Digital terrestrial television takes a new step this Wednesday with the disappearance of all channels that still broadcast in standard quality (SD). From today, Wednesday, all channels will broadcast in at least high definition (HD). This corresponds to the Royal Decree of January 2023, which set February 14, 2024 as the date for the cessation of emissions in SD.
This is the end of a path that most European countries have already taken and that Spain is taking late. The change was due to take place on January 1, 2023, but the government decided to postpone the measure to allow time to modernize the televisions and equipment used by broadcasters. The transition from broadcast to high definition allows viewers a clearer and sharper image and frees up the 2.6 GHz band for the full deployment of 5G on European territory, as explained in Royal Decree 16/2013 of the BOE.
Which channels are disappearing?
This change means the disappearance of channels that still broadcast in standard definition. Until now, some channels such as TVE, Antena 3, La Sexta, Telecinco, Cuatro or the regional channels had two versions on DTT, an SD and an HD version. As of this Wednesday, only the high definition versions remain. In certain cases the closure was brought forward by several days. La 1, La 2, Canal 24 Horas, Teledeporte and Clan have only been broadcasting in high definition since February 6th. The SD versions of Telecinco, Cuatro, Antena 3 and La Sexta disappear on February 14th. FDF, Divinity, Energy and Boing from Mediaset, as well as Nova, Neox and Mega from Atresmedia, as well as others such as Paramount, DKiss or DMax, have so far only been broadcast in SD, but from this Wednesday they will be broadcast on the same frequencies. The broadcast of these channels is occupied in HD , so in these cases it is not necessary to re-tune the televisions. Be Mad has already aired in HD. Trece, for his part, broadcast the signal in HD, although it reached the televisions in SD, so from this Wednesday it will be available in high definition.
FORTA's regional public broadcasters such as TVE anticipated the change and switched off their standard quality versions in advance. Telemadrid and ETB have only been broadcasting in high definition since February 8th. The Cat3 channels (including TV3) and Televisión de Canarias deactivated their SD versions on January 16, while Canal Sur, À Punt, Televisión de Castilla-La Mancha, Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias and IB3 (Radiotelevisió de the Balearic Islands ) carried out this power outage on February 12th.
What should the viewer do? Do the televisions need to be reset?
This change means that viewers who continue to watch any of the SD channels will have to check their channel list for the HD versions or, if they haven't received them, retune the TV to find them. For FDF, Neox, Divinity, Nova and others, retuning is not necessary because the new version occupies the same space as the old one.
What happens if my device doesn't support HD?
According to the government, more than 98% of current devices enable high-definition reception. For TVs before 2008 that don't support HD, you have two options for receiving channels in high definition: buy a decoder or use a streaming device with an Internet connection. A third option is to buy a new television.
What is the next step?
Taking advantage of the current DTT ban, RTVE has started broadcasting La 1 programs in Ultra High Definition (UHD) regularly throughout Spain, with coverage of more than 99% of the population. This makes it the first broadcaster in the world to broadcast the programming of its main television channel in ultra high definition on DVB-T throughout the national territory. UHD is the highest audio and video quality that is technically possible in DTT today. According to the company, these transmissions will be in 4K with high dynamic range and with immersive audio in Dolby Atmos, which will better take advantage of the progressive increase in the size of television screens. To enjoy ultra high definition broadcasts, a TV or DTT decoder compatible with DVB-T and HEVC is required. In principle, all televisions launched from 2017 are compatible with these transmissions. On November 20, 2022, RTVE began testing broadcasts in UHD for the World Cup in Qatar.
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