Tanger and Marrakech.
's public broadcasters still rely on analogue transmission and have not announced a transition date to digital television, the pay-TV operator MultiChoice
already operates a digital television service using the DVB-T
standard.
was a satellite-based system launched by pay-TV operator MultiChoice
in 1995. On 22 February 2007 the South African government announced that the country's public TV operators would be broadcasting in digital by 1 November 2008, followed by a three-year dual-illumination period which would end on 1 November 2011. The government in January 2011 announced a change in its choice of technology from DVB-T to DVB-T2 with the analog switch off date postponed to December 2013.
(SARFT) selected 41 experimental spots for digital television trials and launched the trials later before year end 2003. Later, according to the Tenth Five Year Plan
and 2010 long-range plan for radio, film and television, SARFT drafted a switch-off timetable for different levels of Chinese cities, towns and counties, in which it was commanded that by 2010 digital broadcasting be implemented overall and by 2015 analog televisions be phased out completely. It was estimated that by year end 2007, China would have over 27 million digital TV users.
In 2004, debates arose about whether the digital television technology by Tsinghua University
or Shanghai Jiao Tong University
should be adopted as the national standards. Finally, in late July 2007, China announced the final version of standards as a combined one and Tsinghua succeeded in this battle as 95% of its technology has been adopted.
On September 1, 2005, the first HDTV channel in China, which would be broadcast nation-wide later, began to air in Hangzhou
.
using Chinese DMB-TH
standard. Currently, there are 2 HD channels with one airing 24 hours daily. Hong Kong broadcasters are keen to use whichever standard China
adopts, since doing so would allow them to transmit into the lucrative market in Southern China, and would lessen the need for costly format conversion.
approved the law regarding DTT in late 2007. The Second Authority for Television and Radio is responsible for the deployment of the system - the project name is "Idan+". The package consists of 5 channels: IBA1, IBA33, Channel 2, Channel 10 and The Knesset Channel. DVB-T broadcasts using the MPEG-4 Part 10, H.264 (AVC) video and HE AAC+ V2 audio codecs were launched in mid-2009. There were proceedings in the Knesset to add Channel 23 (Israeli Educational Television
) and the local music channel 24 to the system as well. Full technical details along with a map of the country showing transmitter locations can be found here.
broadcasting of HD via ISDB-T
started on December 1, 2003 in the Tokyo, Osaka
, and Nagoya metropolitan areas of Japan. It has been reported that 31 million HD receivers have been sold in Japan as of January 2008.
The Japanese government is studying the implementation of some improvements on the standard as suggested by Brazilian researchers (SBTVD
). These new features are unlikely to be adopted in Japan due to incompatibility problems, but are being considered for use in future implementations in other countries, including Brazil itself.
The move to DTV by consumers is relatively slow, partly because HD TVs are very expensive. Additionally there have been issues with the B-CAS
system and Digital Rights Management
in respect to the home recording of broadcasts.
December 20, 2007, Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association
set the rule (of copy control) for DTT broadcasting allows consumers up to 10 time of dubbing
of entire TV program with video and audio into DVD recorder
and etc. by naming actually up to 9 times of copy then 1 time or last time of move) and is proposed to start the broadcasting with "Dubbing 10" on about June 2, 4:00 a.m.
2008, but postponed that settled after long talks with Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers
, then confirmed to start on about July 4, 4:00 a.m.
2008. The manufacture for DVD recorder and associated DTT recorder will make unit conforming "Dubbing 10" rule and some manufacture shall release the down loading subprogram to up date recorder's internal software for existing user.
April 3, 2008, Dpa (The Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting-Japan) announced that total 32.71 million of DTT (ISDB-T) receiving television
sets (except 1seg
receiver) are installed in Japan as of end of March 2008. Dpa also announced the guide line documentation to manufacture who make the DTT receive, record and replay unit to operate with Personal computer
on April 8, 2008. This add-on
unit operates on USB
or PCI BUS, and on sale from mid. May 2008.
January 22 noon
, 2010 to 24 noon, analog wave broadcasting ceased as rehearsal
to approximately 7,000 homes in Suzu
and part of Noto
town 48 hours as planned on September 3, 2009.
On July 24, 2010 noon, analog TV transmission officially stopped in Suzu and parts of Noto (approximately 8,800 homes) as the rehearsal plan one year ahead of nationwide stop scheduled on July 24, 2011. Though this analog broadcasting stop is in small area, the first complete stoppage in Asia
n region.
On 20 April 2011, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
confirmed the analog terrestrial TV closedown schedule on 24 July 2011 unchanged, except closedown postponed maximum one year, but rescheduled closedown on 31 March 2012 in Iwate
, Miyagi
and Fukushima
prefectures where heavily damaged by 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
.
as of 2010 over 500 TV Satellite television channels are broadcast in India. This includes channels from the state-owned Doordarshan, News Corporation owned STAR TV, Sony owned Sony Entertainment Television, Sun Network and Zee TV. Direct To Home service is provided by Airtel Digital TV, BIG TV owned by Reliance, DD Direct Plus, DishTV, Sun Direct DTH, Tata Sky and Videocon D2H. DishTV was the first one to come up in Indian Market, others came only years later.
These services are provided by locally built satellites from ISRO such as [15] INSAT 4CR, INSAT 4A, INSAT-2E, INSAT-3C and INSAT-3E as well as private satellites such as the Dutch-based SES, Global-owned NSS 6, Thaicom-2 and Telstar 10.
India currently has 6 major DTH service providers and a total of over 20 million subscriber households in 2010. Dish TV(a ZEE TV subsidiary), Tata Sky, Tata Sky +, Sun Network owned 'Sundirect DTH',Reliance owned BIG TV,Bharti Airtel's DTH Service 'Airtel Digital TV' and the public sector DD Direct Plus.As of 2010, India has the most competitive Direct-broadcast satellite market with 7 operators vying for more than 110 million TV homes. India is set to overtake the USA as the world's largest Direct-broadcast satellite market by 2012.[16]
The rapid growth of DTH in India has propelled an exodus from cabled homes, the need to measure viewership in this space is more than ever; aMap, the overnight ratings agency, has mounted a peoplemeter panel to measure viewership and interactive engagement in DTH homes in India
, ATSC
was chosen over DVB-T
. Since 2005, digital services have been available across the entire country. South Korea also developed its own mobile TV standard called DMB, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, based on the European technology af Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). It has a satellite, subscription based, version (S-DMB), and a free, terrestrial verion (T-DMB). T-DMB encountered a wide success, both in South Korea and abroad. For more details see Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
.
system. A competing service, MiTV, was launched in 2005 and used a custom IPTV
over DVB-T
infrastructure, but shut down a few months later. The company was subsequently renamed to U Television and are now revamping their system to use standard encrypted DVB-T. Their sister company, U Mobile, offers digital TV under the service name Mobile LiveTV and transmits using DVB-H
.
Starting from September 2006, the Malaysian national broadcaster RTM
began its trial Digital Terrestrial Digital Television (DDTV) service for six months to 2000 selected households in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur
and surrounding areas on UHF Band 658 MHz and 674 MHz using the DVB-T standard. The trial DDTV service will offer the current 2 analogue TV channels (i.e. RTM1 and RTM2
) in digital, and 2 new digital-only channels, namely RTMi
(covering drama
, music, news
/current affairs
and sport
s) and Music Active (all music). RTMi will be broadcasting from 7pm to midnight daily while Music Active will be from 9am to midnight. Also provided under the service are seven FM radio stations in digital audio
and interactive services. As of early 2008, an additional Sports channel, Arena, was added, a new channel called Berita Aktif is scheduled for addition to the service, Music Active is made a 24 hour station, and RTMi's transmission time is extended to start from 3 pm to past midnight. Nationwide implementation is planned to begin by the year 2007 or 2008, although as of August 2008 digital transmission is still only available in the Klang Valley
and possibly deferred. Even though RTM's trial was a success, the future of the digital terrestrial television transition has become uncertain, especially after the end of Abdullah Badawi's tenure as the Prime Minister
and the beginning of successor Najib Tun Razak
's reign in favor of his 1Malaysia
concept. All the above digital television services are in standard definition and RTM would have initiated HDTV trials by 2009. While there are no announced plans by Media Prima for HDTV services, ASTRO did launch Astro B.yond
for HD on end year 2009 after performing in-house tests on the feasibility of transmitting HD content.
have released a memorandum on what DTV broadcast standard to be used for the country.
The commission has decided to have UHF TV channels 14-51 at frequency spectrum 470-698 MHz given over to digital broadcast. They did not choose the ATSC
standard, although Philippines uses the NTSC-M standard . Instead, Philippines is testing on the two standards to be used, that is the DVB
of Europe and ISDB of Japan. Many agreed to the ISDB
of Japan but some also on DVB of Europe.
On June 11, 2010, National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines
announced that the country will use the ISDB-T standard. The first fully operational Digital TV is GEM-TV49
of the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo
.
was launched on the 11 June, 20?? in the main cities of Riyadh
, Jeddah
and Dammam
, the ArabNews reports. Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture and Information for Engineering Affairs, Riyadh Najm, said: "The southern city of Abha
and the central city of Buraidah
will also have the facility within this month." He added, "By February next year (20??) the DTT
system will cover not less than 23 cities and that accounts for more than 70 percent of the population". He also said the DTT technology would allow people to receive all the four Saudi channels (Channel One, Channel Two, Arriyadiah and Al Ekhbariya
) as well as the Saudi radio programmes (General Programme, Radio Qur’an, Second Programme and European Programme) with better clarity.
officially began HDTV trials. Two Singaporean broadcasters were involved, MediaCorp
(broadcasting HD
in DVB-T
) and StarHub Cable Vision (DVB-C
). Both broadcast in 1080i
, but at 50 Hz
, in line with the traditional PAL
frequency Singapore uses.
The Media Development Authority
plans to complete the switchover to digital broadcasting in line with ASEAN's commitment to switchover to digital broadcasting between 2015 and 2020. When switchover is completed, analogue signals will have been phased out and all of MediaCorp
’s free-to-air TV channels will be broadcast fully in digital.
on July 2, 2004. Currently, there are simulcast
s of analogue and digital television. Taiwan plans to replace analogue broadcasting with a digital system by 2012. To assist lower-income families with the switch to digital television, the government plans to provide NT
$300 million in aid to purchase converters or for the purchase of new digital televisions.
. Analog switch-off will be 2015-2020.
. DVB-T channel "DKH Digital" launching in 2011. No plans on analog switch-off.
, Austar
, Selectv
, Optus
, Trans ACT and Ubi World TV
. Digital satellite television is extremely popular with Foxtel
and Austar
alone reaching over one quarter of the nation's population.
There are five digital free-to-air networks in Australia these are, Seven Network
, Nine Network
, Network Ten
, SBS
and ABC
. These networks are permitted to offer four extra multi channels. These are,
, Neighbourhood Cable
in some regional cities in Victoria, and Austar
in Darwin. These services are available to the following cities: Sydney
, Brisbane
, Canberra
, Gold Coast
, Hobart
, Adelaide
, Melbourne
, Perth
, Mildura, Ballarat, Geelong, Bendigo, Darwin
and the Albury
Wodonga Conurbation
.
