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This is alist ofdigital television deployments by country, which summarizes the process and progress of transition fromanalog to digital broadcasting.
The transition to digital television is a process that is happening at different paces around the world. Although digitalsatellite television is now commonplace, the switch to digitalcable andterrestrial television has taken longer. The major terrestrial broadcast standards areDVB-T/T2 (Europe and most of Africa and Oceania),ATSC 1/3.0 (North America and South Korea),DTMB (China), andISDB/Tb (two incompatible variations used in Japan and much of South America).
Botswana became the first country in Africa to adoptISDB-T International on 26 February 2013, evaluated the hierarchical mode of operation, which allows for the simultaneous transmission to fixed, mobile and portable receivers from a single transmitter, advantageous overDVB-T2.[1][2][3]
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The earliest form of digital television inMozambique began in 1996 with Southern African pay-TV operatorDStv. 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 18 January, Mozambique's Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that the country would be adopting theDVB-T2 system for transmission of terrestrial television channels. The implementation is expected to be completed by 2015.[4]
WhileNamibia's public broadcasters still rely on analogue transmission and have not announced a transition date to digital television, thepay-TV operatorMultiChoice already operates a digital television service using theDVB-T standard.
The first digital television implementation inSouth Africa was a satellite-based system launched by pay-TV operatorMultiChoice 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. The rollout of digital television has been further delayed.[5]
In 2020 to 2021, for the first time in Africa, HD demonstration content was received via satellite without the need for a separate external receiver or decoder. At the 2021 Industry Day's conference in Egypt, Cairo broadcast quality HD content (with a resolution of1080 × 720 pixels at 50 FPS) was encoded using AVS encoder (at a bit rate of ).[clarification needed][citation needed]
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.[6][7][8]
TheKnesset approved the law regarding DTT in late 2007.The Second Authority for Television and Radio is responsible for the deployment of the system - the branded name of which is "Idan+". The system consists of 10 channels:Kan 11,Makan 33,Kan Educational,Keshet 12,Reshet 13,Channel 14,Knesset Channel,Music 24,Israel Plus andHala TV . DVB-T standard broadcasts using the MPEG-4 Part 10, H.264 (AVC) video and HE AAC+ V2 audio codecs were launched in mid-2009. In August 2015 a DVB-T2 standard system was launched in parallel. In February 2025 the DVB-T standard was discontinued and the country only maintains the DVB-T2 standard.[9]
DVB-T2 modern technology for broadcasting TV channels within the borders of the state of Kuwait and broadcasts are received through receivers (receivers) that are connected to television sets if the devices are not supported by this technology.the channels covered by digital terrestrial TV broadcasting?Kuwait State TV package as follows:- The first- The second- Sports- Sports Plus- Enrichment- Arabi- the Council- Spouse- Stay homeMost countries of the world have the technology of digital terrestrial television broadcasting.https://www.media.gov.kw/DVBT2.aspx
National Television Company inMorocco startedDVB-T based digital TV deployment in February 2007.[10]
Digital TV is now available in the following cities and their regions:[11] Casablanca, Benslimane, Settat, Nouaceur, Mediouna, Mohammedia, Rabat, Salé, Skhirat-Temara, Kenitra, Sidi Kacem, Khemisset, Meknes, Fes, Oujda, Tanger and Marrakech.
The first phase of digital terrestrial television (DTT) transmission inSaudi Arabia was launched on 11 June 2006 in the main cities ofRiyadh,Jeddah andDammam, theArabNews reports. Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture and Information for Engineering Affairs, Riyadh Najm, said: "The southern city ofAbha and the central city ofBuraidah will also have the facility within this month." He added, "By February next year (20??) theDTT 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 andAl Ekhbariya) as well as the Saudi radio programmes (General Programme,Radio Qur'an, Second Programme and European Programme) with better clarity.[12]
A digital television trial was completed on 9 November 2000 – 31 May 2001 and was officially launched on 9 November 2010, by TV5. Analog switch-off will be 2015–2020.
As of 2017,Phnom Penh Cable Television and One TV offer encrypted DVB-T2 pay TV services, viewable only with a subscription and set top box with card.
In Phnom Penh, the following channels are available free to air: S Movie, SREPLAY (ETV), S Cinema, Nice TV, Fox Sports, Fox Action Movies, ARY Musik, CGTN Documentary, YTN World, SanSha TV, OneTV Sabay 1.
