RAI launches HDTV trials on DTT
December 19, 2008
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italian public broadcaster RAI has initiated the first Super High Definition transmissions in the new DVB-T2 standard for DTT from its Eremo Broadcasting Centre in Turin.
The DVB-T2 standard increases the transmission capacity by around 40 per cent (up to 34-40 Mb/s), enabling the transmission of 3-4 HDTV programs encrypted in MPEG-4 (in comparison to the 2-3 allowed by DVB-T) or even 1 Super High Definition 4K channel. Also, the HDTV services can be transmitted simoultaneously with the existing standard quality DTT and mobile TV (DVB-H) services.
The field trials in Turin will serve to test the features of the DVB-T2 system, both in terms of propagation as well as in regards to the robustness and resistence to interference in various operative conditions. Italy's ScreenService and Spain's SIDSA developed the DVB-T2 transmitter and receiver, respectively. The Super High Definition technology is expected to become available on the market in around ten years time.
Last September, RAI, together with Japan's NHK and the UK's BBC, won the "IBC Special Award" for the Super High Vision (SHV) project.