Digital television transition
Encyclopedia
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
conversion to digital cable
.
In many countries, a simulcast
service is operated where a broadcast is made available to viewers in both analog and digital at the same time. As digital becomes more popular, it is likely that the existing analogue services will be removed. In some cases this has already happened, where a broadcaster has offered incentives to viewers to encourage them to switch to digital. In other cases government policies have been introduced to encourage or force the switchover process, especially with regard to terrestrial broadcasts. Government intervention usually involves providing some funding for broadcasters and, in some cases monetary relief to viewers, to enable a switchover to happen by a given deadline.
The switchover for individual countries varies; it could either happen in small steps, such as with the United Kingdom where each region has a separate date to switch off, or the whole country could switch in one go, as did Finland on 1 September 2007. The most recent country to switch off all analogue services was France on 29 November 2011; the next country to switch off all analogue services will be Romania on 1 January 2012.
sound, the formats have had to be modified to broadcast in colour, stereo sound, SAP
, captioning
, and other information all while being backwards compatible with televisions unable to use the features. Additionally, engineers have had to implement these protocols within the limits of a set bandwidth and the tolerances of an inefficient analog format.
However during this time, the application and distribution of digital communications evolved. Digital television transmission is more efficient, easily integrating other digital processes. Analogue features have difficulty or cannot do the extra digital features.
ceased analog terrestrial transmissions nationwide at 04:00, Saturday, September 1, 2007 (switch-off was previously planned for the midnight after August 31 but a few extra hours were added for technical reasons). This was controversial as the cost of a digital TV set in Finland was heavily criticised and saw a substantial decrease in how much pay the television license. Cable TV viewers continued to receive analogue broadcasts until the end of February 2008. completed its switch-off on Tuesday, September 25, 2007.: The switch-off of the analogue terrestrial network progressed region–by–region. It started on the island of Gotland
on Tuesday, September 19, 2005, and was completed on Monday, October 29, 2007, when the last analogue SVT1
transmitters in Blekinge
and western Scania
were shut down. Cable distributors are allowed to continue broadcasting analogue television. began with the switch-off on Monday, July 24, 2006 in Ticino
and continued with Engadin
on Monday, November 13, 2006. The switch-off was completed on Monday, November 26, 2007. started the switch-off in the Berlin area, beginning on Friday, November 1, 2002 and completing on Monday, August 4, 2003. "Simulcast
" digital transmissions started in other parts of the country in an effort to prepare for a full switchover. The switch-off of terrestrial analogue transmitters was completed on Tuesday, November 25, 2008, except one main transmitter in Bad Mergentheim
which was shut down in June 2009. Analogue cable and satellite broadcasts remain available for the time being; the public broadcasters announced to switch off those services in 2012. switched off all analog services on Thursday, July 16, 2009. switched off all analog services at midnight on Sunday, November 1, 2009.: The switch-off of the analogue transmissions started in March 2008 and was completed on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Norway started its DTT service on the Saturday, September 1, 2007.: Media regulations are under regional legislation. Flanders
switched off analogue television on Monday, November 3, 2008, while in Wallonia, all analogue services were switched off on Monday, March 1, 2010, making Belgium completely full digital nationwide.
: The switch-off of the analogue transmissions was completed on Saturday, April 3, 2010. Spain started its DTT service on Wednesday, November 30, 2005.'s analogue television completely converted to digital broadcasting on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.'s analogue television was switched off completely on Thursday, 1 July 2010. and
Guernsey switched off their analogue signals on Wednesday, 17 November 2010.: Analogue television broadcasts were switched off for all national TV channels on Tuesday, 5 October 2010 at 12:35 and for local TV channels on 20 November 2010.: the switch-off on main transmitters was completed on Wednesday, 1 December 2010. The last local analogue transmitters were switched off on 30 June 2011. shut down their last analog transmitter on UHF Channel 21 on Friday, 31 December 2010. started digital transmissions in MPEG-4 on Sunday, 2 August 2009 and analogue transmissions ended on 31 March 2011. Israel is the first nation in Asia to shut down analogue signals.: The vast majority of transmitters stopped broadcasting just after midnight on 1 April 2010. However analogue transmissions were still broadcast from the New Radnor and Garth Hill transmitters in Wales, until 20 April 2011. switched off their analog TV broadcasts on 24 May 2011.: Began analogue switch-off on Monday, 5 March 2007, progressing from the west to the east. The analog broadcast was shut down nationwide at the end of 2010 regarding the main transmitters. The last analog translators were switched off on 7 June 2011. ended its analogue broadcasts on 22 June 2011. terminated all analog transmissions on 30 June 2011 and moved to only digital transmissions in MPEG-4 on 1 July 2011. terminated all analogue services on Monday, 31 October 2011. The switchoff was originally planned for 1 June 2011 but got delayed for unknown reasons. (including overseas departments and territories such as Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna) switched off all analog services on Tuesday, 29 November 2011.