In 2003, China’sState Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) selected 41 locations for digital television trials, which began later that year.[13] Following national development plans, SARFT created a timetable for transitioning from analog to digital broadcasting. The plan aimed for full digital implementation by 2010 and complete phase-out of analog television by 2015.[14] By the end of 2007, China was estimated to have over 27 million digital TV users.[15]
In 2004, a debate emerged over whether the digital television standard developed by Tsinghua University or Shanghai Jiao Tong University should be adopted nationally. In July 2007, China announced a unified national standard, primarily based on Tsinghua University’s technology, which made up 95% of the final version.[16]
On 1 September 2005, the firstHDTV channel in China, which would be broadcast nationwide later, began to air inHangzhou.[17][18]
On 31 December 2007, local broadcasters began airing high-definition television (HDTV) using China’sDTMB standard (1920×1080i). As of now, 12 HD channels broadcast 24 hours a day. Broadcasters in Hong Kong have shown interest in adopting the same standard to facilitate transmission into Southern China and reduce costs associated with format conversion.[citation needed]
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As of 2012, India had over 600 satellite television channels. The country adopted the DVB-T system for digital terrestrial broadcasting in July 1999.[19]Doordarshan began DVB-T transmissions on 26 January 2003 in the four major metropolitan cities.[20] Terrestrial broadcasts are currently available in both analog and digital formats. Under the Cable Digitalisation Act, all cable networks were required to switch from analog to digital transmission by 31 March 2015, with the transition planned in four phases.[21]
India’s digital switchover was implemented in phases, beginning with the four major metropolitan cities—New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai—on 1 November 2012. The second phase covered cities like Patna, Chandigarh, Pune, and Bengaluru, with a cutoff date of 31 March 2013. The third phase, ending on 30 November 2014, included all other urban areas, including state capitals. The final phase for remaining cities was scheduled for 31 March 2015. The nationwide transition to digital broadcasting was completed in December 2016.[22]
Digital television in India is also available through Direct-to-Home (DTH) services, which deliver TV channels via satellite directly to viewers’ homes. These services use both Indian satellites, built by ISRO (such as INSAT-4A and INSAT-3C), and international satellites like NSS 6 andThaicom-2.[23][24]
As of 2010, India had over 23 million DTH subscribers and seven major providers, including Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct, BIG TV (Reliance), Airtel Digital TV, and the public service DD Direct Plus. With over 110 million TV households and multiple companies competing for viewers, India had the most competitive satellite TV market in the world. In 2012, it became the largest direct-to-home satellite market, surpassing the United States.[23][24]
Indonesia began experimenting with digital television broadcasting in 2008. In January 2014, the Supreme Court annulled regulations issued by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, removing the requirement for an analog shut-off and allowing local analog broadcasters to lease channels allocated for digital broadcasting. From August 2014, UHF DVB-T2 equipment became available for public purchase.[25]
Japan was an early developer of high-definition television (HDTV), initially using an analog system that was later found to be incompatible with digital standards. Digital terrestrial HD broadcasting via the ISDB-T system began on 1 December 2003 in major metropolitan areas and was expanded nationwide by September 2007. By January 2008, around 31 million HD receivers had been sold in the country.[26]
Japan considered technical improvements to ISDB-T proposed by Brazilian researchers involved in the SBTVD project, though these changes were not adopted due to compatibility issues. They were instead considered for use in other countries.[27]
Adoption of digital TV in Japan was slowed by high equipment costs and concerns about digital rights management. In response, the “Dubbing 10” rule was introduced in July 2008, allowing consumers to make up to ten copies of digital broadcasts.[28]
By March 2008, more than 32 million ISDB-T television sets had been installed in Japan. That same year, guidelines were issued for developing PC-compatible DTT receiver units.[29]
As part of the transition to digital, analog broadcasting was permanently shut down in parts of Ishikawa Prefecture in September 2010, ahead of the nationwide shutdown scheduled for 24 July 2011. In three prefectures affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami—Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima—the analog shutdown was postponed until 31 March 2012.[30]
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After a long controversy between the government and broadcasters inSouth Korea,ATSC was chosen overDVB-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 version (T-DMB). T-DMB encountered a wide success, both in South Korea and abroad. For more details seeDigital Multimedia Broadcasting.