's satellite service (available nationwide), Freeview's satellite service (available nationwide), Freeview's terrestrial service (available in main centres) and TelstraClear
's cable service (available in Wellington
and Christchurch
)
launched New Zealand's first nationwide digital TV service in December 1998 and had a monopoly on digital satellite TV until the launch of Freeview's nationwide digital Satellite service in May 2007.
digital terrestrial television
service using AVCHD, launched on April 14, 2008. The service currently serves areas surrounding Auckland
, Hamilton
, Tauranga
, Napier
-Hastings
, Palmerston North
, Wellington
, Christchurch
, and Dunedin
.
and Christchurch
on TelstraClear
's cable TV system.
now has three major forms of broadcast digital television
. Terrestrial (DVB-T
/DVB-H
), Cable (DVB-C
), and Satellite (DVB-S
). In addition IPTV
services are available.
In Belgium, all the regions have completed the analog switchover (DVB-T).
Croatian Radiotelevision
(HRT) started to transmit DVB-S
programmes in 1997. It transmits all three state-owned TV channels (HRT 1, HRT 2, HRT 3, later replaced by HRTplus
), and three radio stations (HR 1, HR 2 and HR 3).
Croatia started to test DVB-T
transmission early in 2002. It transmitted 4 national TV channels (HRT 1, HRT 2, RTL Televizija
, Nova TV) on a network of 9 transmitters built by Odašiljači i veze
, completed in 2007 and covering about 70% of the country. Entire Croatia is covered with DVB-T
in from 5 October 2010. The analogue switch-off process took place region by region, starting from January 2010 in Istria
and Rijeka
region and completing the switch-off on 5 October 2010 when the final region (Zagreb
) was converted fully to DVB-T
.
MPEG-2
/SDTV is selected as a platform for free-to-air channels, initially with two MUX channels covering, where MUX A would be used by public TV Croatian Radiotelevision
(HRT) and MUX B used by commercial TV stations, while later MUX C and MUX D will be populated by HD and regional channels, respectively.
, currently there a number of providers of digital television. These include Sky Ireland
which is operated by the BSkyB
satellite service (available nationwide), while UPC Ireland
, Magnet Networks
, Smartvision
,Crossan Cable provide various digital-cable services. Digital Television is also available by IPTV provider HomeVision and Magnet Networks
.
now has three major forms of broadcast digital television
. Terrestrial (DVB-T
/DVB-H
), Cable (DVB-C
), and Satellite (DVB-S
). In addition IPTV
services are available.
and Castelo Branco
, and on April 26, 2009 for 80% of the country, and the government plans to cover the rest of the country until 2010-2011 New Year's Eve. Analog will then be switched off 6 months after TDT covers 87% of the country via terrestrial transmitters and 13% via satellite complementary coverage.
started on September 19, 2005 and was finished on October 29, 2007.
services provided by British Sky Broadcasting
(branded as Sky) and Freesat
, digital cable television services provided by Virgin Media
and WightCable
, and a free-to-air digital terrestrial service called Freeview. In addition there are two IPTV
systems known as TalkTalk TV owned by The Carphone Warehouse
or BT Vision
, which is provided by BT
. Individual access methods vary throughout the country. For most UK viewers, Freesat, Sky or Virgin Media are the only sources of HDTV broadcast available in their area and the latter two come at a price over and above their standard TV packages.
), was unsuccessful and the company went into liquidation
.
ITV Digital was replaced in late 2002 by Freeview, which uses the same DVB-T
technology, but with higher levels of error correction and more robust (but lower-capacity) modulation on the "Public Service" multiplexes in an attempt to counter the reception problems which dogged its predecessor. Rather than concentrating on Pay TV
services, Freeview uses the available capacity to provide a free-to-air
service that includes all the existing five free-to-air analogue terrestrial channels and about twenty new digital channels. All services are transmitted in SDTV
mode.
March 31, 2004 saw the return of a limited pay-television offering to the digital terrestrial platform with the launch of Top Up TV
. This new service is designed to appeal to those who do not want to pay the high subscription fees that Sky Television and the Cable networks demand. The service carries a restricted hours service of some of the UK's most watched channels including the Discovery Channel, GOLD, Discovery Real Time
, British Eurosport and Cartoon Network, sharing just three different slots. In October 2006, Top Up TV renamed itself Top Up TV Anytime
, taking advantage of the increase in the popularity of digital video recorder
s, and its limited channel space. Now over 100 programs (not channels) are broadcast overnight and added to the box's hard drive, and may be watched at any time. Channels that provide content for the overnight service include MTV
, Nickelodeon
and Hallmark Channel
.
2005 saw the first areas of the United Kingdom losing their analogue signal in a pilot test. The residents of Ferryside
and Llansteffan
in Carmarthenshire
, Wales
who had not already upgraded to digital television were given a free set-top box to receive the Freeview television service, which includes Channel 4
(previously unavailable terrestrially from transmitters in Wales) and S4C2
, which broadcasts sessions of the National Assembly for Wales
. Digital transmissions for this pilot commenced in December 2004, at which time a message was added to the analogue picture advising viewers that the analogue services would end in February 2005.
2005 also saw the announcement by the regulator Ofcom
about the proposed analogue switch off plans for the UK. It is proposed that the switch off will progress on an ITV
region by region basis starting in 2008 with the Border Television
region, and ending in the UTV
region in 2012. The coverage of the three public service broadcasting multiplexes will be the same as that enjoyed by the current analogue TV stations (98.5% of the population), while the three commercial multiplexes will eventually cover 90% of the population.
The BBC
are already producing some programmes in HD for a service on digital satellite, and foreign markets, such as the USA and Japan. The corporation intends to produce all its programmes in HD by the year 2010, and to broadcast all of its channels in HD "as soon as practical".
The BBC, ITV, Channel 4
and Channel 5 ran terrestrial HDTV trials involving 450 homes in the London area during June–December 2006 on locally unused frequencies. As part of this trial, the BBC is already broadcasting BBC HD
which is free to air but cannot be received by any set-top boxes currently commercially available. It can however be received and played back by a PC
equipped with a DVB-T
card that is within range (as the broadcast is not encrypted) using a software H.264
decoder
.
With two channels (BBC HD
and ITV1 HD), Freeview HD completed a "technical launch" on 2 December 2009 from Crystal Palace and Winter Hill
and operates on multiplex BBC B (aka Multiplex B or PSB3) from that date in regions that switched-over on or after that date, with the service coming to all regions by the end of 2012.
Channel 4 HD
appeared on Freeview channel 52 on 25 March 2010 with a placeholding caption, ahead of a commercial launch on 30 March 2010, coinciding with the commercial launch of Freeview HD. S4C HD
launched in April 2010 in Wales, where Channel 4 HD will not launch. BBC One was launched on November 3, 2010.
Freeview HD is the first operational TV service in the world using the DVB-T2
standard, which will require the purchase of new compatible reception equipment. Freeview HD set-top boxes and televisions were made available at the consumer launch of the service in early 2010. In order to qualify for the Freeview HD logo, receivers will need to be IPTV-capable and display Freeview branding, including the logo, on the electronic programme guide screen.
" media company in the United Kingdom, bringing together a service consisting of television, broadband internet, mobile phone and fixed-line telephone services. Virgin Media ranks as the UK's second largest pay TV service, having 3.6m subscribers and 55% national availability.
Trials of the UK's first HDTV service, the TVDrive PVR from Telewest, began on 1 December 2005 on a commercial pilot basis before a full launch in March 2006. Due to the merger between NTL and Telewest, the TVDrive was made available to NTL cable customers in the Teesside and Glasgow areas on 16 November 2006. In January 2007, NTL:Telewest began renting the STB nationwide and since the acquisition of the Virgin Media name, it is now officially available in all areas with the new V+ branding. Virgin Media is also the only cable provider to supply video on demand services.
As of October 2009, Virgin Media are broadcasting seven HD channels with plans for further new HD channels during 2010.
WightCable
also provide cable television to the residents of the Isle of Wight
. Smallworld Cable also provides cable television to the West of Scotland and North-West of England
turned off encryption
on all of its satellite based signals, following the lead from the BBC
. These transmissions are on a limited spotbeam which is aimed primarily towards the United Kingdom, via the Astra 2D
satellite located at 28.2 degrees east. This theoretically limits reception to the UK, Republic of Ireland
and Iceland
, allowing ITV to fulfil licensing agreements with content producers. However, many people report successful reception of these signals from across Europe by using larger dishes.
Sky+ HD is offered by BSkyB
in both the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland as an add-on to their existing Sky subscription service. The BBC is broadcasting BBC HD
as a free-to-air
channel from the Astra 2D
satellite, and the channel can be viewed for free with suitable satellite reception equipment. There are additional equipment and subscription charges for HD from Sky TV but they are broadcasting over 30 channels in the HD format. Sky also offers a free-to-air version of its regular Sky service known as Freesat from Sky
. Freesat from Sky provides a non-subscription card for public service broadcast channels Channel 4
and Channel Five
, however Film4
, Film4+1 are free-to-air.
On 12 July 2006, the BBC and ITV announced a free-to-air satellite service as a competitor to Freesat from Sky, to be called Freesat
. The service was officially launched on 6 May 2008 and covers all BBC and ITV digital TV channels, plus interactive services, radio channels, and other channels. It is being touted as the satellite equivalent to Freeview, especially for areas unable to receive the Freeview DTT
service.
CITY-TV
was the first Canadian station to provide digital terrestrial service. As of 2007, other digital stations on-air include the CBC
and Radio-Canada
stations in Toronto
and Montreal
, as well as CTV
's CFTO and CIVT, and CKXT (SUN TV). This list is not necessarily exhaustive and other station launches are completed or pending, although most are in the largest markets of Toronto
, Vancouver
and Montreal
. Also, this does not include digital or high definition
versions of specialty channel
s.
On November 22, 2003, CBC
had their first broadcast in HD, in the form of the Heritage Classic
outdoor NHL
game between the Edmonton Oilers
and the Montreal Canadiens
. Bell TV, a Canadian satellite
company, Rogers Cable
and Vidéotron
provide somewhat more than 21 HDTV channels to their subscribers including TSN HD
, Rogers Sportsnet
HD, Discovery HD
(Canadian Edition), The Movie Network
HD, and several U.S. stations plus some PBS
feeds and a couple of pay-TV movie channels. CTV
Toronto broadcast in HD along with its western counterpart, BC CTV. They were also the first to broadcast a terrestrial HD digital ATSC
signal in Canada. Global
joined the crowd in late 2004. Other networks are continuing to announce availability of HD signals. CHUM Limited
's Citytv
in Toronto was the first HDTV broadcaster in Canada; however, now most cable and satellite subscribers across Canada can access multiple channels in HDTV with major American and Canadian affiliate stations broadcasting HDTV signals with no CANCON
overlay for advertising. Typically these channels are NBC
HD, ABC HD
, CBS
HD, Fox
HD, TSN HD, Sportsnet HD, CBC HD, etc., as of summer 2006. CBC HD officially launched their HDTV programming on March 5, 2005. CBC HD broadcasts the first game of their Hockey Night in Canada
Saturday double header in HDTV. The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs
games have seen an increased amount of HDTV coverage as well.
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T as 7th country on 25 May 2010.
made experimental HDTV broadcasts in the early-1990s, in collaboration with Japan's NHK
. Some events are now broadcast in high definition. During the first half of 2005, at least one cable provider in Mexico City
, Cablevision, has begun to offer 5 HDTV channels to subscribers purchasing a digital video recorder (DVR).
By the third quarter of 2005, HDTV transmissions from TV Azteca were available in Mexico's largest markets: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Phase Two of TV Azteca's national roll-out brought HDTV services to six cities along the Mexico-U.S. border (Matamoros
, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo
, Ciudad Juárez
, Mexicali
, and Tijuana
) by the first half of 2006. This roll-out took advantage of HDTV receivers already in place thanks to an earlier HDTV roll-out by stations on the American side of the border. TV Azteca has also broadcast the Mexican football tournament in HDTV.