. The analogue network will be terminated on Sunday, 1 September 2019.: Digital television commenced in Australia's five most populous cities on Monday, January 1, 2001. Digital switchover will be complete by Tuesday, 31 December 2013 with Mildura being the first region to terminate its analogue network on 30 June 2010. Until the switchoff in the respective area, free-to-air stations will be simulcast
, along with digital-only channels like ABC2
. Cable television networks began simulcasting in 2004 and analogue cable services were switched off in April 2007. The switchover is being co-ordinated by the Digital Switchover Taskforce operating under the federal Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.: Began analogue switch-off on 17 October 2010, is expected to complete by 2012.: Started on Tuesday, 20 July 2010, is expected to complete by 2012.: Began free-to-air HD digital transmissions, after a period of test broadcasts, on Sunday, 2 December 2007 in São Paulo
, expanding in January 2008 to Brasília
, Rio de Janeiro
, and Belo Horizonte
. Digital broadcasts will be phased into the other 23 state capitals by the end of 2009, and to the remaining cities by December 31, 2013. Analogue and digital simulcasts will continue until Wednesday, 29 June 2016, when analogue will be discontinued. The main broadcasters (Globo, Record, Band, SBT and RedeTV!) are simulcasting in analogue
and digital broadcast
, in standard definition
and 1080i
high definition
. will complete its analog switch-off on Friday, 21 December 2012.: Canada's DTV transition was complete in mandatory markets on Wednesday, 31 August 2011. Some CBC analog transmitters in mandatory markets have been permitted to operate until 31 August 2012, though CBC does not have plans to convert these transmitters to digital and in fact plans on seeking further extensions. Also on 31 August 2011, all full power TV transmitters had to vacate channels 52 to 69. Low-power analog transmitters and analog transmitters not in the CRTC's mandatory markets are allowed to continue operations. started the switch-off in September 2007 and has plans to finish by November 2011 (some regions June 2012). The areas of Domažlice
, West Bohemia, Prague
, Central Bohemia, and South Bohemia have already switched off analog broadcasting of ČT2
.: Gibraltar will cease analogue in December 2012. A concrete date will be announced in June or July 2012.: There has been no confirmation when exactly analogue will terminate, but this document confirms that 2012 is a possible date.'s analogue broadcasting was planned to be switched off by 2012. However, it has been postponed to end 2015. was originally going to switch off analogue broadcasting on 1 January 2012, but was delayed to 1 January 2015. This change was left out of the official English translation of the Hungarian Media Act. will cease all analog broadcasting in 2013. commenced broadcasting digital TV in 2009 choosing DVB-T MPEG-4 standard, with 40% of population having had access to digital TV by mid 2011. The switch over to digital TV will be completed by 2015 and all analogue signals will be pulled from air.'s broadcaster RTÉ
made its digital television service Saorview available to most of the population on 29 October 2010; the first channels available to terrestrial only in digital form were RTÉ Two HD
and RTÉ News Now
followed shortly afterwards by 3e
.http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/ireland/index.xml Analogue terrestrial will stop on 24 October 2012. There has been no confirmation on when analogue cable will stop, and many major cable companies (i.e. UPC Ireland
) are still actively offering analogue. Analogue satellite was discontinued on 27 September 2001. previously scheduled its blackout to occur in late 2006 but was delayed to Wednesday, 12 December 2012, as enacted by Italian law ("Legge 29 novembre 2007, n. 222"). shut down all analogue satellite and most of the analogue terrestrial television on Sunday, July 24, 2011, except for 3 prefectures destroyed or heavily damaged by 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
, which will stop analog broadcasting on 31 March 2012. Analogue high-definition television broadcast ended on Sunday, September 30, 2007. Many television stations across the country have already begun broadcasting simultaneously in digital. became the second African country after South Africa to start digital broadcasting on Wednesday, 9 December 2009. The analog network is set to be switched off in June 2012.: The government aims to switch off all analogue television broadcasting on Monday, 29 October 2012.: The switch-off will be completed in 2015.: Analogue shutdown was originally scheduled to occur in 2021, but on 2 September 2010, Mexican president Felipe Calderón
, in its Fourth Report of the Government, advanced the analog shutdown from 2021 to 2015, with transition beginning in 2011. Some digital signals are already on-air, the first being Tijuana's XETV
– an English-language affiliate of The CW serving primarily San Diego, California