Malaysia began testing DVB-T in 2006, and limited digital terrestrial television (DTT) services were introduced in January 2014.[31][32] Digital television was officially launched on 6 June 2017 with the introduction of MYTV Broadcasting.[33][34] The service initially included nine channels, and the nationwide transition from analog to digital broadcasting was scheduled in stages throughout 2019.[35][36][37]
The switchover began in Langkawi on 21 July and was completed in West Malaysia on 16 October, followed by East Malaysia on 31 October 2019.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44]
Satellite
Cable
IPTV
Digital television has been launched in Pakistan with Chinese assistance as part of theChina–Pakistan Economic Corridor[45]
On 20 April 2015,Prime Minister of PakistanNawaz Sharif andGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyXi Jinping implemented a number of agreements between thetwo very friendly countries which included Pakistani adoption of theDigital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast Chinese standard. The Pakistani side had previously evaluated the other competing digital standards including the European DVB-T and Japanese ISDB-T before rejecting them in favour of the Chinese technology which extremely impressed thePakistani government.ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications giant, was selected by theChinese government to roll out digital television services in Pakistan.[45][46] This will also include staff training and content creation including partnerships with Chinese multinational companies in multiple areas including television sets and set top boxes as a form of "International Cooperation".[47]
The Chinese presence in Pakistan's digital landscape has been increasing in recent years and the DTMB adoption by Pakistan and the increasing Chinese information and telecommunications technology in Pakistan is part of the widerBelt and Road Initiative with the goal to great a "Digital Silk Road" inPakistan toAfrica andEurope.[48]
Digital television transition in thePhilippines started its planning stage in 2006 after theNational Telecommunications Commission released a memorandum on what DTV broadcast standard was to be adopted for the country. The commission decided to have UHF TV channels 14–51 at frequency spectrum 470-698MHz given over to digital broadcast. The commission opted not to choose theATSC standard, although the Philippines uses theNTSC-M standard. Instead the country started test trials of two different standards, those being theDVB of Europe and ISDB of Japan. Many broadcasters agreed to adopt the Japanese ISDB but some opted for the European DVB. On 11 June 2010, theNational Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines announced that the country would adopt theISDB standard.[49][50] The first fully operational digital TV channel in the country isGEM-TV49 of the religious groupIglesia ni Cristo.
While the Japanese ISDB-T standard was adopted for terrestrial digital TV transmission, digital cable and satellite TV providers in the Philippines such asSkyCable andCignal use the EuropeanDVB system for service distribution to carry some channels based inEurope,Taiwan,Malaysia, andSingapore (which are using DVB) through country-specific feed of them.
An internet user had created an online petition urging NTC to adoptATSC orATSC 3.0 together with or replace the currently existing ISDB-T.[51]
Singapore's digital TV (DTV) journey started in 2012 when it was announced that the nation's free-to-air TV channels will go fully digital using the DVB-T2 (Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial) broadcasting standard. Since December 2013, all seven Mediacorp channels have been broadcast in digital.
On 6 November 2017, MDA announced that analogue television would cease to broadcast entirely by the end of 2018, up from the intended 19 February 2018, to facilitate more time for majority of Singaporeans to switch to DTV as soon as possible.[52] The analogue broadcast was finally ceased on 2 January 2019.[53]
The adoption of the DVB-T2 standard was decided after a successful trial that was conducted with free-to-air broadcaster Mediacorp. The trial, which involved some 500 households in Ang Mo Kio and Bedok estates, showed that DVB-T2 was suitable for deployment in Singapore's urbanised environment. DVB-T2 also offers higher efficiency, robustness and flexibility, enabling efficient use of valuable terrestrial spectrum for the delivery of audio, video and data services to fixed, portable and mobile devices.
The first Television network ofSri Lanka was launched on 13 April 1979. TheITN channel, owned by theIndependent Television Network Limited (ITN) became the first terrestrial television channel of Sri Lanka. On 5 June 1979, ITN was converted to a government-owned business and was later brought under the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Act of 1982 along with the newly createdSri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC).Significant changes occurred in 1992 as the government permitted the establishment of private television networks. Subsequently, theMTV Channel network was launched in collaboration withSingapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel).
Since then many new television networks have come into existence within Sri Lanka. There are also a number of Satellite networks and pay per view television networks in Sri Lanka. The national telecommunications provider,Sri Lanka Telecom also launched an IPTV service in 2008. MTV Channel had introduced Sri Lanka's first 24-hour Television channel,"Sirasa TV" on the 2009 as a thought to satisfy the thoughts of the public to analyse the ongoing global affairs.
