Two new DVB-T2 HD-muxes in 600MHz band - Ofcom
Ofcom has published a consultation/proposal for two DVB-T2/MPEG-4 HD muxes (10 HD channels) using the 600 MHz band.
The band can be used at least until 2018-2020 - when the 700 MHz band may need to be cleared in order to provide more 4G/LTE spectrum below 1 GHz - and the 600 MHz band will be needed for DTT as replacement for the cleared Ch 49-60.
Lars
PS!
"In the interim period, the new services in the 600 MHz band using DVB-T2 and MPEG4 could encourage consumer take-up of receiver equipment which makes use of these more efficient technologies" / Ofcom
The band can be used at least until 2018-2020 - when the 700 MHz band may need to be cleared in order to provide more 4G/LTE spectrum below 1 GHz - and the 600 MHz band will be needed for DTT as replacement for the cleared Ch 49-60.
Lars
PS!
"In the interim period, the new services in the 600 MHz band using DVB-T2 and MPEG4 could encourage consumer take-up of receiver equipment which makes use of these more efficient technologies" / Ofcom
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Comments
We will now have a total of 15 HD channels on DTT
What makes you think that?.
No one has bothered taking the 5th unused HD channel - why would you expect channels to pay huge sums of money just to add some temporary ones?.
Just because the space is offered for tender doesn't mean there will be loads of takers (or any?).
Presumably, even if it happens, it will only be for those who already get the full service, further extended the two tier TV system in the UK?.
This is the reason:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/uhf-strategy/responses/BBC_Channel_4_Arqiva.pdf
That's up to four HD channels there, and that's before looking at anybody else Arqiva might have lined up. This space will be much cheaper than on BBC B, as it will only be broadcast from 20 transmitters rather than over a thousand.
Yes. It's a short-term situation, so only twenty transmitters (as per Arqiva-BBC-C4 proposal), and looks like those will be low power too (based on the consultation documentation).
No nothing like pre DSO. The pre DSO muxes did protect the analogue sites. These should mostly just protect each other. I guess al least the 10 largest sites will get an ERP equal to the current COM muxes at the same sites.
Lars
But roughly Over 80% of all uk TV sets receive DTT....
As half the first TV and all the other 3 are on DTT.
on a wider note, even allowing for Freeview Lite zones which only get half the channels, i have seen quite a few tv's in places covered by main transmitters which have problems picking up certain groups of channels. Some of these are nearly new (as in 2-3years). Its easy to say (as i am sure some will), well mine is ok, but i wonder how many people are getting all the channels that are broadcast in their area, and how many are not.
Apologies for cross-posting, but this seemed relevant here?
This is logical - and a reasonable assumption given the eventual drift to a DVB-T2 platform and the constraints now placed on the UHF broadcast bands.
Assuming that this happens, at some stage you could envisage a single remaining DTT mux comprising 10 or 11 heavily compressed streams. Likewise the DVB-T2 environment is likely to grow into a largely SFN (Single Frequency Network) engineered network with only one or two layers (multiplexes) remaining as MFNs to support local and regional services.
Perhaps the UK DTT environment will evolve into something like this :
Who knows - but given the current constraints a lot of the existing assumptions can not be sustained.
Its is highly debatable as to whether two T2 MFNs are actually even required to support regional variation. Given that that local/regional content/spots will soon be restricted to :
It is conceivable that HD local/sub-regional variants of these would be compressed into one T2 mux, with a lesser granularity of regionallity remaining on the legacy T1 mux. There'd be no other local/regional variation anywhere in UK terrestrial television, and indeed the possibility of introducing additional variation would be engineered out until the T1 mux were finally killed of in 20 years time!
You haven't read Arqiva's Reference Offer, on which the coverage figures have been based. They're going for the cheapest possible design, reusing a number of pre-DSO digital and analogue transmitters, using the antennas that are in situ, and turning the power down to stay within the interference templates.
Nearly all sites will be below COM muxes and most will be below pre-DSO power levels. On the other hand, there won't be any interference within the UK, except that generated by these multiplexes, because the band was cleared. (Well, unless Ofcom cripple it by allowing 'white-space' communications devices in there as well.)
Well spotted. This is a dead duck commercially:
1 Lower ERPs than current UK post-DSO system, poor QoS vs competitors,
2 Licence terms are too short: seven years max.
3 Consumers won't accept having 'interim' services which can be withdrawn
4 As a broadcaster why would you invest in a platform which has no stability from a commercial perspective.It damages your brand equity.
If Ofcom want to engineer a transition to DVB-T2 they a) need to come up with a credible transition plan and b) pony up with the spectrum. This won't happen anytime soon as it requires an Act of Parliament and HMG have other rather more pressing priorities.
I wonder what's happened to the second DVB-T2 mux in their plans?
Duplication of services they already have will be of no interest, but if you offer them half a dozen decent additional channels there's a good chance they'll buy a new DVB-T2 set top box.
That doesn't seem to be the plan though.
And the existing two broadcasters who seem more interested tthan others (the BBC and Channel Four) are unlikely to be in a position to launch new channels anyway.
The original plan had one BBC channel and possibly 301 HD, rather than two BBC channels.
Also I think Dave HD is fairly likely.
Probably nothing. It was always "one or two". I imagine the plan is to launch one first, and if there's enough demand, launch the second. Maybe by concentrating on one they will roll out to the top 30 transmitters, rather than the top 20 (which I believe was the original plan).
Given the hints recently given by Alix Pryde, I think BBC Three and Four HD are more likely than before. I hope a one mux 30 transmitter network is established in the end - that would give more coverage in places like the South West.
I'm surpriced that CP dosn't even get the 20kW pre-DSO ERP. Is this because the TX antenna used is now non directional ?
Lars
Interesting, that is pretty low power for CP. However, given a reasonable aerial reception should be pretty good. I was on the DTT HD Trial in 2006 (which used DVB-T1 MPEG 4). There were two HD transmitters running at CP then. BBC HD had 2KW & the shared commercial transmitter was 1KW (it started at 2KW but caused receprion problems for some people using the Tunbridge Wells relay so was reduced to 1KW). Also the transmission aerials were not at full height. I live in the same borough as CP so I had no reception problems but I lent the set top box to a couple of friends (one in Chiswick the other in Muswell Hill) both had good aerials and both got good signal quality. This was in the days when the tuner would have been swamped with the high power analogue too. My guess is that coverage, given a decent recieving aerial and downlead, will be better than many people think. I await this with great interest.
That's good. I have little use for 301 HD, but will certainly miss BBC3 and 4 content in HD when BBC HD goes.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr12/northern-ireland/ni-2.3
If the sample were reflecting the whole of the UK, that would mean something like half of the TV-watching households were viewing SD only.
I'm further of the opinion that most people walking in to a house and seeing a large panel TV will believe it is HD anyway.
So if you think you are watching in HD and know no better and your friends know no better, no real reason to buy.
I tried to explain to some normal people the other day that their TV was not showing HD broadcasts and they just looked at me as if I was daft.
Who was correct, them or me on me being daft?