. Groups of cities which are required to simulcast digitally are added in descending order of size, with full coverage of the smallest centers required by 2015.: The New Zealand government is planning to switch to digital-only by the end of 2013. Trackside was the first channel to switch off its nationwide analogue transmissions on 31 July 2011. The first regions to switch off will be Hawke's Bay
and West Coast
on 30 September 2012. The remainder of the South Island will follow on 28 April 2013; the Lower North Island and East Cape on 29 September 2013; and finally the Upper North Island on 1 December 2013.: Analogue broadcasts will stop on Wednesday, 31 July 2013. (DVB-T in Poland
)'s government aims to complete the digital switchover by 2012; digital broadcasts started on Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Portugal's government hopes to cover 80% of the territory with DTV by the end of 2009, and simulcasts will remain until Thursday, April 26, 2012, when the analogue broadcasting ends.: The Philippine Government will terminate all analogue transmissions by Thursday, December 31, 2015. Although, according to the National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines, they will introduce first DTV to the country's main cities Manila
, Metro Cebu
, and Metro Davao
. Some transmissions are currently in test broadcast, just like in the government-owned station National Broadcasting Network
which is transmitting signal coming from its analog broadcast. The first fully operational DTV Station in the country is the Christian Era Broadcasting Service
or GEM TV. is scheduled to switch off analogue broadcasting on Sunday, 1 January 2012. has announced that the switch-off is to be completed in 2015. launched its first DTT transmissions in 2005. The first DTT-only channel was made available in 2008. Analogue will be removed from air on 4 April 2012.: The government aims to complete the digital switchover by 2012.'s analogue transmissions will terminate at 04:00 on Monday, 31 December 2012. Until that time, major broadcasters like MBC
, SBS or other affiliated networks, KBS will broadcast both analog and digital TV in most major cities.: Digital television launched terrestrially throughout Taiwan on Friday, 2 July 2004. Currently, there are simulcasts of analogue and digital television. Analogue television will stop working by the end of June 2012. launched DVB-T2
on January 25, 2011, transition will start in 2012 and finish on Thursday, 9 April 2015.: The transition started on Wednesday, 17 October 2007 with Whitehaven
in Cumbria
, and is proceeding to a transmitter switchover timetable, implemented by region. The last transmitters will be switched over during 2012; these will be London, Meridian
, Tyne Tees and Ulster
. All analogue broadcasting will finish on 24 October 2012. However, this only applies to the terrestrial network; analogue cable is still allowed to broadcast for now, however Virgin Media
has plans to shut down its analogue service by January 2012. Analogue satellite was discontinued on 27 September 2001.: Most full-power analogue translators were shut down on or by 12 June 2009, with the exception of "nightlight" analog stations (which broadcasted a video on how to set up a digital TV). These were shut down on 26 June 2009. Low-power analogue stations are still allowed to broadcast for now, but analogue stations that use channels 52 to 69 will be forced to shut down by 31 December 2011 and the remaining analogue stations will be forced to shut down by 31 March 2016.
following the deposition of former Abdullah Badawi. It was soon revealed that ASEAN's commitment to the digital switchover will take effect between 2015 and 2020. plans to close down analogue on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. On air with ISDB-T from March 2010. plans to complete the switchover to digital broadcasting in line with ASEAN's commitment to the digital switchover, which, similarly to Malaysia, will take effect between 2015 and 2020. Once analogue switchoff is completed, all of MediaCorp
's free-to-air TV channels will be broadcast fully in digital. started simultaneous digital and analogue broadcasting in November 2008 in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
. Switch-off was originally scheduled to be completed by 1 November 2011, but for unknown reasons it has now been pushed back to an expected completion date of 1 December 2013. However, transmitters can choose to switch off analogue before this date, but no analogue transmitters have switched off so far. will stop analogue transmittions sometime in 2015.'s analogue transmissions will be terminated on Friday, 17 July 2015. Launch of a full-fledged digital TV network capable to replace the existing analog transmissions will occur in 2011 or 2012. The DVB-T2 standard will be used for both SD and HD. plans to close down analogue on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. officially launched DVB-T in 2010 exclusively to the northern part of Vietnam
, with analogue being terminated in 2020 in that area. The southern part of Vietnam
will launch DVB-T at some point in the 2010s, but no official switchover date has been announced in that area. will terminate analogue on 1 December 2013.