Digital television launched terrestrially inTaiwan on 2 July 2004. Currently,[when?] there aresimulcasts of analogue and digital television. Taiwan plans to replace an American analogue broadcasting systemNTSC with a European digital TV systemDVB-T by 2012 using 6 MHz channel bandwidth just like inColombia,Panama, andTrinidad and Tobago. To assist lower-income families with the switch to digital television, the government plans to provideNT$300 million in aid to purchase converters or for the purchase of new digital televisions.[54]
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The first digital television service inThailand was launched by satellite based pay-TV operatorIBC in 1996 using theDVB-S system.
Starting from December 2000, the Thai national broadcasterModernine TV began its trial Digital Terrestrial Digital Television (DDTV) service for six months to 2000 selected households in the capital city ofBangkok and surrounding areas on UHF Band 658 MHz and 674 MHz (or Channel 44 and 46) using the DVB-T standard. The trial DDTV service will of current "current" 2 analogue TV channels (i.e.Modernine TV andTV3) in digital, and 2 new digital-only channels, namelyMCOT 1 andASEAN TV. Also provided under the service are sevenFM radio stations indigital audio andinteractive services. Nationwide implementation is planned to begin by the year 2007 or 2008, although as of August 2008 digital transmission is still only available in theBangkok Metropolitan Area and possibly deferred. Even though MCOT's trial was a success, the future of the digital terrestrial television transition has become uncertain, especially after the end ofSomchai Wongsawat's tenure as theprime minister and the beginning of successorAbhisit Vejjajiva. All the above digital television services are in standard definition and MCOT would have initiated HDTV trials by 2009.
Vietnam tested DVB-T in 2003 from a national school inHo Chi Minh City. A DVB-T channel is launching in 2001 by VTC Digital. DVB-T2 was launched in 2011 in Vietnam by AVG - Audio Video Global JSC, now is MobiTV by Mobifone - Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services (from 26 February 2016).[citation needed] Analogue signals switched off on 1 November 2015 in Da Nang, Vietnam. Da Nang is the first city in Asean has launched analogue switch off successfully.
There are many digital satellite TV services in Australia, these are,Foxtel,Austar,Selectv,Optus,TransACT andUBI World TV. Digital satellite television is popular withFoxtel andAustar alone reaching over one quarter of the nation's population.
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 available nationwide. Analogue transmissions were phased out between mid-2010 and December 2013.
Digital Cable operators in Australia areFoxtel,Neighbourhood Cable in some regional cities in Victoria, andAustar in Darwin. These services are available to the following cities:Sydney,Melbourne,Brisbane,Adelaide,Perth,Gold Coast,Canberra,Hobart,Geelong,Ballarat,Bendigo,Albury/Wodonga,Mildura andDarwin.
On the Island of Aitutaki - ArauraTV & Radio Ltd have commenced broadcasting in the DVB-T2 format - leapfrogging the technology being used by most terrestrial broadcasters elsewhere in the Pacific. They are currently broadcasting 6 channels of content and this will increase to 8 channels before the end of 2021.
In New Zealand, there are several forms of broadcast digital television.Sky's Pay TV satellite service (available nationwide),Freeview's free-to-air satellite service (available nationwide), Freeview's free-to-air terrestrial service and multiple IPTV service providers.
Sky TV launched New Zealand's first nationwide digital Pay 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.
The Freeview terrestrial service is ahigh definitiondigital terrestrial television service using AVCHD, launched on 14 April 2008. The service currently serves 86 percent of the population - notable large towns without the service includeWhakatāne,Blenheim,Oamaru andQueenstown.
Analogue terrestrial television in Albania is supposed to switch off in September 2019.
Albania has three major forms of broadcastdigital television. Terrestrial (DVB-T2) using MPEG4, Cable (DVB-C) using MPEG4 and MPEG2, and Satellite (DVB-S). In addition multipleIPTV services are available.
Belgium now has three major forms of broadcastdigital 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).
Analogue terrestrial television was switched off in Croatia on 5 October 2010.
Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) started to transmitDVB-S programmes in 1997. It transmits all four state-owned TV channels (HRT 1,HRT 2,HRT 3 andHRT 4), 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,HRT 3 andNova TV) on a network of 9 transmitters built byOdašiljači i veze, completed in 2007 and covering about 70% of the country. Entire Croatia is covered withDVB-T in from 5 October 2010. The analogue switch-off process took place region by region, starting from January 2010 inIstria andRijeka region and completing the switch-off on 5 October 2010 when the final region (Zagreb) was converted fully toDVB-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 TVCroatian 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.
Croatia has started transition in 2019 to DVB-T2 HEVC for national broadcast.