XETV
in Tijuana
, Baja California, is on the air in HDTV using 720p format. This affiliate of the American CW
Network is on UHF channel 23 broadcasting from Mt. San Antonio in Tijuana, with 403,000 watts, directed primarily northward at San Diego. In January 2006, Televisa's XEFB-TV and Multimedios' XHAW-TV in Monterrey began HDTV transmissions on UHF channels 48 and 50, respectively. In February 2006, Televisa's XHUAA in Tijuana began its HDTV transmissions on channel 20. Unfortunately they have no HDTV programs. Channel 20 broadcasts an upconverted version of the programs of XHUAA's analog signal on channel 57.
Analog shutdown is scheduled to happen in 2015
(Godthab) through Nuuk TV's Nuuk Digital. In addition to the Greenland
ic and Danish
public service broadcasters Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa
, Nuuk TV
, and Danmarks Radio, the service offers additional channels from Canal+
and American and European cable networks (typically subtitled in Danish
). As Nuuk Digital is a premium service, and DVB-T
broadcasts are not presently available in other settlements, the service continues to run alongside analogue terrestrial broadcasts from KNR, DR, and Nuuk TV. The government of Greenland
has no plans or timetable for an analogue switch-off at the present time.
has adopted ATSC standards for digital terrestrial broadcasts and digital cable services. An analogue shutdown is currently tentatively scheduled for December 31, 2018.
was the first country in Central America to adopt a Digital TV standard, ATSC in 2007. Currently there are three digital channels broadcasting: "TEN Canal 10" was the first digital TV station in Honduras. It began broadcasting in 2007 in SDTV http://www.televisiondigital.electronicafacil.net/Article7580.html. CampusTv
, is the first high definition TV station in Central America, CampusTv http://www.campushd.tv was founded by the University of San Pedro Sula
La U Privada. The third channel is "La UTV" founded by the National Autonomous University of Honduras
.
, enhanced definition
, and high definition
formats. On May 8, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced that the agency would test run the transition to digital television in Wilmington, North Carolina beginning September 8, 2008. This was in order to work out any kinks which may not be foreseen before most of the country's broadcasters stopped transmitting traditional analog signals and upgrade to digital-only programming. Full-power terrestrial broadcasts using the analogue NTSC
standard was required by law to cease by June 12, 2009. Some television sets will continue to use analog NTSC tuners if connected to an analog cable system, or a converter box (which may receive digital signals over the air, from a cable system, or from a satellite system). Low-power broadcasts, as well as some Canadian
or Mexican border signals, may remain available in analog form to some US viewers after the shutdown of US-based full-power NTSC broadcasts.
officially selected the Japanese-Brazilian standard ISDB-T International on August 28, 2009, and agreed with Japan to cooperate for resource exchange and technical transfer, as applied on Peru.
While HDTV-ready TV sales are increasing in Argentina, no single HD feed is currently available by terrestrial television as of mid 2009, as the standard selection process wasn't officialized until August 28, 2009. As of this date only a few are available by cable, which are unregulated and use ATSC set top boxes installed at the customers' premises. Subscription TV provider Antina http://www.antina.com.ar uses the DVB standard to deliver an alternative service to cable TV, using standard definition analog outputs.
It is expected that the public TV stations begin transition to ISDB-T that the standard for Over-the-air transmissions has been set, and On air service started from 28 April 2010.
As of september 2011, a few programs are available in 1080i@50Hz and broadcasted by air. That includes most of local football matches and a TV show hosted by Sergio Goycochea (former goalkeeper of Argentina's national football team), all of them on "TV Pública HD"; and also soap operas such as "El Hombre de Tu Vida", "Cuando Me Sonreís" and "Supertorpe", on Telefe HD.
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T International on 5 July 2010.
standard (based on the Japanese standard ISDB-T) was adopted 29 June 2006 and launched in 2 November 2007. In 2007, only the greater São Paulo
metropolitan area could receive the signal. Belo Horizonte
and Rio de Janeiro
began to receive free-to-air digital signal on April 7 and April 8, 2008, respectively. On August 4, 2008 and October 22, 2008, Goiânia
and Curitiba
began to receive DTV signal, respectively. Digital broadcast started at Salvador
on December 2 and Campinas
on December 3, 2008. The government estimated 7 years for complete signal expansion over all of the territory. Analog television is set to be shut down in 2016, but it can be delayed if needed.
The interactive
platform called Ginga
consists entirely of free software
and received high publicity for being considered the main appeal for the change. The government promised WiMAX
as return channel
for the system, set to be implemented in the following years.
All 5 major TV networks (Band, Rede Globo
, Rede Record
, RedeTV! and SBT) broadcast in HDTV signal (1080i
), SDTV
480i
and 1seg
as well.
only, a test transmission in the three HDTV formats (ATSC, DVB and ISDB). In Valparaíso
, UCV made ATSC broadcast tests for the Valparaiso area, and Canal 13 also has made tests in DVB format in April 2007 for the Valparaiso area. After rescheduling the date for a final decision on DTV formats several times, The government has stopped offering dates for such an announcement. On September 14, 2009, president Michelle Bachelet announced that the government had finally decided, after prolonged delays, on a digital television standard. Chile will be adopting the ISDB-T Japanese standard (with the custom modifications made by Brazil). Simulcasting is expected to begin in 2010, with a projected analog switch-off in 2017.
September 10, 2010, TVN, Canal 13, Chilevision, La Red, UCV, El Mostrador TV and NGB are trassmiting digital signals in Santiago.
TVN and Chilevision made test whit 3D TV on free ISDB-T channels 30 and 33.
Currently there are 13 digital channels in Santiago of Chile. They are:
has adopted the European digital terrestrial television
standard, DVB-T.
Señal Colombia
—Colombia's state-owned channel— has made digital terrestrial television broadcast tests since 2006, in northwest Bogotá
and downtown Cartagena
, transmitting into the three DTV
formats ATSC
, DVB-T and ISDB-T. Also the Chinese standard DMB-T/H
, was considered, but could not be tested.
HDTV-ready television sets (DVB-T
) have been available in Colombia since 2003, but cable
companies have not broadcast HD content to their subscribers. Satellite television
DirecTV Colombia offer HD channels.
Preparations were made to launch DVB-T services in (tentatively) May 2009, when the first DTV
transmitter was to go live (probably at Manjui hill in Facatativá
). The launch was to initially allow 11 million households in the regions of Bogotá D.C., Boyaca
, Cundinamarca
, north of Huila
, Tolima, western Meta
, and probably Caldas
and Risaralda
to watch DTV
services.
On December 28, 2010, Caracol TV
and RCN TV
officially started digital broadcasts for Bogotá, Medellín and surrounding areas on channels 14 and 15 UHF, respectively. Señal Colombia
and Canal Institucional
had started test digital broadcasts earlier in 2010.
The Spanish
Impulsa TDT, the association for the implementation of digital-terrestrial television and the Colombian government have signed an official agreement under which Spain
will help the country implement DVB-T
.
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T as 6th country on 26 March 2010.
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T on 1 June 2010.
is one of attractive system.
Achieved first HD
live demonstration and test program transmission using OB Van in aiming nationwide deployment with the Japanese cooperation in Trujillo
for 3 days from 28 January 2011.
an government issued a decree stating that the DVB-T
and DVB-H
standards will be adopted. While HDTV-ready TV sets are available at the country, a few factors seem to constrain the development of the new technology in the near term:
Uruguayan government decided to adopt ISDB-T for geopolitical reasons and to be consistent relations with Argentina and Brazil on December 27, 2010, Uruguayans will start receiving digital television signals by the end of 2012, and scheduling analog signals blackout will be in 2014-2015.
has officially adopted ISDB-T with Brazilian modifications. Transition from analog to digital is expected to take place in the next 10 years. The seven stages of Set-top box
manufacturing, testing and implement schedule is well proceeding and will start to deploy DTT
from 2011.
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
deployments by country, which summarises the process and progress of transition from analogue
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
to digital broadcasting.
The transition to digital television is a process that follows different paces around the world. Although digital satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
is now commonplace, the switch to digital cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and terrestrial television
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
has taken longer. See also Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
.
Not all countries are compatible within each standard DVB/T, ATSC(North America), DMB (China), ISDB(Incompatible Japan and South America variations). Countries that have adopted Digital Terrestrial recently may have a single MPEG4 based system for SD and HD. Countries with more established Digital Terrestrial may use MPEG2 for SD and MPEG4 for HD. There are also variations in Middleware used. For example Ireland, UK and Italy are all DVB/T region. But UK uses "MPEG2 + MHEG5 + DVB-T" for SD and "MPEG4 + MHEG5 + DVB-T2" for HDTV. Ireland uses "MPEG4 + MHEG5 + DVB-T" for SD and HD. Italy uses MHP rather than MHEG5 Middleware. But MPEG4 receivers all have MPEG2 codec and DVB-T2 receivers all have DVB-T tuner compatibility, so UK HD system works on UK SD system and Irish SD/HD system, but Irish SD/HD system only on UK SD system. Digital Cable Broadcast tends to be DVB-C or very similar QAM in almost all countries. Broadband on Cable is mostly DOCSIS which is DVB-C on the Download path. This is important when buying TV or set-box online rather than from a local retailer who would normally only stock the compatible system. Incompatible Retail products is a severe problem in emerging Retail Digital markets where neighbouring Country has an older standard and dominates the Retail Trade, such as UK Freeview (rather than compatible "Freeview HD") product in Ireland.
Important DVB/T standards are UK D-book
D-book
The D-Book is the UK technical specification for Digital terrestrial television .The Digital TV Group has published and maintained the D-Book for over a decade and the specification is updated annually to keep up with the pace of development in UK DTT...
for UK Freeview
Freeview
DTV Services, trading as Freeview, is the name for the collection of free-to-air services on the Digital Terrestrial Television platform in the UK. The service is jointly run by its five equal shareholders, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and transmitter operator Arqiva. DTV Services is designed to market...
and Nordig 2.2 for Scandinavia and Ireland. Ireland deviates from Nordig by using UK profile MHEG5 middleware rather than MHP.
Mozambique
The earliest form of digital television in MozambiqueMozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
began in 1996 with Southern African pay-TV operator DStv
DStv
DStv is MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa, launched in 1995. It operates from two satellites over Africa, broadcasting on Ku band via Eutelsat W7 and Intelsat 7 , which only requires a small satellite dish...
. Channels were transmitted and received via satellites and digital decoders. Some years later, TVCabo, began transmitting at first through analog and later digital means using decoders and an extensive fiber optic network. On January 18, Mozambique's Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that the country would be adopting the DVB-T2
DVB-T2
DVB-T2 is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial; it is the extension of the television standard DVB-T, issued by the consortium DVB, devised for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television....
system for transmission of terrestrial television channels. The implementation is expected to be completed by 2015.
Morocco
National Television Company in MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
started DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
based digital TV deployment on February 2007.
Digital TV is now available in the following cities and their regions: Casablanca, Benslimane, Settat, Nouaceur, Mediouna, Mohammedia, Rabat, Salé, Skhirat-Temara, Kenitra, Sidi Kacem, Khemisset, Meknes, Fes, Oujda, Tanger and Marrakech.
Namibia
While NamibiaNamibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
's public broadcasters still rely on analogue transmission and have not announced a transition date to digital television, the pay-TV operator MultiChoice
MultiChoice
MultiChoice is a South African company which operates the DStv satellite television service, the main satellite TV service in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was formed out of the subscriber-management branch of the M-Net terrestrial pay TV company, and broadcasts the full range of M-Net channels on the...
already operates a digital television service using the DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
standard.