– must be used in order to allow the television to receive digital
broadcasts. In the United States, the government is subsidizing the purchase of such boxes via their coupon-eligible converter box
program, funded by a small part of the billions of dollars brought in by the spectrum auction
of 12 of the upper UHF channels. The program is managed by the Department of Commerce through its National Telecommunications and Information Administration
.
The initial plan for transition announced in 1999 was to start in 2006 and finish in 2010 but after ITC
was replaced by Ofcom
it changed the plan to a 5-year transition between 2007 and 2012. The transition started on Wednesday, 17 October 2007 with Whitehaven
in Cumbria
, and is proceeding to a transmitter switchover timetable, implemented by region. The last transmitters will be switched over during 2012; these will be London, Meridian
, Tyne Tees and Ulster
. The process is managed by Digital UK
, and viewers that are aged over 75 and/or live in a care home will be able to apply to Digital Switchover Help Scheme
until March 2013.
All analogue broadcasting will finish on 24 October 2012; the specific date for England is 26 September 2012. Analogue switchoff in Northern Ireland
has not yet started but will finish on 24 October 2012. However, this only applies to the terrestrial network; analogue cable is still allowed to broadcast for now, however Virgin Media
has plans to shut down its analogue service by January 2012. Analogue satellite was discontinued on 27 September 2001. The old analogue service has been replaced by a stronger digital service and high-definition
(HD) channels in regions which have finished the switchover.
on 29 October 2010. At launch it had 5 standard-definition channels and 1 high-definition channel. The analogue service is set to terminate on 24 October 2012 and will be replaced by a second multiplex for Saorview.
video capture
card tuners and DVD recorder
s, have been required to include ATSC digital tuners since March 1, 2007.
On 8 September 2008, Wilmington, North Carolina
became the first city in the United States to fully switch over from analog to digital broadcasts. All analog signals were terminated at noon. This switchover was a test by FCC to make further improvements to the transition process before the whole nation was switched over to digital. Hawaii
followed on 15 January 2009. By midnight on 17 February 2009, the original cut-off date set by the Congress, 641 stations representing 36 percent of U.S. full-power broadcasters were transmitting exclusively in digital. After that, most of the remaining full-power U.S. broadcasters were beaming their signals in both analog and digital formats.
In a January 2009 study, 70% of over-the-air viewers expected to get a DTV converter box, 10% would switch to pay TV
services, and 20% would abandon TV altogether. Based on this survey and considering that 13–15% of TV viewers depend on over-the-air TV, 3% of the overall TV viewership might be lost due to the DTV conversion. Potential negative impacts on TV stations include reduced TV advertising and pledge drive
revenue
.
Cable TV systems are not required to convert, but must-carry
rules will require local stations to be carried in analog for at least three years after the over-the-air cutoff, until early 2012. Must-carry rules requiring digital-only subchannels to be carried have been a source of contention.
, along with digital-only channels like ABC2
. Since 1999, legislation has required all locally made free-to-air television transmissions to be in 16:9
widescreen
format. Cable television networks began simulcasting in 2004 and analogue cable services were switched off in April 2007. The switchover is being co-ordinated by the Digital Switchover Taskforce operating under the federal Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
MPEG-4
under the name Freeview in 2007. Analogue began to be phased out on 31 July 2011 when Trackside was removed from analogue. The first region to lose all of its analogue channels will be Hawke's Bay and West Coast on 30 September 2012. The remainder of the South Island will follow on 28 April 2013; the Lower North Island and East Cape on 29 September 2013; and finally the Upper North Island on 1 December 2013.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
is converted to and replaced by 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...
. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television
Cable 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...
conversion to digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
.
In many countries, a 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...
service is operated where a broadcast is made available to viewers in both analog and digital at the same time. As digital becomes more popular, it is likely that the existing analogue services will be removed. In some cases this has already happened, where a broadcaster has offered incentives to viewers to encourage them to switch to digital. In other cases government policies have been introduced to encourage or force the switchover process, especially with regard to terrestrial broadcasts. Government intervention usually involves providing some funding for broadcasters and, in some cases monetary relief to viewers, to enable a switchover to happen by a given deadline.