Czech Republic launched first experimental DVB-T broadcast in May 2000, which was then made available to the public in October 2005.[55] Analogue terrestrial television was switched off on 30 November 2011.[56]
In November 2019,Czech Republic started the transition to theDVB-T2 standard withH.265 (HEVC) codec. This transition has been finished on 28 October 2020 (delayed from the original plan, which was 24 June 2020), when the last DVB-T transmitter was switched off.[57][58]
As of October 2025, there were 4 nationwide DVB-T2 multiplexes in the Czech Republic with 46free-to-air TV channels and 18 radio stations.[59][60]
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Analogue terrestrial television was switched off inFinland on 1 September 2007, and analogue cable television on 1 March 2008. All pay-TV channels switched to DVB-T2 in May 2017. Finland switches fully to DVB-T2 in 2025
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InIreland, there are a number of providers of digital television. These includeSky Ireland which is operated bySky plc (available nationwide), whileVirgin Media Ireland,Magnet Networks and Cablecomm provide various digital-cable services. Digital Television is also available by IPTV providerMagnet Networks.
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Latvia now has three major forms of broadcastdigital television. Terrestrial (DVB-T) using MPEG4 and MPEG2, Cable (DVB-C) using MPEG4 and MPEG2, and Satellite (DVB-S). In addition multiple IPTV services are available.
Lithuania now has three major forms of broadcastdigital television. Terrestrial (DVB-T) using MPEG-4, Cable (DVB-C), and Satellite (DVB-S). In addition IPTV services are available.
TheNetherlands now has three major forms of broadcastdigital television: Terrestrial (DVB-T2), Cable (DVB-C), and Satellite (DVB-S2). In additionIPTV services are available. In the past analogue TV was broadcast in PAL terrestrial and cable. Terrestrial broadcasting switched to the digital standard (DVB-T) in 2007 and to DVB-T2 in 2019. Cable started broadcasting digital in 2001. Most cable companies switched off analogue in 2021. Satellite broadcasting switched to the digital standard (DVB-S) in 1996 and to DVB-S2 around 2010. The last DVB-S channels were shut down in 2016.
DVB-H was only available for a brief period between 2008 and 2011 in the bigger cities. Lack of interest led to the shutdown of DVB-H.
The shutdown of the analogue service in Norway started on 4 March 2008, and was finished on 1 December 2009. (MPEG-4)
Analogue broadcast switch-off started on 7 November 2012 and was completed by 31 July 2013.
Portugal started its first digital broadcast withTVCabo Satélite (nowadays known as "NOS 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 1 November 2008, forLisbon andCastelo Branco, and on 26 April 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.
Acoperire - Televiziunea Digitala Terestra | tvdigitalaTeleviziunea Digitala Terestra | tvdigitala (In Romanian; Archived)
DVBT.ro – Televiziune Digitală Terestră (In Romanian; Archived)
CHIRplus_BC Printjob (In Romanian; Archived)
Russia uses DVB-T2 standard for digital broadcasting. The transition to digital terrestrial TV broadcasting was initiated in Russia in 2009 and took almost 10 years. Russian digital broadcasting consists of two "multiplexes" with 10 channels each which are generally available everywhere in the country. There is also a third "multiplex" which was originally supposed to be regional-oriented but it is deployed only in some regions, e.g., Moscow.
The transition to DVB-T2 digitaltelevision in Serbia started on 1 September 2014, and was finished on 1 June 2015.[66] Analogue terrestrial television was finally switched off on 7 June 2015.[67] As of that day, nearly 97.8% of country's population is covered by digital signal.[67]
Slovenia completed its switch to DVB-T (MPEG-4) on 1 December 2010 with the termination of all analogue transmissions on a single day. There are two multiplexes carried nationwide as well as several local multiplexes.
The development of digital terrestrial television was very similar to the failure ofITV Digital in theUnited Kingdom. In 1999, digital terrestrial television was introduced in the country by the pay per view platformQuiero Television. In May 2002, statewide operators were required to start broadcasting inDVB-T. Yet, Quiero TV ceased transmissions in 2002 after a commercial failure. Unlike the UK, the three and half multiplexes left by the platform were not reassigned to other operators, and so 5 channels were squashed into a single multiplex.
On 30 November 2005, digital terrestrial television was relaunched as a free service with 20 channels and 14 radio stations, along with 23 regional- and local-language channels in their respective areas. Each multiplex has a minimum of 4 SD channels each or one HD channel. By 2010, coverage reached over 98% of the population, and the analog signal was switched off on 2 April 2010.