South Africa
The first digital television implementation in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
was a satellite-based system launched by pay-TV operator MultiChoice
MultiChoice
MultiChoice is a South African company which operates the DStv satellite television service, the main satellite TV service in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was formed out of the subscriber-management branch of the M-Net terrestrial pay TV company, and broadcasts the full range of M-Net channels on the...
in 1995. On 22 February 2007 the South African government announced that the country's public TV operators would be broadcasting in digital by 1 November 2008, followed by a three-year dual-illumination period which would end on 1 November 2011. The government in January 2011 announced a change in its choice of technology from DVB-T to DVB-T2 with the analog switch off date postponed to December 2013.
China
In June and September 2003, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and TelevisionState Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television is an executive branch under the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
(SARFT) selected 41 experimental spots for digital television trials and launched the trials later before year end 2003. Later, according to the Tenth Five Year Plan
Five-Year Plans of China
The five-year plans of People's Republic of China are a series of economic development initiatives. The economy was shaped by the Communist Party of China through the plenary sessions of the Central Committee and national congresses...
and 2010 long-range plan for radio, film and television, SARFT drafted a switch-off timetable for different levels of Chinese cities, towns and counties, in which it was commanded that by 2010 digital broadcasting be implemented overall and by 2015 analog televisions be phased out completely. It was estimated that by year end 2007, China would have over 27 million digital TV users.
In 2004, debates arose about whether the digital television technology by Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
or Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University or SJTU), sometimes referred to as Shanghai Jiaotong University , is a top public research university located in Shanghai, China. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is known as one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China...
should be adopted as the national standards. Finally, in late July 2007, China announced the final version of standards as a combined one and Tsinghua succeeded in this battle as 95% of its technology has been adopted.
On September 1, 2005, the first HDTV channel in China, which would be broadcast nation-wide later, began to air in Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
.
Hong Kong
On December 31, 2007, local broadcasters started to air HD TV (1920X1080i)High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
using Chinese DMB-TH
DMB-T/H
DTMB is the TV standard for mobile and fixed terminals used in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau. Although at first this standard was called DMB-T/H , the official name is DTMB.DTT broadcasting systems...
standard. Currently, there are 2 HD channels with one airing 24 hours daily. Hong Kong broadcasters are keen to use whichever standard China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
adopts, since doing so would allow them to transmit into the lucrative market in Southern China, and would lessen the need for costly format conversion.
Iran
Iran started the transition to digital TV broadcasting in 2009 using DVB-T MPEG-4 standard. Iran plans to completely switch over to digital TV by 2015. As of summer of 2011, Iranian digital TV broadcast covered 40% of Iran's population.Israel
The KnessetKnesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
approved the law regarding DTT in late 2007. The Second Authority for Television and Radio is responsible for the deployment of the system - the project name is "Idan+". The package consists of 5 channels: IBA1, IBA33, Channel 2, Channel 10 and The Knesset Channel. DVB-T broadcasts using the MPEG-4 Part 10, H.264 (AVC) video and HE AAC+ V2 audio codecs were launched in mid-2009. There were proceedings in the Knesset to add Channel 23 (Israeli Educational Television
Israeli Educational Television
The Israeli Educational Television is a state-owned public television network which used to concentrate on producing and broadcasting programs for schoolchildren. The first Israeli children's show, featuring Kishkashta, aired on Channel 1 in the 1970s and '80s...
) and the local music channel 24 to the system as well. Full technical details along with a map of the country showing transmitter locations can be found here.
Japan
Japan pioneered HDTV with an analogue implementation. The old system is not compatible with the new digital standards. Japanese terrestrialTerrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
broadcasting of HD via ISDB-T
ISDB
Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting is a Japanese standard for digital television and digital radio used by the country's radio and television stations. ISDB replaced the previously used MUSE "Hi-vision" analogue HDTV system...
started on December 1, 2003 in the Tokyo, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, and Nagoya metropolitan areas of Japan. It has been reported that 31 million HD receivers have been sold in Japan as of January 2008.
The Japanese government is studying the implementation of some improvements on the standard as suggested by Brazilian researchers (SBTVD
SBTVD
ISDB-T International or SBTVD, short for Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão Digital is a technical standard for digital television broadcast used in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Philippines, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Uruguay, based on the Japanese ISDB-T...
). These new features are unlikely to be adopted in Japan due to incompatibility problems, but are being considered for use in future implementations in other countries, including Brazil itself.
The move to DTV by consumers is relatively slow, partly because HD TVs are very expensive. Additionally there have been issues with the B-CAS
B-CAS
B-CAS is a vendor and operator of the ISDB CAS system in Japan. Or, the reception method that this company offers....
system and Digital Rights Management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
in respect to the home recording of broadcasts.
December 20, 2007, Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association
Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association
The is a Japanese trade organization for the electronics and IT industries. It was formed in 2000 from two earlier organizations, the Electronic Industries Association of Japan and the Japan Electronic Industries Development Association.-See also:...
set the rule (of copy control) for DTT broadcasting allows consumers up to 10 time of dubbing
Dubbing (music)
In sound recording, dubbing is the transfer or copying of previously recorded audio material from one medium to another of the same or a different type. It may be done with a machine designed for this purpose, or by connecting two different machines: one to play back and one to record the signal...
of entire TV program with video and audio into DVD recorder
DVD recorder
A DVD recorder , is an optical disc recorder that uses Optical disc recording technologies to digitally record analog signal or digital signals onto blank writable DVD media...
and etc. by naming actually up to 9 times of copy then 1 time or last time of move) and is proposed to start the broadcasting with "Dubbing 10" on about June 2, 4:00 a.m.
12-hour clock
The 12-hour clock is a time conversion convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem and post meridiem...
2008, but postponed that settled after long talks with Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers
Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers
, often referred to as the is a Japanese copyright collection society. It was founded in 1939 as a non-profit making organization, and is the largest musical copyright administration society in Japan....
, then confirmed to start on about July 4, 4:00 a.m.
12-hour clock
The 12-hour clock is a time conversion convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem and post meridiem...
2008. The manufacture for DVD recorder and associated DTT recorder will make unit conforming "Dubbing 10" rule and some manufacture shall release the down loading subprogram to up date recorder's internal software for existing user.
April 3, 2008, Dpa (The Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting-Japan) announced that total 32.71 million of DTT (ISDB-T) receiving television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sets (except 1seg
1seg
is a mobile terrestrial digital audio/video and data broadcasting service in Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. Service began experimentally during 2005 and commercially on April 1, 2006. In Brazil, the broadcast started in late 2007 in just a few cities, with a slight difference from...
receiver) are installed in Japan as of end of March 2008. Dpa also announced the guide line documentation to manufacture who make the DTT receive, record and replay unit to operate with Personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
on April 8, 2008. This add-on
Peripheral
A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer, but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture....
unit operates on USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
or PCI BUS, and on sale from mid. May 2008.
January 22 noon
Noon
Noon is usually defined as 12 o'clock in the daytime. The word noon is also used informally to mean midday regarding the location of the sun not the middle of a persons day. Although this is a time around the middle of the day when people in many countries take a lunch break...
, 2010 to 24 noon, analog wave broadcasting ceased as rehearsal
Rehearsal
For other uses, see Rehearsal or Dress rehearsal A rehearsal is a preparatory event in music and theatre that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice, and to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for professional...
to approximately 7,000 homes in Suzu
Suzu, Ishikawa
is a city located at the northeasternmost tip of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa, Japan. The city is the proposed site of the Suzu Nuclear Power Plant; however, in 2003 the proposal was "frozen" until further notice....
and part of Noto
Noto, Ishikawa
Noto was a town located in Fugeshi District, Ishikawa, Japan.On March 1, 2005 Noto was merged with the village of Yanagida, both from Fugeshi District, and the town of Uchiura, from Suzu District, to form the new town of Noto, in the newly-created Hōsu District, Ishikawa and no longer exists as...
town 48 hours as planned on September 3, 2009.
On July 24, 2010 noon, analog TV transmission officially stopped in Suzu and parts of Noto (approximately 8,800 homes) as the rehearsal plan one year ahead of nationwide stop scheduled on July 24, 2011. Though this analog broadcasting stop is in small area, the first complete stoppage in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n region.
On 20 April 2011, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
The ' or Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. The English name Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications was used prior to 2004...
confirmed the analog terrestrial TV closedown schedule on 24 July 2011 unchanged, except closedown postponed maximum one year, but rescheduled closedown on 31 March 2012 in Iwate
Iwate Prefecture
is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
, Miyagi
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...
and Fukushima
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
prefectures where heavily damaged by 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
.
India
In IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as of 2010 over 500 TV Satellite television channels are broadcast in India. This includes channels from the state-owned Doordarshan, News Corporation owned STAR TV, Sony owned Sony Entertainment Television, Sun Network and Zee TV. Direct To Home service is provided by Airtel Digital TV, BIG TV owned by Reliance, DD Direct Plus, DishTV, Sun Direct DTH, Tata Sky and Videocon D2H. DishTV was the first one to come up in Indian Market, others came only years later.
These services are provided by locally built satellites from ISRO such as [15] INSAT 4CR, INSAT 4A, INSAT-2E, INSAT-3C and INSAT-3E as well as private satellites such as the Dutch-based SES, Global-owned NSS 6, Thaicom-2 and Telstar 10.
The rapid growth of DTH in India has propelled an exodus from cabled homes, the need to measure viewership in this space is more than ever; aMap, the overnight ratings agency, has mounted a peoplemeter panel to measure viewership and interactive engagement in DTH homes in India
South Korea (Republic of Korea)
After a long controversy between the government and broadcasters in South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, ATSC
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
was chosen over DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
. Since 2005, digital services have been available across the entire country. South Korea also developed its own mobile TV standard called DMB, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, based on the European technology af Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). It has a satellite, subscription based, version (S-DMB), and a free, terrestrial verion (T-DMB). T-DMB encountered a wide success, both in South Korea and abroad. For more details see Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
Digital Multimedia Broadcasting is a digital radio transmission technology developed in South Korea as part of the national IT project for sending multimedia such as TV, radio and datacasting to mobile devices such as mobile phones...
.
Malaysia
The first digital television service in Malaysia was launched by satellite based pay-TV operator ASTRO in 1996 using the DVB-SDVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
system. A competing service, MiTV, was launched in 2005 and used a custom IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
over DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
infrastructure, but shut down a few months later. The company was subsequently renamed to U Television and are now revamping their system to use standard encrypted DVB-T. Their sister company, U Mobile, offers digital TV under the service name Mobile LiveTV and transmits using DVB-H
DVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
.
Starting from September 2006, the Malaysian national broadcaster RTM
Radio Televisyen Malaysia
The Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia, DBA Radio Televisyen Malaysia , is a Malaysian state-owned public broadcaster. It owns and operates a number of radio and television stations in Malaysia, based in Kuala Lumpur...
began its trial Digital Terrestrial Digital Television (DDTV) service for six months to 2000 selected households in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
and surrounding areas on UHF Band 658 MHz and 674 MHz using the DVB-T standard. The trial DDTV service will offer the current 2 analogue TV channels (i.e. RTM1 and RTM2
TV2 (Malaysia)
RTM2, also known as TV2 is a television station in Malaysia owned and operated by the Radio Television Malaysia, a division of the Malaysian Government. RTM2 is now broadcasting for 24 hours a day effective January 2006.- History :...