The switchover for individual countries varies; it could either happen in small steps, such as with the United Kingdom where each region has a separate date to switch off, or the whole country could switch in one go, as did Finland on 1 September 2007. The most recent country to switch off all analogue services was France on 29 November 2011; the next country to switch off all analogue services will be Romania on 1 January 2012.
Purpose of the transition
Almost all analog formats in current use were standardised between the 1940s and 1950s and have had to be adapted to the technological innovations since then. Initially offering only black and white images with monophonicMonophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
sound, the formats have had to be modified to broadcast in colour, stereo sound, SAP
Second audio program
Second audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
, captioning
Closed captioning
Closed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
, and other information all while being backwards compatible with televisions unable to use the features. Additionally, engineers have had to implement these protocols within the limits of a set bandwidth and the tolerances of an inefficient analog format.
However during this time, the application and distribution of digital communications evolved. Digital television transmission is more efficient, easily integrating other digital processes. Analogue features have difficulty or cannot do the extra digital features.
- For the end-user, digital television has potential for resolutions and sound fidelity comparable with blu-ray home video and with digital multiplexing, it is also possible to offer subchannelsDigital subchannelIn broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
, distinct simulcast programming, from the same broadcaster.
- For government and industry, digital television reallocates the radio spectrumRadio spectrumRadio spectrum refers to the part of the electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to radio frequencies – that is, frequencies lower than around 300 GHz ....
so that it can be auctioned offSpectrum auctionA spectrum auction is a process whereby a government uses an auction system to sell the rights to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign scarce spectrum resources. Depending on the specific auction format used, a spectrum auction can last from a single...
by the government. In the subsequent auctions, telecommunications industries can introduce new services and products in mobile telephonyMobile telephonyMobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Mobile phones connect to a terrestrial cellular network of base stations , whereas satellite phones connect to orbiting satellites...
, wi-fiWi-FiWi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
internet, and other nationwide telecommunications projects.
Timeline for the digital switchover
- 2006:
- 2007: , , ,
- 2009: , , ,
- 2010: , , , ,
Jersey, Guernsey, , , - 2011: , , , , , , ,
- 2012: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
- 2013: , , ,
Zimbabwe, , - 2015: , , , , , , , , , ,
Tunisia - 2016: ,
- 2017: ,
- 2018:
- 2019: ,
- 2020: , , , ,
Vietnam North VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... - 2024:
Cuba - 203?:
- 20??: , Vietnam Southern VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
Other information
The Geneva 2006 Agreement sets 17 June 2015 as the date after which countries may use those frequencies currently assigned for analogue television transmission for digital services, without being required to protect the analogue services of neighbouring countries against interference. This date is generally viewed as an internationally mandated analogue switch-off date, at least along national borders. The European Commission has recommended that digital switchover should be completed by 1 January 2012 - Commission Recommendation 2009/848/EC, of 28.10.2009.Digital switchover at a glance
| Country | First DTT broadcast | Started switch-over | Finished switch-over | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra Andorra |
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 Australia Australia |
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 Belgium Belgium |
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 Canada Canada |
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 Croatia Croatia |
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 Denmark Denmark |
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 Estonia Estonia |
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 Finland Finland |
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 France France |
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 Germany Germany |
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| Guernsey Guernsey |
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 India India |
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 Republic of Ireland Ireland |
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 Isle of Man Isle of Man |
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 Japan Japan |
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| Jersey | ||||
 Latvia Latvia |
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 Mexico Mexico |
2011 | 2015 | ||
 Netherlands Netherlands |
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 New Zealand New Zealand |
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 Norway Norway |
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 Slovenia Slovenia |
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 South Africa South Africa |
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 Spain Spain |
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 Sweden Sweden |
1999 | |||
 Switzerland Switzerland |
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| Tunisia Tunisia |
2015 | |||
 United Kingdom United Kingdom |
||||
 United States United States |
Transitions completed
moved to digital broadcasting on Monday, 11 December 2006. The switch-off was helped greatly by the fact that about 90% of the households subscribe to cable systems which continue to use analog distribution, thus their old tuners continued to be useful.Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
on Tuesday, September 19, 2005, and was completed on Monday, October 29, 2007, when the last analogue SVT1
SVT1
SVT1 is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden.-History:The channel began broadcasting in 1956 and was known as Radiotjänst TV, A year later, it was renamed Sveriges Radio TV. In 1969, the second television station TV2 was launched and...