The shutdown of the analogue service inSweden started on 19 September 2005, and was finished on 29 October 2007.[68]
The United Kingdom now has five major forms of broadcast digital television,direct-to-home satellite services provided byBritish Sky Broadcasting (branded asSky) andFreesat, digital cable television services provided byVirgin Media andWightFibre, and a free-to-air digital terrestrial service calledFreeview. In addition there are twoIPTV systems known asTalkTalk TV owned byThe Carphone Warehouse, andBT Vision, which is provided byBT. Individual access methods vary throughout the country.
The initial attempt at launching a digital terrestrial broadcasting service on 15 November 1998,ONdigital (later calledITV Digital), was unsuccessful and the company went intoliquidation.
ITV Digital was replaced in late 2002 by Freeview, which uses the same DVB-T technology, but with higher levels oferror 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 onPay TV services, Freeview uses the available capacity to provide afree-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 inSDTV mode.
31 March 2004 saw the return of a limited pay-television offering to the digital terrestrial platform with the launch ofTop 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 theDiscovery Channel,Gold,Discovery Real Time,British Eurosport andCartoon Network, sharing just three different slots. In October 2006, Top Up TV renamed itselfTop Up TV Anytime, taking advantage of the increase in the popularity ofdigital video recorders, 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 includeMTV,Nickelodeon andHallmark Channel.
2005 saw the first areas of the United Kingdom losing their analogue signal in a pilot test. The residents ofFerryside andLlansteffan inCarmarthenshire,Wales who had not already upgraded to digital television were given a free set-top box to receive theFreeview television service, which includesChannel 4 (previously unavailable terrestrially from transmitters in Wales) andS4C2, which broadcasts sessions of theNational 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 regulatorOfcom about the proposed analogue switch off plans for the UK. The switch off progressed on anITV region by region basis that began in 2008 with theBorder region, and ended in theUTV region in 2012. The coverage of the three public service broadcasting multiplexes is the same as that enjoyed by the former analogue TV stations (98.5% of the population), while the three commercial multiplexes cover 90% of the population.
The BBC, ITV,Channel 4 andChannel 5 ran terrestrial HDTV trials involving 450 homes in the London area during June–December 2006 on locally unused frequencies.[69] As part of this trial, the BBC broadcastBBC HD, which was free to air but could not be received by any set-top boxes commercially available at the time. It could however be received and played back by anyPC equipped with a DVB-T card using a softwareH.264decoder.
With two channels (BBC HD andITV HD), Freeview HD completed a "technical launch" on 2 December 2009 from theCrystal Palace andWinter Hill transmitters.[70][71] This time, in addition to H.264 being used as the codec, the broadcast utilised DVB-T2 rather than the DVB-T used by standard Freeview and the earlier test broadcasts, thus requiring users to purchase new reception equipment. Freeview HD was the first operational TV service in the world to use the DVB-T2 standard.[72]
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 need to be IPTV-capable and display Freeview branding, including the logo, on theelectronic programme guide screen.[73]
On 25 March 2010Channel 4 HD was added to Freeview HD on channel 52 with a placeholding caption; it launched on 30 March 2010, coinciding with the commercial launch of Freeview HD.[74]S4C Clirlun launched in April 2010 in Wales, where Channel 4 HD is not available.[75]BBC One HD was also added to the service on 3 November 2010.
Virgin Media (formerly known as NTL:Telewest, after a merger of NTL Incorporated with Telewest Global, Inc.), became in 2006 the first "quadruple-play" 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.[76][77]
Trials of the UK's first HDTV service, the TVDrivePVR fromTelewest, began on 1 December 2005 on a commercial pilot basis before a full launch in March 2006.[78][79] 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 newV+ 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.[80]
WightFibre also provide cable television to the residents of theIsle of Wight.
On 1 November 2005ITV turned offencryption on all of its satellite-based signals, following the lead from theBBC. These transmissions are on a limited spotbeam which is aimed primarily towards the United Kingdom, via theAstra 2D satellite located at 28.2 degrees east. This theoretically limits reception toIceland,Ireland and theUnited Kingdom, 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 byBSkyB in both Ireland and the United Kingdom as an add-on to their existingSky subscription service. The BBC is broadcastingBBC HD as afree-to-air channel from theAstra 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 asFreesat from Sky. Freesat from Sky provides a non-subscription card for public service broadcast channelsChannel 4 andChannel 5, howeverFilm4,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 calledFreesat.[81] The service was officially launched on 6 May 2008[82] 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 toFreeview, especially for areas unable to receive the FreeviewDTT service.[83]
The analog signal was switched off on 9 January 2012.[84]Free-to-air digital terrestrial television usingDVB-T is now covering all cities inGreenland, broadcasting TV and Radio stations from theGreenlandic andDanish broadcasting corporations.
