Television Out Of Zeros And Ones
Digital television allows to extend the offer (increase the number of channels and improve their quality), widen the coverage, provide many so-called "smart solutions", such as interactivity. Thanks to digital technology, TV broadcasts become a type of telecommunications services. Triple Play packages (phone, TV and Internet) become a modern standard. Please note that we are only at the early stage of this technology, its real potential is still stuck in the minds of IT professionals who will prepare, in the coming years, intelligent video applications.What about advancements in the implementation of digital television?
Internet TV has been directly introduced in digital formats, with the start of the era of video streaming. Internet television has been extending the capabilities of broadcasting throughout the world, as well as has created a new cultural phenomenon, that is YouTube. The catchphrase "YouTube - Broadcast Yourself" best describes the breakthrough which is the result of digitization, from a state monopoly to universal access, also including broadcasting. The "classic" broadcasting television in digital form has especially flourished in satellite technology, a smooth transition also takes place in the case of cable TV networks; the greatest problems are with terrestrial TV.
What are the problems with digital terrestrial television?
The ongoing EU action aiming at a wholesale switch to digital terrestrial broadcasting in Europe is still producing poor results. Several years ago there was a discussion on what is more important for the consumer: the number of available channels or their quality (resolutions). The decision-making bodies of the EU aimed at the introduction of digital TV of standard definition, as opposed to the U.S. and Asia. As a result of this decision, the leaders of the process (Spain, France, Germany) have found themselves in a difficult situation, because consumers demands and technology developments have resulted in the victory of HDTV - unfortunately they will have to replace the equipment.
If everybody knows that the future belongs to HDTV, the introduction of DTT should go easier ...
Not necessarily. It is true that the broadcast technology is changing, including, among others, introduction of MPEG-4, more suitable for HDTV, but this is not a process of an avalanche. The broadcasters operating on the market are not in a hurry to change the technology because it generates costs and does not guarantee higher profits. What is worse, the released spectrum can be used by new competitors. On the other hand, consumers are not pushing enough, because they can get a variety of programs from satellites.
Digital terrestrial television broadcasting systems in the world (source: wikipedia.org)
What could be a breakthrough accelerating the termination of analog terrestrial broadcasting?
So far, the greatest pressure for changing the technology is so-called "analog switch-off" date. 26 EU countries have decided to eliminate analog transmissions by the end of 2012. The exception is Poland, which will do it "not later than in 2015."
But the real acceleration can be caused by the growing popularity of the new equipment (HD televisions), demand for TV reception in mobile devices, interest in 3D imaging. Unfortunately, the current European standards do not keep pace with these developments in video technology.
What do you mean?
In the case of terrestrial broadcasting standards, currently the most modern one is the Chinese DMB-T / H (DTMB), much ahead of the European DVB-T2. The really prospective systems combine satellite and terrestrial broadcasting technologies. The example is CMMB - the Chinese equivalent of European DVB-SH. CMMB has a few million subscribers, while the European solution is still in a testing phase. A strong support in the form of production facilities have the Korean standards, T-DMB and S-DMB. MediaFLO, the American mobile standard enters the British market - it is an optimistic fact that, despite the preferences for own standards, an European country is open to other solutions.
And what about distribution of digital television to the home?
The antenna and cable installations in buildings will change. In the case of SMATV systems, the most prospective solutions are based on multiswitches. IPTV and cable TV networks will naturally migrate towards fiber-optic systems.