) in digital, and 2 new digital-only channels, namely RTMi
RTMi
RTMi was a digital television channel fully owned by Radio Televisyen Malaysia. It is also known as Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting . Its test broadcast began in 2000 chosen residential homes surrounding Klang Valley for 6 months starting in September 2006, using the DVB-T standard...
(covering drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, music, news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
/current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
and sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s) and Music Active (all music). RTMi will be broadcasting from 7pm to midnight daily while Music Active will be from 9am to midnight. Also provided under the service are seven FM radio stations in digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
and interactive services. As of early 2008, an additional Sports channel, Arena, was added, a new channel called Berita Aktif is scheduled for addition to the service, Music Active is made a 24 hour station, and RTMi's transmission time is extended to start from 3 pm to past midnight. Nationwide implementation is planned to begin by the year 2007 or 2008, although as of August 2008 digital transmission is still only available in the Klang Valley
Klang Valley
Klang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...
and possibly deferred. Even though RTM's trial was a success, the future of the digital terrestrial television transition has become uncertain, especially after the end of Abdullah Badawi's tenure as the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and the beginning of successor Najib Tun Razak
Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
's reign in favor of his 1Malaysia
1Malaysia
1Malaysia is an on-going programme designed by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on September 16, 2010, calling for the cabinet, government agencies, and civil servants to more strongly emphasize ethnic harmony, national unity, and efficient governance....
concept. All the above digital television services are in standard definition and RTM would have initiated HDTV trials by 2009. While there are no announced plans by Media Prima for HDTV services, ASTRO did launch Astro B.yond
Astro B.yond
Astro B.yond is the brand name of a multi-phased innovative service startiving with the first ever HDTV service launched by Malaysian pay television provider Astro on 18 December 2009....
for HD on end year 2009 after performing in-house tests on the feasibility of transmitting HD content.
Philippines
Digital television transition in the Philippines started its planning stage in 2006 after the National Telecommunications CommissionNational Telecommunications Commission (Philippines)
The Philippines' National Telecommunications Commission , abbreviated as NTC, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Commission on Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over all telecommunications services throughout the...
have released a memorandum on what DTV broadcast standard to be used for the country.
The commission has decided to have UHF TV channels 14-51 at frequency spectrum 470-698 MHz given over to digital broadcast. They did not choose the ATSC
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
standard, although Philippines uses the NTSC-M standard . Instead, Philippines is testing on the two standards to be used, that is the DVB
DVB
Digital Video Broadcasting is a suite of internationally accepted open standards for digital television. DVB standards are maintained by the , an international industry consortium with more than 270 members, and they are published by a Joint Technical Committee of European Telecommunications...
of Europe and ISDB of Japan. Many agreed to the ISDB
ISDB
Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting is a Japanese standard for digital television and digital radio used by the country's radio and television stations. ISDB replaced the previously used MUSE "Hi-vision" analogue HDTV system...
of Japan but some also on DVB of Europe.
On June 11, 2010, National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines
National Telecommunications Commission (Philippines)
The Philippines' National Telecommunications Commission , abbreviated as NTC, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Commission on Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over all telecommunications services throughout the...
announced that the country will use the ISDB-T standard. The first fully operational Digital TV is GEM-TV49
DZCE-TV
GEMNET is the first to test broadcast on DTV channel 49 is the flagship station of the Philippine Television Network GEMNET. It is currently the UHF television station of Christian Era Broadcasting Service, a broadcast ministry of the independent Philippine Christian church, the Iglesia ni Cristo,...
of the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo
Iglesia ni Cristo
Iglesia ni Cristo also known as INC, is the largest entirely indigenous Christian religious organization that originated from the Philippines and the largest independent church in Asia. Due to a number of similarities, some Protestant writers describe the INC's doctrines as restorationist in...
.
Saudi Arabia
The first phase of digital terrestrial television (DTT) transmission in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
was launched on the 11 June, 20?? in the main cities of Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
and Dammam
Dammam
Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, the most oil-rich region in the world. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province and several government departments are located in the city. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province and third largest in Saudi...
, the ArabNews reports. Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture and Information for Engineering Affairs, Riyadh Najm, said: "The southern city of Abha
Abha
Abha is the capital of Asir province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated at 2,200 metres above sea level in the fertile mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia near the National Park of Asir. Its mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination for Saudis...
and the central city of Buraidah
Buraidah
Buraidah is the capital of Al-Qassim Province in northcentral Saudi Arabia in the heart of the Arabian peninsula. Buraidah lies equidistant from the Red Sea to the west and the Persian Gulf to the east...
will also have the facility within this month." He added, "By February next year (20??) the DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
system will cover not less than 23 cities and that accounts for more than 70 percent of the population". He also said the DTT technology would allow people to receive all the four Saudi channels (Channel One, Channel Two, Arriyadiah and Al Ekhbariya
Al Ekhbariya
Al Ekhbariya is a Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Launched on 11 January 2004, its aim according to its director was to present "a new image of the Gulf Arab state" to the wider region and the world...
) as well as the Saudi radio programmes (General Programme, Radio Qur’an, Second Programme and European Programme) with better clarity.
Singapore
On Wednesday, May 31, 2006, SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
officially began HDTV trials. Two Singaporean broadcasters were involved, MediaCorp
MediaCorp
Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....
(broadcasting HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
in DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
) and StarHub Cable Vision (DVB-C
DVB-C
DVB-C stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable...
). Both broadcast in 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
, but at 50 Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
, in line with the traditional PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
frequency Singapore uses.
The Media Development Authority
Media Development Authority
The Media Development Authority is a statutory board of the Singapore Government, under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts .-History:...
plans to complete the switchover to digital broadcasting in line with ASEAN's commitment to switchover to digital broadcasting between 2015 and 2020. When switchover is completed, analogue signals will have been phased out and all of MediaCorp
MediaCorp
Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....
’s free-to-air TV channels will be broadcast fully in digital.
Taiwan
Digital television launched terrestrially throughout TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
on July 2, 2004. Currently, there are simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
s of analogue and digital television. Taiwan plans to replace analogue broadcasting with a digital system by 2012. To assist lower-income families with the switch to digital television, the government plans to provide NT
New Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...
$300 million in aid to purchase converters or for the purchase of new digital televisions.
Thailand
Digital television trial has been done on December 5, 2000 - May 31, 2001 and official was launched on January 25, 2011 by TV5Channel 5 (Thailand)
Royal Thai Army Radio and Television Channel 5 is a military-run and controlledThai television station.This station is special from other Thai stations is it has feeds every year, so testcards can be watched yearly...
. Analog switch-off will be 2015-2020.
Vietnam
Vietnam tested DVB-T in 2003 from national school in Ho Chi Minh CityHo Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
. DVB-T channel "DKH Digital" launching in 2011. No plans on analog switch-off.
Digital Satellite
There are many digital satellite TV services in Australia, these are, FoxtelFoxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
, Selectv
SelecTV
SelecTV was an Australian satellite based subscription television broadcasting service. As of January 2011, the service is no longer available. Services were carried on the Intelsat 8 satellite.-History:...
, Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
, Trans ACT and Ubi World TV
UBI World TV
UBI World TV is an Australian digital satellite pay television service that broadcasts predominantly ethnic channels. It launched in late 2004 and currently offers over 80 channels in its lineup from over 20 countries in over 12 languages.The company also provides entertainment and information...
. Digital satellite television is extremely popular with Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
and Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
alone reaching over one quarter of the nation's population.
Digital Free-to-air
Digital terrestrial television in Australia commenced on 1 January 2001, in the country's five most populous cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Digital services using DVB-T standards are now available nationwide. From mid 2010, analogue transmissions are being phased out, and this will be completed in all regions in December 2013.There are five digital free-to-air networks in Australia these are, Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
, SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
and ABC
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
. These networks are permitted to offer four extra multi channels. These are,
- Seven Network- 7TWO7Two7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm....
and 7mate7mate7mate is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010.The network stated that 7mate would contain sport and regular programs aimed primarily at a male audience, with programming drawn from a combination of new... - Nine Network- GO!Go! (Australian TV channel)GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
and GEMGEM (Australian TV channel)GEM is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 26 September 2010 at 6am... - Network Ten- ONE HD and ElevenEleven (TV channel)Eleven is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel, which was launched by ElevenCo, on 11 January 2011.-Joint venture:...
- SBS- SBS Two and SBS HD
- ABC- ABC2ABC2ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
, ABC3ABC3-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
and ABC News 24ABC News 24ABC News 24 is an Australian 24-hour news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The channel replaced the former ABC High Definition simulcast of ABC1 and commenced broadcasting at 7:30pm 5:30 on Thursday, 22 July 2010.-Pre-launch:The ABC announced in January 2010...
HDHigh-definition televisionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
Digital Cable
Digital Cable operators in Australia are FoxtelFoxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Neighbourhood Cable
Neighbourhood Cable
Neighbourhood Cable is a telecommunications provider based in regional Victoria, Australia . Neighbourhood Cable owns and operates Hybrid Fibre Coaxial cable networks in three Victorian regional cities:* Mildura* Ballarat* Geelong...
in some regional cities in Victoria, and Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
in Darwin. These services are available to the following cities: Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Mildura, Ballarat, Geelong, Bendigo, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
and the Albury
Albury
-Places:*Albury, New South Wales, Australia** Electoral district of Albury is an electoral district in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, based around the area.*Albury, Hertfordshire, England*Albury, Oxfordshire, England*Albury, Surrey, England...
Wodonga Conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, there are four forms of broadcast digital television. SkySKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
's satellite service (available nationwide), Freeview's satellite service (available nationwide), Freeview's terrestrial service (available in main centres) and TelstraClear
TelstraClear
TelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....
's cable service (available in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
)
Satellite
Sky TVSKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
launched New Zealand's first nationwide digital TV service in December 1998 and had a monopoly on digital satellite TV until the launch of Freeview's nationwide digital Satellite service in May 2007.
Terrestrial
The Freeview terrestrial service, named Freeview|HD is a high definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
service using AVCHD, launched on April 14, 2008. The service currently serves areas surrounding Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
, Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
-Hastings
Hastings, New Zealand
The city of Hastings is a major urban settlement in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, and it is the largest settlement by population in Hawke's Bay. Hastings city is the administrative centre of the Hastings District...
, Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, and Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
.
Cable
Digital cable television currently operates in WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
on TelstraClear
TelstraClear
TelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....
's cable TV system.
Belgium
BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
now has three major forms of broadcast digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
. Terrestrial (DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
/DVB-H
DVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
), Cable (DVB-C
DVB-C
DVB-C stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable...
), and Satellite (DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
). In addition IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
services are available.
In Belgium, all the regions have completed the analog switchover (DVB-T).
Croatia
Analogue terrestrial television was switched off in Croatia on 5 October 2010 for national TV stations. Local TV stations still broadcast as analogue TV.Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
(HRT) started to transmit DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
programmes in 1997. It transmits all three state-owned TV channels (HRT 1, HRT 2, HRT 3, later replaced by HRTplus
HRTplus
HRT Plus in an Croatian satellite channel owned by the public service broadcaster, HRT.The channel is available via Hot Bird, cable and Max TV, in Croatia and parts of Europe, America, and Australia.-History:...
), and three radio stations (HR 1, HR 2 and HR 3).
Croatia started to test DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
transmission early in 2002. It transmitted 4 national TV channels (HRT 1, HRT 2, RTL Televizija
RTL Televizija
RTL Televizija is a Croatian commercial broadcaster with national availability that has been broadcasting since April 30, 2004.RTL Televizija is 74% owned by the RTL Group....