Subscription based digital terrestrial television is currently available in the capitalNuuk,Qaqortoq,Ilulissat andQasigiannguit throughNuuk TV.[85][86]In addition to channels fromGreenlandic Broadcasting Corporation,Nuuk TV, andDanish Broadcasting Corporation, the service offers additional channels fromC More, and from American and European cable networks (typically subtitled inDanish).
TheCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has adopted the same digital television standard for stations in Canada as the United States and Mexico. 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 31 August 2011, limited to 30 markets.[87] In addition, by 31 August 2011, all full power transmitters on channels 52 and above must either relocate to a lower channel or shut down.
CITY-TV was the first Canadian station to provide digital terrestrial service. As of 2007, other digital stations on-air include theCBC andRadio-Canada stations inToronto andMontreal, as well asCTV'sCFTO andCIVT, andCKXT (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 orhigh definition versions ofspecialty channels.
On 22 November 2003,CBC had their first broadcast in HD, in the form of theHeritage Classic outdoorNHL game between theEdmonton Oilers and theMontreal Canadiens.Bell Satellite TV, a Canadiansatellite company,Rogers Cable andVidéotron provide somewhat more than 21 HDTV channels to their subscribers includingTSN HD,Rogers Sportsnet HD,Discovery HD (Canadian Edition),The Movie Network HD, and several U.S. stations plus somePBS 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 digitalATSC signal in Canada.Global joined the crowd in late 2004. Other networks are continuing to announce availability of HD signals.CHUM Limited'sCitytv 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 noCANCON overlay for advertising. Typically these channels areNBC 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 5 March 2005. CBC HD broadcasts the first game of theirHockey Night in Canada Saturday double header in HDTV. The2006 Stanley Cup playoffs games have seen an increased amount of HDTV coverage as well.
The United States has adoptedATSC standards for digital terrestrial broadcasts. These standards includestandard definition,enhanced definition, andhigh definition formats. On 8 May 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 8 September 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 analogNTSC standard was required by law to cease by 12 June 2009.[88] 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 stations continue to broadcast in analog, but these must transition to digital by 1 September 2015, or go silent.[89] SomeCanadian orMexican border signals may remain available in analog form to some US viewers after the shutdown of US-based full-power NTSC broadcasts.
Mexican television broadcasterTelevisa made experimental HDTV broadcasts in the early-1990s, in collaboration with Japan'sNHK, but the country moved to implement the ATSC standard like the rest of the North American continent. Today, the vast majority of events and programs are broadcast in high definition. Currently almost all the cable providers as well as SKY the major DTH provider offer HD channels.
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, andTijuana) 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 Mexicanfootball tournament in HDTV.
XETV inTijuana, Baja California, is on the air in HDTV using 720p format. This affiliate of the AmericanCW Network is on UHF channel 23 broadcasting from Mt. San Antonio in Tijuana, with 403,000 watts, directed primarily northward atSan 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. They have no HDTV programs. Channel 20 broadcasts an upconverted version of the programs of XHUAA's analog signal on channel 57.
Currently[when?] there are 38 digital channels in Mexico. They are:
The Analog signal was gradually switched off in 2015 and it no longer exists.
Costa Rica chose Japanese - Brazilian standardISDB-T as 7th country on 25 May 2010,[90]and started trial transmissions by Channel 13 fromIrazú Volcano on 19 March 2012.[91]
In the year 2017, the Government of El Salvador adopted the Japanese ISDB-T Platform.
Guatemala approved the use of Digital Broadcasting with the system ISDB-Tb[92]
Honduras 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 inSDTV[2].CampusTv, is the first high definition TV station in Central America, CampusTv[3] was founded by theUniversity of San Pedro SulaLa U Privada. The third channel is "La UTV" founded by theNational Autonomous University of Honduras.
