Digital television in the Netherlands
Encyclopedia
The Netherlands
now has three major forms of broadcast digital television
. Terrestrial (DVB-T
/DVB-H
), Cable (DVB-C
), and Satellite (DVB-S
). In addition IPTV
services are available. At the end of the third quarter of 2010 almost 63% of the households in the Netherlands had some form of digital television.
was the second European country to complete the move to digital terrestrial broadcasting
on December 11, 2006. The switch-off was helped greatly by the fact that about 90% of the households have cable that continues to use analog distribution. Due to the very extensive penetration of cable systems, usage of terrestrial television in the Netherlands
is largely confined to remote rural areas and for portable televisions in caravans, etc.
Since then all terrestrial television broadcast in the Netherlands are digital. The national public television channels Nederland 1
, Nederland 2
, Nederland 3
and the regional public television channels are made available free-to-air
.
DVB-T
transmissions in the Netherlands are provided commercially by KPN
daughter company Digitenne. They offer 25 TV channels and 16 radio channels, including the free-to-air channels. The Digitenne system requires the use of a special powered aerial. The Digitenne service uses Conax encryption.
launched a DVB-H
service MobileTV on Thursday, June 5, 2008 with a bouquet of ten channels. The ten channels are Nederland 1
, Nederland 3
, RTL 4
, RTL 24
, SBS 6, Jetix
/Veronica, MTV
, Discovery Channel
, Xite and Nick Toons
. RTL24 is a made-for-mobile channel with news and current affair. Xite is a new Dutch music channel. In November 2008, a new dedicated mobile TV channel was added. Nu.tv from Ilse Media and the nu.nl news web site. The service will be closed on June 1st 2011, KPN
will use the freed up capacity for improvements to its Digitenne DTT platform.
, making it one of the highest cable penetrated countries. Most cable viewers still watch analogue because no set-top box
is necessary. But with the uptake of LCD
and plasma
televisions customers are looking for better picture quality in digital cable. In addition digital cable offers hundreds of channels compared to the about thirty channels analogue cable offers.
All the major cable companies in the Netherlands offer a digital television service. They all use the DVB-C
standard for their digital signal but use different encryption techniques, most use Irdeto 2 only UPC uses Nagravision
. Since September 2009 the largest cable company, Ziggo
, started supporting the CI+ standard making it possible for their costumers to use televisions with an integrated digital tuner
without the need for an additional set-top-box. All cable companies offer a number of high-definition
channels.
The four largest cable companies in the Netherlands are:
's satellites at 19.2° east
and 23.5° east
. Services from both satellite positions can be received using a single dish with a Duo LNB
, specifically designed for this purpose.
It is only possible to register as a customer of CanalDigitaal using a Dutch postal address, due to copyright
restrictions. A standard DVB-S
receiver is used, which can also receive other free-to-air
broadcasts. CanalDigitaal uses MediaGuard and Irdeto 2 encryption.
offers Mine TV, an IPTV
service based on their DSL
service, with the ability to receive Video on demand
and replay a missed TV episodes besides regular TV programming. During 2007, the KPN service was renamed KPN Interactieve TV.
Tele2
also offers an IPTV
service called Tele2Vision. Since mid 2008 XMSNET also has started the rollout of IPTV over their FTTH (Fiber To The Home) network in several cities in the Netherlands.
channels by cable or satellite. There is no terrestrial HD service available nor planned.
in HD. The games where broadcast by the Netherlands Public Broadcasting (NPO) broadcaster NOS
on a temporary 720p
HD version of the Nederland 2
channel. Only the live games where broadcast in HD, images from the studio and interviews were still SD. The Nederland 2 HD channel went off-air after the World Cup. The larger cable companies continued a HD service with a small number of general interest channels like Discovery HD
and National Geographic Channel HD. But because no Dutch network had made the move to HD, already broadcast in widescreen
and the quality of the standard-definition
PAL
signal was good enough for most people, demand was low.