, Nova TV) on a network of 9 transmitters built by Odašiljači i veze
Odašiljači i veze
Odašiljači i veze d.o.o. is a Croatian limited liability company , digital television and WiMAX operator born from the separation from Croatian Radiotelevision in 2001....
, completed in 2007 and covering about 70% of the country. Entire Croatia is covered with DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
in from 5 October 2010. The analogue switch-off process took place region by region, starting from January 2010 in Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
and Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
region and completing the switch-off on 5 October 2010 when the final region (Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
) was converted fully to DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
.
MPEG-2
MPEG-2
MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods which permit storage and transmission of movies using currently available storage media and transmission...
/SDTV is selected as a platform for free-to-air channels, initially with two MUX channels covering, where MUX A would be used by public TV Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
(HRT) and MUX B used by commercial TV stations, while later MUX C and MUX D will be populated by HD and regional channels, respectively.
Finland
Analogue terrestrial television was switched off in Finland on 1 September 2007.Ireland
In the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, currently there a number of providers of digital television. These include Sky Ireland
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
which is operated by the BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
satellite service (available nationwide), while UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
, Magnet Networks
Magnet Networks
Magnet Networks is an Irish company providing telephone, television and internet services via subscription over optical fibre.Magnet Networks was launched in Dublin on 1 December 2004, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based international investment company Columbia Ventures Corporation...
, Smartvision
Smart Telecom
Smart Telecom is an Irish telecom operator that started as a phone card seller. It is also the third largest provider of cost-sensitive telecom services sector in Ireland, behind the incumbent operator Eircom and BT Ireland. It currently has an estimated 50,000 land-line customers and 18,000...
,Crossan Cable provide various digital-cable services. Digital Television is also available by IPTV provider HomeVision and Magnet Networks
Magnet Networks
Magnet Networks is an Irish company providing telephone, television and internet services via subscription over optical fibre.Magnet Networks was launched in Dublin on 1 December 2004, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based international investment company Columbia Ventures Corporation...
.
- In 2008 Boxer TV were awarded the position to operate the Republic of Ireland's Digital Terrestrial Television platform which was meant to be rolled with RTÉ NL over the next 5 years. This service will offer subscription services and free-to-air channels sometime in late 2009 using MPEG4 standard. Beginning in September 2009. On May 9, 2009 as reported OneVision are likely to operate the pay DTT service. The official announcement will be made week beginning May 11–15, 2009. Due to an economic downturn in the Irish economy, Boxer TV which operates in Sweden and Denmark claimed it was unfeasible for the company to operate in Ireland. On May 11, 2009 it was reported OnevisionOne Vision (DTT)OneVision was a consortium that have been offered a licence by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to run the pay television services on the DTT platform in the Republic of Ireland....
would operate the pay DTT service. Further setbacks were announced on July 9, 2009 when it was confirmed by Ireland's national broadcaster that RTERaidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
would not launch its DTT service until other media partners were ready to launch their services. The original launch date was September 2009 and has now been deferred to launch in late 2010.
Netherlands
The NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
now has three major forms of broadcast digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
. Terrestrial (DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
/DVB-H
DVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
), Cable (DVB-C
DVB-C
DVB-C stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable...
), and Satellite (DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
). In addition IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
services are available.
Norway
The shutdown of the analogue service in Norway started on March 4, 2008 and was finished on December 1, 2009.Portugal
Portugal started its first digital broadcast with TVCabo Satélite (nowadays known as "ZON TV Satélite") in 1998, later, in 2001, implementation of Interactive services brought digital TV to the wired cable networks. While the Satellite branch was (and still is) popular in areas where the Cable branch is not available (such as remote areas and villages), iTV never became successful, and was later discontinued in 2002. Digital broadcast was still available under the name "powerbox" (after the STB used to receive the signal). In 2005, a little "analog switchover" happened, where coded analog channels (known as Premium) would cease broadcast in favour of powerbox. Every pay-TV provider offers digital television. As of 2010, all Premium channels in all pay-TV providers, are digital. DTT started on November 1, 2008 for LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and Castelo Branco
Castelo Branco
Castelo Branco Municipality is located in Castelo Branco District, in Centro Region, Portugal. The name means "white castle". It contains the city of Castelo Branco....
, and on April 26, 2009 for 80% of the country, and the government plans to cover the rest of the country until 2010-2011 New Year's Eve. Analog will then be switched off 6 months after TDT covers 87% of the country via terrestrial transmitters and 13% via satellite complementary coverage.
Sweden
The shutdown of the analogue service in SwedenTelevision in Sweden
Television in Sweden began in Sweden in the early 1950s with the first test transmissions, prior to the opening of the first station, Radiotjänst, two years later. A second channel was launched in 1969...
started on September 19, 2005 and was finished on October 29, 2007.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom now has five major forms of broadcast digital television, direct-to-home satelliteSatellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
services provided by British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
(branded as Sky) and Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
, digital cable television services provided by Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
and WightCable
WightCable
Wight Cable 2005 Ltd is the only provider of commercial and residential cable television services on the Isle of Wight. They also provide telephone and broadband internet services....
, and a free-to-air digital terrestrial service called Freeview. In addition there are two IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
systems known as TalkTalk TV owned by The Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse Group PLC , known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a 50% subsidiary of Best Buy...
or BT Vision
BT Vision
BT Vision is a hybrid IPTV-digital terrestrial television service provided by BT Group in the United Kingdom which was launched in December 2006...
, which is provided by BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
. Individual access methods vary throughout the country. For most UK viewers, Freesat, Sky or Virgin Media are the only sources of HDTV broadcast available in their area and the latter two come at a price over and above their standard TV packages.
Terrestrial
The initial attempt at launching a digital terrestrial broadcasting service on November 15, 1998, ONdigital (later called ITV DigitalITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network as ONdigital in 1998 and briefly re-branded as ITV Digital in July 2001, before the service ceased in May 2002. Its main shareholders...
), was unsuccessful and the company went into liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
.
ITV Digital was replaced in late 2002 by Freeview, which uses the same DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
technology, but with higher levels of error correction and more robust (but lower-capacity) modulation on the "Public Service" multiplexes in an attempt to counter the reception problems which dogged its predecessor. Rather than concentrating on Pay TV
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
services, Freeview uses the available capacity to provide a free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
service that includes all the existing five free-to-air analogue terrestrial channels and about twenty new digital channels. All services are transmitted in SDTV
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
mode.
March 31, 2004 saw the return of a limited pay-television offering to the digital terrestrial platform with the launch of Top Up TV
Top Up TV
Top Up TV is a pay television service in the UK launched in March 2004, operating on the digital terrestrial platform. The aim of the service is to "Top Up" Freeview customers by providing additional channels and services....
. This new service is designed to appeal to those who do not want to pay the high subscription fees that Sky Television and the Cable networks demand. The service carries a restricted hours service of some of the UK's most watched channels including the Discovery Channel, GOLD, Discovery Real Time
Discovery Real Time
Discovery Real Time is a factual television channel owned by Discovery Networks Europe.It was originally launched in the UK in March 1992 as TLC, a British version of the US channel of the same name...
, British Eurosport and Cartoon Network, sharing just three different slots. In October 2006, Top Up TV renamed itself Top Up TV Anytime
Top Up TV
Top Up TV is a pay television service in the UK launched in March 2004, operating on the digital terrestrial platform. The aim of the service is to "Top Up" Freeview customers by providing additional channels and services....
, taking advantage of the increase in the popularity of digital video recorder
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
s, and its limited channel space. Now over 100 programs (not channels) are broadcast overnight and added to the box's hard drive, and may be watched at any time. Channels that provide content for the overnight service include MTV
MTV (UK and Ireland)
MTV is a 24-hour general entertainment channel operated by Viacom International Media Networks.The channel was launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localization strategy in 1997. MTV UK was launched on 1 July 1997. The channel was set up to provide audiences with local artists and more relevant...
, Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (UK & Ireland)
Nickelodeon is a children's television channel available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, TalkTalk TV and UPC Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including on demand on BT Vision. The channel was launched on 1 September 1993...
and Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel (UK)
The Universal Channel is a television channel owned by NBCUniversal.The channel mainly broadcasts United States imports including drama series and TV movies such as House MD and Law & Order. However the channel also screens British dramas including Hustle and Spooks, and Australian series like Sea...
.
2005 saw the first areas of the United Kingdom losing their analogue signal in a pilot test. The residents of Ferryside
Ferryside
Ferryside is a seaside village in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is situated 8½ miles south of Carmarthen, near the mouth of the River Tywi and close to golden sandy beaches....
and Llansteffan
Llansteffan
Llansteffan is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Llansteffan is one of three settlements positioned on the Tywi river, other settlements include Ferryside and Carmarthen . Llansteffan Castle, built by the Normans in the 12th century, is located in the village...
in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
who had not already upgraded to digital television were given a free set-top box to receive the Freeview television service, which includes Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(previously unavailable terrestrially from transmitters in Wales) and S4C2
S4C2
S4C2 was a free-to-air British television station owned by S4C which, until 2010, broadcast coverage of the National Assembly for Wales at the Senedd....
, which broadcasts sessions of the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
. Digital transmissions for this pilot commenced in December 2004, at which time a message was added to the analogue picture advising viewers that the analogue services would end in February 2005.
2005 also saw the announcement by the regulator Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
about the proposed analogue switch off plans for the UK. It is proposed that the switch off will progress on an ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
region by region basis starting in 2008 with the Border Television
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
region, and ending in the UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
region in 2012. The coverage of the three public service broadcasting multiplexes will be the same as that enjoyed by the current analogue TV stations (98.5% of the population), while the three commercial multiplexes will eventually cover 90% of the population.
Freeview HD
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
are already producing some programmes in HD for a service on digital satellite, and foreign markets, such as the USA and Japan. The corporation intends to produce all its programmes in HD by the year 2010, and to broadcast all of its channels in HD "as soon as practical".
The BBC, ITV, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and Channel 5 ran terrestrial HDTV trials involving 450 homes in the London area during June–December 2006 on locally unused frequencies. As part of this trial, the BBC is already broadcasting BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
which is free to air but cannot be received by any set-top boxes currently commercially available. It can however be received and played back by a PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
equipped with a DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
card that is within range (as the broadcast is not encrypted) using a software H.264
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC is a standard for video compression, and is currently one of the most commonly used formats for the recording, compression, and distribution of high definition video...
decoder
Decoder
A decoder is a device which does the reverse operation of an encoder, undoing the encoding so that the original information can be retrieved. The same method used to encode is usually just reversed in order to decode...
.
With two channels (BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
and ITV1 HD), Freeview HD completed a "technical launch" on 2 December 2009 from Crystal Palace and Winter Hill
Winter Hill transmitting station
The Winter Hill transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site situated on Winter Hill, at the southern boundary of the Borough of Chorley, and above Bolton in Greater Manchester, England...
and operates on multiplex BBC B (aka Multiplex B or PSB3) from that date in regions that switched-over on or after that date, with the service coming to all regions by the end of 2012.
Channel 4 HD
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
appeared on Freeview channel 52 on 25 March 2010 with a placeholding caption, ahead of a commercial launch on 30 March 2010, coinciding with the commercial launch of Freeview HD. S4C HD
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
launched in April 2010 in Wales, where Channel 4 HD will not launch. BBC One was launched on November 3, 2010.
Freeview HD is the first operational TV service in the world using the DVB-T2
DVB-T2
DVB-T2 is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial; it is the extension of the television standard DVB-T, issued by the consortium DVB, devised for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television....
standard, which will require the purchase of new compatible reception equipment. Freeview HD set-top boxes and televisions were made available at the consumer launch of the service in early 2010. In order to qualify for the Freeview HD logo, receivers will need to be IPTV-capable and display Freeview branding, including the logo, on the electronic programme guide screen.
