DIGITAL BROADCASTING UPDATE Digital Broadcasting Update


Digital TV MHEG+ TOOLKIT GETS OPEN SOURCE RELEASE


The MHEG+ toolkit, used to develop applications for Freeview and Freesat, has been made available as an Open Source release under an Apache 2.0 licence.


Developed in 2005 by BBC Research & Development, the initial aim was to simplify the code as compared to MHEG-5. Applications coded in MHEG+, such as games on CBeebies or interactive news and weather, sit happily on the MHEG-5 API.


The emergence of an online environment for MHEG applications as set-tops become increasingly connected will create a market for specialised applications that could take MHEG outside its traditional broadcast domain. The toolkit’s emulator, named MHEG Player, emulates both Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes. It features an MHEG graphics engine, a virtual tuner and remote control.


(Broadband TV)


OVER 25% OF UK HOMES HAVE COMPLETED SWITCHOVER


More than a quarter of UK homes are in areas that have completed the switchover from analogue to digital TV. Figures show that around 6.92 million – or 26 per cent of homes – have now completed the switchover process.


Earlier this year Wales became the UK’s first digital TV nation when the analogue signal was switched off for the final time. Parts of England – including the West Country and Granada TV areas – have also completed the switchover and the process is currently underway in Scotland. (Advanced Television)


ADOPTION OF DVB-T2 IN EUROPE


Interest in launching DTT networks using the DVB-T2 standard has been high and demonstrates the vibrancy of the DTT platform. Numerous DVB-T2 trials are underway across Europe as many DTT operators look favourably upon the bit-rate capacity gain possible with DVB-T2 in comparison with DVB-T. For many countries, DVB-T2 will allow the launch of HDTV services on the terrestrial platform.


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Since ETSI standardised DVB-T2 in September 2009, three countries (Sweden, United Kingdom, and Italy) have launched commercial services using DVB-T2 while several more countries have announced plans to launch DVB-T2 platforms. Finland is expected to launch commercial services by the end of the year having already allocated two licenses to operate DVB-T2 platforms.


(DigiTAG) ANALOGUE EXTINCT BY 2013 – RESEARCH


The television sector in Western Europe is in transition at the moment, according to a report, as analogue terrestrial TV is expected to become extinct in the region in 2013 and IPTV will continue to gain subscribers over the next five years.


Most countries in Western Europe are reported to be making good progress in the analogue-to-digital conversion: Digital DTT is predicted to be the primary TV service in 37 per cent of TV households by the end of 2015. IPTV is expected to be the primary TV service in 11 per cent of the region’s TV households by the end of 2015, while free-to-air digital satellite will take 9 per cent. Western Europe digital TV household numbers are predicted to record 42 per cent growth between 2009 and 2015, having surpassed the 100 million subscribers milestone in 2008, and are expected to pass 150 million sometime in 2012. (Advanced Television)


BROADCASTERS REPORT LOWER EQUIPMENT BUDGETS IN 2010


A survey asked how companies’ revenues had changed over the past year. According to new research, 40 percent of broadcasters report that their budgets for 2010 were lower than in the previous year. As a result, 45 percent of broadcast equipment vendors reported their sales had declined or stalled from the previous year.


Fifty-three percent of respondents from vendors with 1000 or more employees reported that their sales had either declined or stayed the same. It was small companies, software vendors and venture capital funded private firms who fared best. (Broadcast Engineering)


DIGITAL DIVIDEND IMPLEMENTATION NOT SO EASY


At the recent EBU Digital Dividend Workshop, three key topics were discussed: sharing experiences on how to migrate from the 790-862 MHz band (the so-called ‘800 MHz


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