Since the 2006 trials none of the main Dutch networks made the move to HD until the summer of 2008 when from June 1 until August 24, 2008 the NPO made their primary channel, Nederland 1
temporary available in HD. This made it possible to broadcast Euro 2008, the 2008 Tour de France
, and the 2008 Summer Olympics
in HD and additionally allowed them to test their systems before the scheduled launch of their permanent HD service. Technicolor Netherlands, the company responsible for the technical realisation of the broadcasts for all the NPOs television and radio channels, began the summer 2008 test broadcast of Nederland 1 HD in 720p
and by doing so following the European Broadcasting Union
(EBU) recommendations for HD broadcasting. During the test period an additional 1080i
version of the channel was made available to the cable companies because of quality complaints from viewers.
On July 4, 2009 the NPO started their permanent HD service when all three channels, Nederland 1
, Nederland 2
, and Nederland 3
, began simulcast
ing in 1080i
high-definition. Most programming in the early stages is upscaled as in time more programs will become available in native HD.
On October 15, 2009 RTL Nederland
started simulcasting their RTL 7 and RTL 8
channels in 1080i
high-definition. RTL Nederland also announced plans for HD versions of their two other channels, RTL 4
and RTL 5
, in 2010.
in high-definition. Furthermore other general interest high-definition channels are available with Dutch audio or subtitles.
Main Dutch channels that broadcast in HD, or plan to do so:
Other HD channels available in the Nederlands:
Satellite viewers can receive a number of additional HD channels from the surrounding countries when broadcasting free-to-air
including BBC HD
from the United Kingdom
, één HD
from Belgium
, Arte HD
, the Franco-German cultural channel and the German Anixe HD. But most of these channels are not part of HD services offered in the Netherlands nor broadcast programming aimed at the Dutch market.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
now has three major forms of broadcast digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
. Terrestrial (DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
/DVB-H
DVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
), Cable (DVB-C
DVB-C
DVB-C stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable...
), and Satellite (DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
). In addition IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
services are available. At the end of the third quarter of 2010 almost 63% of the households in the Netherlands had some form of digital television.
Terrestrial
The NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
was the second European country to complete the move to digital terrestrial broadcasting
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
on December 11, 2006. The switch-off was helped greatly by the fact that about 90% of the households have cable that continues to use analog distribution. Due to the very extensive penetration of cable systems, usage of terrestrial television in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
is largely confined to remote rural areas and for portable televisions in caravans, etc.
Since then all terrestrial television broadcast in the Netherlands are digital. The national public television channels Nederland 1
Nederland 1
Nederland 1 is the first national television station in the Netherlands, it was launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels Nederland 2 and 3. The several broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver programmes. A wide...
, Nederland 2
Nederland 2
Nederland 2 is a Dutch television channel, one of three alongside Nederland 1 and Nederland 3. It was established in October 1964 and tends to broadcast sports, light entertainment, news and current affairs programming....
, Nederland 3
Nederland 3
Nederland 3 is the third and youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by the Dutch public-broadcasting organization NPO in the Netherlands and carries programs provided by member-based non-profit broadcasting associations. It is oriented towards children, youth and innovative...
and the regional public television channels are made available free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
.
DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
transmissions in the Netherlands are provided commercially by KPN
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
daughter company Digitenne. They offer 25 TV channels and 16 radio channels, including the free-to-air channels. The Digitenne system requires the use of a special powered aerial. The Digitenne service uses Conax encryption.
Handheld
KPNKPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
launched a DVB-H
DVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
service MobileTV on Thursday, June 5, 2008 with a bouquet of ten channels. The ten channels are Nederland 1
Nederland 1
Nederland 1 is the first national television station in the Netherlands, it was launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels Nederland 2 and 3. The several broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver programmes. A wide...
, Nederland 3
Nederland 3
Nederland 3 is the third and youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by the Dutch public-broadcasting organization NPO in the Netherlands and carries programs provided by member-based non-profit broadcasting associations. It is oriented towards children, youth and innovative...
, RTL 4
RTL 4
RTL 4 is a commercial television station in the Netherlands. It is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. The station has three sister tv channels: RTL 5, RTL 7 and RTL 8...
, RTL 24
RTL 24
RTL 24 is a TV channel owned by RTL Group. It is used only in mobile phones. It is a Dutch language TV channel that broatcasts only news....