Cable
Virgin Media (formerly known as NTL:Telewest, after a merger of NTL Incorporated with Telewest Global, Inc.), became in 2006 the first "quadruple-playQuadruple play
In telecommunications, quadruple play is a marketing term combining the triple play service of broadband Internet access, television and telephone with wireless service provisions...
" media company in the United Kingdom, bringing together a service consisting of television, broadband internet, mobile phone and fixed-line telephone services. Virgin Media ranks as the UK's second largest pay TV service, having 3.6m subscribers and 55% national availability.
Trials of the UK's first HDTV service, the TVDrive PVR from Telewest, began on 1 December 2005 on a commercial pilot basis before a full launch in March 2006. Due to the merger between NTL and Telewest, the TVDrive was made available to NTL cable customers in the Teesside and Glasgow areas on 16 November 2006. In January 2007, NTL:Telewest began renting the STB nationwide and since the acquisition of the Virgin Media name, it is now officially available in all areas with the new V+ branding. Virgin Media is also the only cable provider to supply video on demand services.
As of October 2009, Virgin Media are broadcasting seven HD channels with plans for further new HD channels during 2010.
WightCable
WightCable
Wight Cable 2005 Ltd is the only provider of commercial and residential cable television services on the Isle of Wight. They also provide telephone and broadband internet services....
also provide cable television to the residents of the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. Smallworld Cable also provides cable television to the West of Scotland and North-West of England
Satellite
On 1 November 2005 ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
turned off encryption
VideoGuard
VideoGuard , produced by NDS, is a digital encryption system for use with conditional access television broadcasting. It is used on digital satellite television systems - some of which are operated by News Corporation, which owns about half of NDS...
on all of its satellite based signals, following the lead from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. These transmissions are on a limited spotbeam which is aimed primarily towards the United Kingdom, via the Astra 2D
Astra 2D
Astra 2D is one of a group of Astra communications satellites operated by SES, located at 28.2° east in the Clarke Belt. It is a Hughes HS-376 craft, and was launched from the Guiana Space Centre in December 2000....
satellite located at 28.2 degrees east. This theoretically limits reception to the UK, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, allowing ITV to fulfil licensing agreements with content producers. However, many people report successful reception of these signals from across Europe by using larger dishes.
Sky+ HD is offered by BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
in both the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland as an add-on to their existing Sky subscription service. The BBC is broadcasting BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
as a free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
channel from the Astra 2D
Astra 2D
Astra 2D is one of a group of Astra communications satellites operated by SES, located at 28.2° east in the Clarke Belt. It is a Hughes HS-376 craft, and was launched from the Guiana Space Centre in December 2000....
satellite, and the channel can be viewed for free with suitable satellite reception equipment. There are additional equipment and subscription charges for HD from Sky TV but they are broadcasting over 30 channels in the HD format. Sky also offers a free-to-air version of its regular Sky service known as Freesat from Sky
Freesat from Sky
Freesat from Sky is a British satellite television service from BSkyB. It offers over 240 free-to-air channels and 12 free-to-view encrypted channels...
. Freesat from Sky provides a non-subscription card for public service broadcast channels Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and Channel Five
Channel Five
Channel 5 is a television network that broadcasts in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1997, it was the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue network to launch. The station was branded as Five between 2002 and 2010...
, however Film4
Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
, Film4+1 are free-to-air.
On 12 July 2006, the BBC and ITV announced a free-to-air satellite service as a competitor to Freesat from Sky, to be called Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
. The service was officially launched on 6 May 2008 and covers all BBC and ITV digital TV channels, plus interactive services, radio channels, and other channels. It is being touted as the satellite equivalent to Freeview, especially for areas unable to receive the Freeview DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
service.
Canada
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has adopted the same digital television standard for stations in Canada as the United States. The CRTC initially decided not to enforce a single date for transitioning to digital broadcasts, opting to let the economy decide when the switchover will occur. However, a later decision settled on the date of August 31, 2011, limited to 30 markets. In addition, by August 31, 2011, all full power transmitters on channels 52 and above must either relocate to a lower channel or shut down.CITY-TV
CITY-TV
CITY-DT, Channel 57 , is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by Rogers Media...
was the first Canadian station to provide digital terrestrial service. As of 2007, other digital stations on-air include the CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
and Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
stations in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, as well as CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
's CFTO and CIVT, and CKXT (SUN TV). This list is not necessarily exhaustive and other station launches are completed or pending, although most are in the largest markets of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Also, this does not include digital or high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
versions of specialty channel
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
s.
On November 22, 2003, CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
had their first broadcast in HD, in the form of the Heritage Classic
Heritage Classic
The Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the first National Hockey League game to be played outdoors as a part of regular season play...
outdoor NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
game between the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
and the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
. Bell TV, a Canadian satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
company, Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
and Vidéotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
provide somewhat more than 21 HDTV channels to their subscribers including TSN HD
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
, Rogers Sportsnet
Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
HD, Discovery HD
Discovery HD
Discovery HD is the international name of the high-definition television channels from Discovery Communications.The international Discovery HD first launched in Korea on February 2005 as a programming block...
(Canadian Edition), The Movie Network
The Movie Network
The Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories...
HD, and several U.S. stations plus some PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
feeds and a couple of pay-TV movie channels. CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
Toronto broadcast in HD along with its western counterpart, BC CTV. They were also the first to broadcast a terrestrial HD digital ATSC
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
signal in Canada. Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
joined the crowd in late 2004. Other networks are continuing to announce availability of HD signals. CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
's Citytv
CITY-TV
CITY-DT, Channel 57 , is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by Rogers Media...
in Toronto was the first HDTV broadcaster in Canada; however, now most cable and satellite subscribers across Canada can access multiple channels in HDTV with major American and Canadian affiliate stations broadcasting HDTV signals with no CANCON
Cancon
Cancon is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France....
overlay for advertising. Typically these channels are NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
HD, ABC HD
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
HD, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
HD, TSN HD, Sportsnet HD, CBC HD, etc., as of summer 2006. CBC HD officially launched their HDTV programming on March 5, 2005. CBC HD broadcasts the first game of their Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
Saturday double header in HDTV. The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs
2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League championship began on April 21, 2006, following the 2005–06 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, seeded one through eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series with re-seeding after the conference quarterfinals...
games have seen an increased amount of HDTV coverage as well.
Costa Rica
Costa RicaCosta Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T as 7th country on 25 May 2010.
Mexico
Mexican television company TelevisaTelevisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
made experimental HDTV broadcasts in the early-1990s, in collaboration with Japan's NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
. Some events are now broadcast in high definition. During the first half of 2005, at least one cable provider in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Cablevision, has begun to offer 5 HDTV channels to subscribers purchasing a digital video recorder (DVR).
By the third quarter of 2005, HDTV transmissions from TV Azteca were available in Mexico's largest markets: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Phase Two of TV Azteca's national roll-out brought HDTV services to six cities along the Mexico-U.S. border (Matamoros
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...
, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo...
, Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, Mexicali
Mexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
, and Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
) by the first half of 2006. This roll-out took advantage of HDTV receivers already in place thanks to an earlier HDTV roll-out by stations on the American side of the border. TV Azteca has also broadcast the Mexican football tournament in HDTV.
XETV
XETV
XETV is a television station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, serving as the CW Television Network affiliate for the San Diego, California area across the international border in the United States...
in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Baja California, is on the air in HDTV using 720p format. This affiliate of the American CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
Network is on UHF channel 23 broadcasting from Mt. San Antonio in Tijuana, with 403,000 watts, directed primarily northward at San Diego. In January 2006, Televisa's XEFB-TV and Multimedios' XHAW-TV in Monterrey began HDTV transmissions on UHF channels 48 and 50, respectively. In February 2006, Televisa's XHUAA in Tijuana began its HDTV transmissions on channel 20. Unfortunately they have no HDTV programs. Channel 20 broadcasts an upconverted version of the programs of XHUAA's analog signal on channel 57.
Official plan for Mexican DTT
Currently there are 37 digital channels in Mexico. They are:- 11 in Mexico DF
- 6 in Monterrey
- 5 in Guadalajara
- 5 in Tijuana
- 4 in Juarez
- 3 in Mexicali
- 2 in Reynosa
- 2 in Matamoros
- 3 in Nuevo Laredo
Analog shutdown is scheduled to happen in 2015
Greenland
Subscription based digital terrestrial television is currently available in the capital NuukNuuk
Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...
(Godthab) through Nuuk TV's Nuuk Digital. In addition to the Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
ic and Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
public service broadcasters Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa
Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa
Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa is the national public broadcasting corporation of Greenland, based in the country's capital city, Nuuk....
, Nuuk TV
Nuuk TV
Nuuk TV is a television station in Nuuk, Greenland.The television programming is in the Danish language. Nuuk TV has sought to offer a wide range of programs since it began broadcasting on 1 August 2002. The stations motto is "Freedom to choose"...
, and Danmarks Radio, the service offers additional channels from Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
and American and European cable networks (typically subtitled in Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
). As Nuuk Digital is a premium service, and DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
broadcasts are not presently available in other settlements, the service continues to run alongside analogue terrestrial broadcasts from KNR, DR, and Nuuk TV. The government of Greenland
Politics of Greenland
Politics of Greenland takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Danish dependency, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Greenland is a self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979. Executive power...
has no plans or timetable for an analogue switch-off at the present time.
El Salvador
On April 22, 2009 El SalvadorEl Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
has adopted ATSC standards for digital terrestrial broadcasts and digital cable services. An analogue shutdown is currently tentatively scheduled for December 31, 2018.
Honduras
HondurasHonduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
was the first country in Central America to adopt a Digital TV standard, ATSC in 2007. Currently there are three digital channels broadcasting: "TEN Canal 10" was the first digital TV station in Honduras. It began broadcasting in 2007 in SDTV http://www.televisiondigital.electronicafacil.net/Article7580.html. CampusTv
CampusTv
CampusTv is a Hondurean high definition channel and the first channel to do in this country. It was founded by the Universidad de San Pedro Sula in 2007. The satellite signal covers the Americas and Europe.The Parameters are described next:...
, is the first high definition TV station in Central America, CampusTv http://www.campushd.tv was founded by the University of San Pedro Sula
University of San Pedro Sula
The University of San Pedro Sula was founded in 1977 and authorized by a governmental executive order on August 21, 1978...
La U Privada. The third channel is "La UTV" founded by the National Autonomous University of Honduras
National Autonomous University of Honduras
The National Autonomous University of Honduras is the national public university of Honduras. It was founded in 1847 and has many campuses throughout the country.-Autonomy:...
.
Panama
Panama approved the adoption of the European standard DVB-T to be used for the first time on the 2010 World Cup.United States
The United States has adopted ATSC standards for digital terrestrial broadcasts. These standards include standard definitionStandard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
, enhanced definition
Enhanced-definition television
Enhanced-definition television, or extended-definition television, is a United States Consumer Electronics Association marketing shorthand term for certain digital television formats and devices...
, and high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
formats. On May 8, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced that the agency would test run the transition to digital television in Wilmington, North Carolina beginning September 8, 2008. This was in order to work out any kinks which may not be foreseen before most of the country's broadcasters stopped transmitting traditional analog signals and upgrade to digital-only programming. Full-power terrestrial broadcasts using the analogue NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
standard was required by law to cease by June 12, 2009. Some television sets will continue to use analog NTSC tuners if connected to an analog cable system, or a converter box (which may receive digital signals over the air, from a cable system, or from a satellite system). Low-power broadcasts, as well as some Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
or Mexican border signals, may remain available in analog form to some US viewers after the shutdown of US-based full-power NTSC broadcasts.