Panama approved the adoption of the European standard DVB-T to be used for the first time on the 2010 World Cup.[93][94]
After a bumpy ride of back and forths,Argentina officially selected the Japanese-Brazilian standardISDB-T International on 28 August 2009, and agreed with Japan to cooperate for resource exchange and technical transfer.[95][96]
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 28 August 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[4] 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.[97]
As of September 2011, a few programs are available in 1080i@50 Hz and broadcast 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 chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T International on 5 July 2010.[98][99]
TheSBTVD standard (based on the Japanese standardISDB-T) was adopted 29 June 2006 and launched on 2 November 2007. In 2007, only the greaterSão Paulo metropolitan area could receive the signal.Belo Horizonte andRio de Janeiro began to receive free-to-air digital signal on 7 and 8 April 2008, respectively.[100] On 4 August 2008, and 22 October 2008,Goiânia andCuritiba began to receive DTV signal, respectively. Digital broadcast started atSalvador on 2 December andCampinas on 3 December 2008. The government estimated 7 years for complete signal expansion over all of the territory. Analog television is scheduled to be shut down on 25 October 2017.
Theinteractive platform calledGinga[101] consists entirely offree software and received high publicity for being considered the main appeal for the change. The government promisedWiMAX asreturn channel for the system, set to be implemented in the following years.[102]
All 5 major TV networks (Band,Record,RedeTV!,SBT andTV Globo) broadcast inHDTV signal (1080i),SDTV480i and1seg as well.
TVN has made HDTV tests in 1999, Canal 13 is now broadcasting, inSantiago only, a test transmission in the three HDTV formats (ATSC, DVB and ISDB). InValparaíso, 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,[103] The government has stopped offering dates for such an announcement.[104] On 14 September 2009, president Michelle Bachelet announced that the government had finally decided, after prolonged delays, on a digital television standard. Chile will be adopting theISDB-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.[105]
On 10 September 2010, TVN, Canal 13, Chilevisión, La Red, UCV, El Mostrador TV and NGB are transmitting digital signals in Santiago. TVN and Chilevisión tested 3D TV on free ISDB-T channels 30 and 33.
Currently there are 13 digital channels in Santiago:
On 28 August 2008Colombia adopted the Europeandigital terrestrial television standard,DVB-T.[106] but on 9 January 2012 changed this to DVB-T2. All transmissions now use DVB-T2 (6 MHz).
Señal Colombia —Colombia's state-owned channel— has made digital terrestrial television broadcast tests since 2006, in northwestBogotá and downtownCartagena, transmitting into the threeDTV formatsATSC, DVB-T andISDB-T. Also, the Chinese standardDMB-T/H, was considered, but could not be tested.
HDTV-ready television sets (DVB-T) have been available in Colombia since 2003, butcable companies have not broadcast HD content to their subscribers.Satellite television DirecTV Colombia offer HD channels.
Preparations were made to launchDVB-T services in (tentatively) May 2009, when the first DTV transmitter was to go live (probably at Manjui hill inFacatativá). The launch was to initially allow 11 million households in the regions ofBogotá D.C.,Boyaca,Cundinamarca, north ofHuila,Tolima, westernMeta, and probablyCaldas andRisaralda to watchDTV services.[107]
On 28 December 2010,Caracol TV andRCN TV officially started digital broadcasts[108] for Bogotá, Medellín and surrounding areas on channels 14 and 15UHF,[109] respectively.Señal Colombia andCanal Institucional had started test digital broadcasts earlier in 2010.[108]
TheSpanishImpulsa TDT, the association for the implementation of digital-terrestrial television and the Colombian government have signed an official agreement under whichSpain will help the country implement DVB-T.[110]
Ecuador chose Japanese - Brazilian standardISDB-T as 6th country on 26 March 2010.[111][112][113]
Paraguay chose Japanese - Brazilian standard ISDB-T on 1 June 2010.[114][115]
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 ofTV Perú from 30 March 2010.[116][117][118][119]1seg is one of attractive system.
Achieved firstHD live demonstration and test program transmission usingOB Van in aiming nationwide deployment with the Japanese cooperation inTrujillo for 3 days from 28 January 2011.[120]
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On 27 August 2007, theUruguayan government issued a decree stating that the DVB-T andDVB-H standards will be adopted.[121] 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 27 December 2010, Uruguayans will start receiving digital television signals by the end of 2012, and scheduling analog signals blackout will be in 2014–2015.[122][123][124]
On 6 October 2009,Venezuela has officially adoptedISDB-T with Brazilian modifications. Transition from analog to digital is expected to take place in the next 10 years.[125] The seven stages ofSet-top box manufacturing, testing and implement schedule is well proceeding and will start to deployDTT from 2011.[126]