, SBS 6, Jetix
Jetix (Netherlands)
Jetix was a children's television programming brand owned by Disney-ABC Television Group broadcast in the Netherlands. It was previously known as Fox Kids. This version of the channel was also available in Belgium on Telenet and TV Vlaanderen and Belgacom TV...
/Veronica, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, Xite and Nick Toons
NickToons Network
Nicktoons is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Viacom. It is a sister service of the Nickelodeon cable channel...
. RTL24 is a made-for-mobile channel with news and current affair. Xite is a new Dutch music channel. In November 2008, a new dedicated mobile TV channel was added. Nu.tv from Ilse Media and the nu.nl news web site. The service will be closed on June 1st 2011, KPN
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
will use the freed up capacity for improvements to its Digitenne DTT platform.
Cable
Over 90% of the households in the Netherlands receive their television signal by cableCable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, making it one of the highest cable penetrated countries. Most cable viewers still watch analogue because no set-top box
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
is necessary. But with the uptake of LCD
Liquid crystal display television
Liquid-crystal display televisions are television sets that use LCD display technology to produce images. LCD televisions are thinner and lighter than cathode ray tube of similar display size, and are available in much larger sizes...
and plasma
Plasma display
A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays or larger. They are called "plasma" displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent...
televisions customers are looking for better picture quality in digital cable. In addition digital cable offers hundreds of channels compared to the about thirty channels analogue cable offers.
All the major cable companies in the Netherlands offer a digital television service. They all use the DVB-C
DVB-C
DVB-C stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable...
standard for their digital signal but use different encryption techniques, most use Irdeto 2 only UPC uses Nagravision
Nagravision
Nagravision is a company of the Kudelski Group that develops conditional access systems for cable and satellite television. The name is also used for their main products, the Nagravision encryption systems.-Digital systems:...
. Since September 2009 the largest cable company, Ziggo
Ziggo
Ziggo is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing cable television , broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers....
, started supporting the CI+ standard making it possible for their costumers to use televisions with an integrated digital tuner
Integrated Digital Television
An Integrated Digital Television set is a television set with a built in digital tuner, be it for DVB-T, DVB-S, DVB-C, DMB-T/H, ATSC or ISDB. Most of them also allow reception of analogue signals . They do away with the need for a set top box for converting those signals for reception on a...
without the need for an additional set-top-box. All cable companies offer a number of high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
channels.
The four largest cable companies in the Netherlands are:
- ZiggoZiggoZiggo is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing cable television , broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers....
- UPC NetherlandsUPC NetherlandsUPC Netherlands is the second largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing cable television , broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers.-History:...
- CAIWAY
- Delta Kabel
Satellite
Digital satellite television in the Netherlands is available via CanalDigitaal, using the SES AstraSES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
's satellites at 19.2° east
Astra 19.2°E
Astra 19.2°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 19.2°East orbital position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg....
and 23.5° east
Astra 23.5°E
Astra 23.5°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 23.5° east position in the Clarke Belt owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
. Services from both satellite positions can be received using a single dish with a Duo LNB
Duo LNB
A Duo LNB is a double low noise block-downconverter developed by SES Astra for the simultaneous reception of satellite television signals from both the Astra 23.5°E and Astra 19.2°E satellite positions....
, specifically designed for this purpose.
It is only possible to register as a customer of CanalDigitaal using a Dutch postal address, due to copyright
Dutch copyright law
Dutch copyright law grants exclusive rights to the author of a work of literature, science or art. It was originally intended to cover books, but today it applies to many other materials including films, recorded music and visual art....
restrictions. A standard DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
receiver is used, which can also receive other free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
broadcasts. CanalDigitaal uses MediaGuard and Irdeto 2 encryption.
IPTV
Since May 1, 2006 KPNKPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
offers Mine TV, an IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
service based on their DSL
Digital Subscriber Line
Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ,...
service, with the ability to receive Video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
and replay a missed TV episodes besides regular TV programming. During 2007, the KPN service was renamed KPN Interactieve TV.