Argentina
After a bumpy ride of back and forths, ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
officially selected the Japanese-Brazilian standard ISDB-T International on August 28, 2009, and agreed with Japan to cooperate for resource exchange and technical transfer, as applied on Peru.
While HDTV-ready TV sales are increasing in Argentina, no single HD feed is currently available by terrestrial television as of mid 2009, as the standard selection process wasn't officialized until August 28, 2009. As of this date only a few are available by cable, which are unregulated and use ATSC set top boxes installed at the customers' premises. Subscription TV provider Antina http://www.antina.com.ar uses the DVB standard to deliver an alternative service to cable TV, using standard definition analog outputs.
It is expected that the public TV stations begin transition to ISDB-T that the standard for Over-the-air transmissions has been set, and On air service started from 28 April 2010.
As of september 2011, a few programs are available in 1080i@50Hz and broadcasted by air. That includes most of local football matches and a TV show hosted by Sergio Goycochea (former goalkeeper of Argentina's national football team), all of them on "TV Pública HD"; and also soap operas such as "El Hombre de Tu Vida", "Cuando Me Sonreís" and "Supertorpe", on Telefe HD.
Bolivia
BoliviaBolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T International on 5 July 2010.
Brazil
The SBTVDSBTVD
ISDB-T International or SBTVD, short for Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão Digital is a technical standard for digital television broadcast used in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Philippines, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Uruguay, based on the Japanese ISDB-T...
standard (based on the Japanese standard ISDB-T) was adopted 29 June 2006 and launched in 2 November 2007. In 2007, only the greater São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
metropolitan area could receive the signal. Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
began to receive free-to-air digital signal on April 7 and April 8, 2008, respectively. On August 4, 2008 and October 22, 2008, Goiânia
Goiânia
-Climate:The city has a tropical wet and dry climate with an average temperature of . There's a wet season, from October to April, and a dry one, from May to September. Annual rainfall is around 1,520 mm....
and Curitiba
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
began to receive DTV signal, respectively. Digital broadcast started at Salvador
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
on December 2 and Campinas
Campinas
Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....
on December 3, 2008. The government estimated 7 years for complete signal expansion over all of the territory. Analog television is set to be shut down in 2016, but it can be delayed if needed.
The interactive
Interactive television
Interactive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...
platform called Ginga
Ginga (SBTVD Middleware)
Ginga is the middleware specification for the Brazilian Digital TV System . Ginga was developed based on a set of standardized technologies, such as ITU-T J.200, and also adding innovations developed by Brazilian researchers...
consists entirely of free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and received high publicity for being considered the main appeal for the change. The government promised WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
as return channel
Return channel
In communications systems that use star topologies, the return channel is the transmission link from a user terminal to the central hub....
for the system, set to be implemented in the following years.
All 5 major TV networks (Band, Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
, Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...
, RedeTV! and SBT) broadcast in HDTV signal (1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
), SDTV
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
480i
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
and 1seg
1seg
is a mobile terrestrial digital audio/video and data broadcasting service in Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. Service began experimentally during 2005 and commercially on April 1, 2006. In Brazil, the broadcast started in late 2007 in just a few cities, with a slight difference from...
as well.
Chile
TVN has made HDTV tests in 1999, Canal 13 is now broadcasting, in SantiagoSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
only, a test transmission in the three HDTV formats (ATSC, DVB and ISDB). In Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, UCV made ATSC broadcast tests for the Valparaiso area, and Canal 13 also has made tests in DVB format in April 2007 for the Valparaiso area. After rescheduling the date for a final decision on DTV formats several times, The government has stopped offering dates for such an announcement. On September 14, 2009, president Michelle Bachelet announced that the government had finally decided, after prolonged delays, on a digital television standard. Chile will be adopting the ISDB-T Japanese standard (with the custom modifications made by Brazil). Simulcasting is expected to begin in 2010, with a projected analog switch-off in 2017.
September 10, 2010, TVN, Canal 13, Chilevision, La Red, UCV, El Mostrador TV and NGB are trassmiting digital signals in Santiago.
TVN and Chilevision made test whit 3D TV on free ISDB-T channels 30 and 33.
Currently there are 13 digital channels in Santiago of Chile. They are:
- 24.1 Canal 13 HD
- 24.2 Canal 13 C
- 26.1 El Mostrador HD
- 26.2 El mostrador SD
- 27.1 Mega HD
- 28.1 La Red Difgital
- 30.1 Chilevision HD 1
- 30.2 Chilevision HD 2
- 33.1 TVN HD 1
- 33.2 TVN SD
- 36.1 Chilevision 2 (encripted)
- 36.2 Canal de Noticias (encripted)
- 36.3 Canal internacional (encripted)
Colombia
On August 28, 2008 ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
has adopted the European digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
standard, DVB-T.
Señal Colombia
Señal Colombia
Señal Colombia is a Colombian national television channel established and funded by the government, launched in 1970 as Canal 11. It uses its current name since 1995....
—Colombia's state-owned channel— has made digital terrestrial television broadcast tests since 2006, in northwest Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
and downtown Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
, transmitting into the three DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
formats ATSC
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
, DVB-T and ISDB-T. Also the Chinese standard DMB-T/H
DMB-T/H
DTMB is the TV standard for mobile and fixed terminals used in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau. Although at first this standard was called DMB-T/H , the official name is DTMB.DTT broadcasting systems...
, was considered, but could not be tested.
HDTV-ready television sets (DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
) have been available in Colombia since 2003, but cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
companies have not broadcast HD content to their subscribers. Satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
DirecTV Colombia offer HD channels.
Preparations were made to launch DVB-T services in (tentatively) May 2009, when the first DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
transmitter was to go live (probably at Manjui hill in Facatativá
Facatativá
Facatativá is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, located about 28 miles northwest of Bogotá, Colombia and 2,586 meters above sea level...
). The launch was to initially allow 11 million households in the regions of Bogotá D.C., Boyaca
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
, Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
, north of Huila
Huila Department
Huila is one of the departments of Colombia. It is located in the southwest of the country, and its capital is Neiva.-Geography:The south of the department is located in the Colombian Massif...
, Tolima, western Meta
Meta
Meta- , is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
, and probably Caldas
Caldas Department
Caldas is a department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It's part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 1,030,062, and its area is 7,291 km²...
and Risaralda
Risaralda, Caldas
Risaralda is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Caldas....
to watch DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
services.
On December 28, 2010, Caracol TV
Caracol TV
Caracol Televisión is a Colombian private national television network, owned by Julio Mario Santo Domingo.- History :Caracol Televisión started in 1954 when Organización de Radiodifusora Caracol offered to afford national television costs, then state-run, through commercial spots...
and RCN TV
RCN TV
RCN Televisión , is a Colombian private television network. It started as a production company in 1967...
officially started digital broadcasts for Bogotá, Medellín and surrounding areas on channels 14 and 15 UHF, respectively. Señal Colombia
Señal Colombia
Señal Colombia is a Colombian national television channel established and funded by the government, launched in 1970 as Canal 11. It uses its current name since 1995....
and Canal Institucional
Canal Institucional
Canal Institucional is a Colombian state-run national television channel launched 2 February 2004.It broadcasts programmes produced by state institutions in order to promote and publicize their activities to the public...
had started test digital broadcasts earlier in 2010.
The Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Impulsa TDT, the association for the implementation of digital-terrestrial television and the Colombian government have signed an official agreement under which Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
will help the country implement DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
.
Ecuador
EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T as 6th country on 26 March 2010.
Paraguay
ParaguayParaguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T on 1 June 2010.
Peru
Chosen the Brazilian modified version of the Japanese standard ISDB-T on 23 April 2009. Agreed with Japan to cooperate for resource exchange and technical transfer on 21 August 2009, and On air service started on Channel 7 of TV Perú from 30 March 2010. 1seg1seg
is a mobile terrestrial digital audio/video and data broadcasting service in Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. Service began experimentally during 2005 and commercially on April 1, 2006. In Brazil, the broadcast started in late 2007 in just a few cities, with a slight difference from...
is one of attractive system.
Achieved first HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
live demonstration and test program transmission using OB Van in aiming nationwide deployment with the Japanese cooperation in Trujillo
Trujillo, Peru
Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region, and the third largest city in Peru. The urban area has 811,979 inhabitants and is an economic hub in northern Peru...
for 3 days from 28 January 2011.
Uruguay
On August 27, 2007, the UruguayUruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an government issued a decree stating that the DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
and DVB-H
DVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
standards will be adopted. While HDTV-ready TV sets are available at the country, a few factors seem to constrain the development of the new technology in the near term:
- Prices for LCD, Plasma and DLP-based TV sets can be two times more expensive in Uruguay than in the region, or four times more expensive than in the US, while wages are also lower than in the region. Some DLP-based displays can cost up to US$7000 in Uruguay as of 2006. There have been few examples, if any, of CRT-based HDTV sets.
- The cable industry has few incentives to provide other services beyond basic TV services: Internet-by-cable and cable telephony have been either strictly prohibited by law (Antel, the local telco company owned by the government and with a strong union, enjoys a monopoly on basic telephony services and land lines) or thwarted by high taxes on equipment that make a business case for newer technologies unfeasible. Digital Cable has started rolling out, with an initial 100% increase of monthly cost for the SD digital service. High prices for HDTV sets do not help. Some of the cable companies for the largest markets are also owned by the largest local TV content providers, which as of 2006 have not started broadcasting any HDTV content since there has not been an approval of which standard is to be used by the government.
- DirecTV might be in a better position to provide HDTV content, given that they have experience and content from the US and given that they serve the whole continent. But DirecTV's policy in Uruguay has been that of providing "leftover" equipment from Argentina to its customers in Uruguay (i.e., first-generation RCA receivers), which as of now do not support HDTV content or Dolby AC-3 Sound.
- Uruguay hoped for neighboring countries reaching an agreement on an HDTV standard, but so far that does not seem to be the case. Brazil has adopted the ISDB system, while Argentina and Uruguay have historically used TV systems based on a European standard (PAL-N 625/50 Hz). Argentina seemed to be settling on the ATSC standard before 2009, and Uruguayan URSEC authorities have provided no information on which road they will go. On August 27, 2007, URSEC settled on DVB-T and DVB-H. The TV sets being sold in Uruguay seem to be closer to ATSC HDTV-based standards (60 Hz systems, with ATSC tuners in some cases). Most of the DVD-based content in the country is NTSC/60 Hz-based, while the TV standard in use is PAL/50 Hz-based. Most of the analog TV sets sold are PAL-N, PAL-M and NTSC capable, while most DVD players are multiregion. Authorities are not asking retailers to identify which standard the HDTV sets sold adhere to.
Uruguayan government decided to adopt ISDB-T for geopolitical reasons and to be consistent relations with Argentina and Brazil on December 27, 2010, Uruguayans will start receiving digital television signals by the end of 2012, and scheduling analog signals blackout will be in 2014-2015.
Venezuela
On October 6, 2009, VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
has officially adopted ISDB-T with Brazilian modifications. Transition from analog to digital is expected to take place in the next 10 years. The seven stages of Set-top box
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
manufacturing, testing and implement schedule is well proceeding and will start to deploy DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
from 2011.
External links
- The Launching Country, DiBEG-Japan
- Worldwide overview of the digital terrestrial systems ATSC, DMB-T/H, DVB-T and ISDB-T
- Digital TV News – By Country/Region
HDTV
Latin America
- Free-to-air DTV in Latin America NexTV Latam, TV Telco Latam