Another significant new change will see additional spending for Italians: Digital Terrestrial welcomes DVB-T2 technology.
In recent years, television technology has undergone a remarkable evolution. From the introduction of color television to the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, changes have been significant. This led to further improvement in image and sound quality, as well as a greater variety of content and new ways of using it, such as online streaming.
The last significant turning point was the transition to digital terrestrial, a technology that has made the concept of high quality accessible to all, although the purchase of new enabled devices or decoders was necessary. Although little time has passed since the last news, it will be there in the hot month of August a new important revolution.
The new switch off of August 2024
They will be the ones to take the first step towards this change the Rai networks, adopting the new broadcast standard called DVB-T2. This innovation recently announced by Codacons has already aroused curiosity, as well as a note of concern for the possible additional cost for families with incompatible televisions.
But what this transition entails? DVB-T2, short for ‘Digital Video Broadcasting – 2nd Generation Terrestrial’ is essentially an improvement compared to the current DVB-T standard, which we use for digital television broadcast. The main innovations concern signal reception, which becomes more powerful, and the use of more advanced coding. The Mux (or Multiplex) allows you to transmit multiple channels using the same frequency band.
With the new Rai standard, the Mux will mainly include the top three national networks (Rai 1, Rai 2 and Rai 3), and it is planned to extend coverage even to the most remote areas of the country. This will only be the beginning, as all networks will gradually transition to the new standard.
When will the transition be?
There is no definitive date yet for the complete switch to DVBT-2. Until then, programs will be broadcast with both the old (DVBT) and the new standard (DVBT-2).
For find out if your TV is compatible just check the ‘Digital Synthesizer’ item in the TV’s main menu: if ‘DVB-T2 HEVC/H265’ appears, it means that the TV is ready for the future. Alternatively, we can tune in on digital terrestrial channel 558, where Rai Sport HD is broadcast in HEVC format: if the images are visible, it means that the television is already compatible. If it is not, we can opt for the purchase of a new television or a DVB-T2 decoder to continue watching our favorite programs without problems.