Tele2
Tele2
Tele2 AB is a major European telecommunications operator, with about 34 million customers in 11 countries. It serves as a fixed-line telephone operator, cable television provider, mobile phone operator and Internet service provider.- Overview :...
also offers an IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
service called Tele2Vision. Since mid 2008 XMSNET also has started the rollout of IPTV over their FTTH (Fiber To The Home) network in several cities in the Netherlands.
High definition
In the Netherlands customers can receive high-definition televisionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
channels by cable or satellite. There is no terrestrial HD service available nor planned.
History
The first trials with high-definition television in the Netherlands began in the summer of 2006 with the broadcast of the 2006 World Cup2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
in HD. The games where broadcast by the Netherlands Public Broadcasting (NPO) broadcaster NOS
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting , English: Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation, is one of the broadcasters in the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system...
on a temporary 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
HD version of the Nederland 2
Nederland 2
Nederland 2 is a Dutch television channel, one of three alongside Nederland 1 and Nederland 3. It was established in October 1964 and tends to broadcast sports, light entertainment, news and current affairs programming....
channel. Only the live games where broadcast in HD, images from the studio and interviews were still SD. The Nederland 2 HD channel went off-air after the World Cup. The larger cable companies continued a HD service with a small number of general interest channels like Discovery HD
Discovery HD
Discovery HD is the international name of the high-definition television channels from Discovery Communications.The international Discovery HD first launched in Korea on February 2005 as a programming block...
and National Geographic Channel HD. But because no Dutch network had made the move to HD, already broadcast in widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
and the quality of the standard-definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
signal was good enough for most people, demand was low.
Since the 2006 trials none of the main Dutch networks made the move to HD until the summer of 2008 when from June 1 until August 24, 2008 the NPO made their primary channel, Nederland 1
Nederland 1
Nederland 1 is the first national television station in the Netherlands, it was launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels Nederland 2 and 3. The several broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver programmes. A wide...
temporary available in HD. This made it possible to broadcast Euro 2008, the 2008 Tour de France
2008 Tour de France
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage...
, and the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in HD and additionally allowed them to test their systems before the scheduled launch of their permanent HD service. Technicolor Netherlands, the company responsible for the technical realisation of the broadcasts for all the NPOs television and radio channels, began the summer 2008 test broadcast of Nederland 1 HD in 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
and by doing so following the European Broadcasting Union
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
(EBU) recommendations for HD broadcasting. During the test period an additional 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
version of the channel was made available to the cable companies because of quality complaints from viewers.
On July 4, 2009 the NPO started their permanent HD service when all three channels, Nederland 1
Nederland 1
Nederland 1 is the first national television station in the Netherlands, it was launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels Nederland 2 and 3. The several broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver programmes. A wide...
, Nederland 2
Nederland 2
Nederland 2 is a Dutch television channel, one of three alongside Nederland 1 and Nederland 3. It was established in October 1964 and tends to broadcast sports, light entertainment, news and current affairs programming....
, and Nederland 3
Nederland 3
Nederland 3 is the third and youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by the Dutch public-broadcasting organization NPO in the Netherlands and carries programs provided by member-based non-profit broadcasting associations. It is oriented towards children, youth and innovative...
, began simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
ing in 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high-definition. Most programming in the early stages is upscaled as in time more programs will become available in native HD.
On October 15, 2009 RTL Nederland
RTL Nederland
RTL Nederland is a subsidiary of the RTL Group. The media company is located in Hilversum. Although the licences of it tv-stations RTL 4, RTL 5, RTL 7 and RTL 8 are officially Luxembourgish, the company targets the Dutch market...
started simulcasting their RTL 7 and RTL 8
RTL 8
RTL 8 is a commercial television station which launched in the Netherlands on 18 August 2007. The channel apperead by the former Tien, previously known as Talpa, which was launched in August 2005, and other assets of John de Mol's Talpa Media were amalgamated with RTL Nederland...
channels in 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high-definition. RTL Nederland also announced plans for HD versions of their two other channels, RTL 4
RTL 4
RTL 4 is a commercial television station in the Netherlands. It is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. The station has three sister tv channels: RTL 5, RTL 7 and RTL 8...
and RTL 5
RTL 5
RTL 5 is the 2nd channel of the RTL Group in the Netherlands. The channel mainly broadcasts American films and hit series but also local productions including Jensen! and Holland's Next Top Model, a Dutch version of America's Next Top Model. RTL 5 recently started airing the Dutch version of...
, in 2010.
Current
The Netherlands has ten main television channels, three public and seven commercial. At this time all three public channels and two commercial channels are simulcastSimulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
in high-definition. Furthermore other general interest high-definition channels are available with Dutch audio or subtitles.
Main Dutch channels that broadcast in HD, or plan to do so:
- Nederland 1Nederland 1Nederland 1 is the first national television station in the Netherlands, it was launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels Nederland 2 and 3. The several broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver programmes. A wide...
(started, 4 July 2009) - Nederland 2Nederland 2Nederland 2 is a Dutch television channel, one of three alongside Nederland 1 and Nederland 3. It was established in October 1964 and tends to broadcast sports, light entertainment, news and current affairs programming....
(started, 4 July 2009) - Nederland 3Nederland 3Nederland 3 is the third and youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by the Dutch public-broadcasting organization NPO in the Netherlands and carries programs provided by member-based non-profit broadcasting associations. It is oriented towards children, youth and innovative...
(started, 4 July 2009) - SBS 6 (started 2010)
- VeronicaVeronicaVeronica can refer to:* Veronica , a female given name* Saint Veronica* Veronica * Verónica, Buenos Aires, a town in Argentina-Media and entertainment:* Veronica Ballestrini, an Italian-American country music singer...
(started 2010) - NET 5NET 5NET 5 is a commercial TV channel in the Netherlands owned by Sanoma and Talpa Holding . Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6 and Veronica.- History :...
(started 2010) - RTL 4RTL 4RTL 4 is a commercial television station in the Netherlands. It is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. The station has three sister tv channels: RTL 5, RTL 7 and RTL 8...
(started, 2010) - RTL 5RTL 5RTL 5 is the 2nd channel of the RTL Group in the Netherlands. The channel mainly broadcasts American films and hit series but also local productions including Jensen! and Holland's Next Top Model, a Dutch version of America's Next Top Model. RTL 5 recently started airing the Dutch version of...
(started, 2010) - RTL 7 (started, 15 October 2009)
- RTL 8RTL 8RTL 8 is a commercial television station which launched in the Netherlands on 18 August 2007. The channel apperead by the former Tien, previously known as Talpa, which was launched in August 2005, and other assets of John de Mol's Talpa Media were amalgamated with RTL Nederland...
(started, 15 October 2009)
Other HD channels available in the Nederlands:
- BravaHDTVBravaHDTVBravaHDTV is a Dutch cultural HDTV channel aimed at the European marked which launched on July 3, 2007. The programming consists of opera, ballet, and concertos. Productions are recorded in opera houses such as the Royal Opera House, the Teatro Real, and the La Scala...
- Discovery HD Showcase
- Eurosport HDEurosport HDOn 25 May 2008, a HD simulcast version of the main channel launched - the first event covered in HD being the 2008 French Open at Roland Garros.-Launch:...
- Film1 HD
- History HD
- National Geographic Channel HD
- myZen.tv HD
- Sport1 HD
- Fasiontv HD
- Mtv Live HD
- BBCHDBBC HDBBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
Satellite viewers can receive a number of additional HD channels from the surrounding countries when broadcasting free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
including BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, één HD
EEN
EEN may refer to:* Eastern Educational Television Network, the original name for American Public Television.* Elemental Energy, a Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game booster pack.* Emerald Energy, an oil company...
from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Arte HD
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
, the Franco-German cultural channel and the German Anixe HD. But most of these channels are not part of HD services offered in the Netherlands nor broadcast programming aimed at the Dutch market.
See also
- Digital television transitionDigital television transitionThe digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
- Television in the Netherlands
- List of cable companies in the Netherlands
- SES AstraSES AstraAstra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
- Digital televisionDigital televisionDigital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
- High-definition televisionHigh-definition televisionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...