transmitters in Blekinge
Blekinge
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm"....
and western Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
were shut down. Cable distributors are allowed to continue broadcasting analogue television. began with the switch-off on Monday, July 24, 2006 in Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
and continued with Engadin
Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine is a long valley in the Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden in southeast Switzerland. It follows the route of the Inn River from its headwaters at Maloja Pass running northeast until the Inn flows into Austria one hundred kilometers downstream...
on Monday, November 13, 2006. The switch-off was completed on Monday, November 26, 2007. started the switch-off in the Berlin area, beginning on Friday, November 1, 2002 and completing on Monday, August 4, 2003. "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...
" digital transmissions started in other parts of the country in an effort to prepare for a full switchover. The switch-off of terrestrial analogue transmitters was completed on Tuesday, November 25, 2008, except one main transmitter in Bad Mergentheim
Bad Mergentheim
Bad Mergentheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.-History:Mergentheim is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe, who early in the 13th century assigned the greater part of their estates in...
which was shut down in June 2009. Analogue cable and satellite broadcasts remain available for the time being; the public broadcasters announced to switch off those services in 2012. switched off all analog services on Thursday, July 16, 2009. switched off all analog services at midnight on Sunday, November 1, 2009.: The switch-off of the analogue transmissions started in March 2008 and was completed on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Norway started its DTT service on the Saturday, September 1, 2007.: Media regulations are under regional legislation. Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
switched off analogue television on Monday, November 3, 2008, while in Wallonia, all analogue services were switched off on Monday, March 1, 2010, making Belgium completely full digital nationwide.
: The switch-off of the analogue transmissions was completed on Saturday, April 3, 2010. Spain started its DTT service on Wednesday, November 30, 2005.'s analogue television completely converted to digital broadcasting on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.'s analogue television was switched off completely on Thursday, 1 July 2010. and
Guernsey switched off their analogue signals on Wednesday, 17 November 2010.: Analogue television broadcasts were switched off for all national TV channels on Tuesday, 5 October 2010 at 12:35 and for local TV channels on 20 November 2010.: the switch-off on main transmitters was completed on Wednesday, 1 December 2010. The last local analogue transmitters were switched off on 30 June 2011. shut down their last analog transmitter on UHF Channel 21 on Friday, 31 December 2010. started digital transmissions in MPEG-4 on Sunday, 2 August 2009 and analogue transmissions ended on 31 March 2011. Israel is the first nation in Asia to shut down analogue signals.: The vast majority of transmitters stopped broadcasting just after midnight on 1 April 2010. However analogue transmissions were still broadcast from the New Radnor and Garth Hill transmitters in Wales, until 20 April 2011. switched off their analog TV broadcasts on 24 May 2011.: Began analogue switch-off on Monday, 5 March 2007, progressing from the west to the east. The analog broadcast was shut down nationwide at the end of 2010 regarding the main transmitters. The last analog translators were switched off on 7 June 2011. ended its analogue broadcasts on 22 June 2011. terminated all analog transmissions on 30 June 2011 and moved to only digital transmissions in MPEG-4 on 1 July 2011. terminated all analogue services on Monday, 31 October 2011. The switchoff was originally planned for 1 June 2011 but got delayed for unknown reasons. (including overseas departments and territories such as Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna) switched off all analog services on Tuesday, 29 November 2011.Transitions in progress
: Digital television broadcasts started on Tuesday, 9 September 2008 in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. The analogue network will be terminated on Sunday, 1 September 2019.: Digital television commenced in Australia's five most populous cities on Monday, January 1, 2001. Digital switchover will be complete by Tuesday, 31 December 2013 with Mildura being the first region to terminate its analogue network on 30 June 2010. Until the switchoff in the respective area, free-to-air stations will be 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...
, along with digital-only channels like ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
. Cable television networks began simulcasting in 2004 and analogue cable services were switched off in April 2007. The switchover is being co-ordinated by the Digital Switchover Taskforce operating under the federal Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.: Began analogue switch-off on 17 October 2010, is expected to complete by 2012.: Started on Tuesday, 20 July 2010, is expected to complete by 2012.: Began free-to-air HD digital transmissions, after a period of test broadcasts, on Sunday, 2 December 2007 in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, expanding in January 2008 to Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, and Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
. Digital broadcasts will be phased into the other 23 state capitals by the end of 2009, and to the remaining cities by December 31, 2013. Analogue and digital simulcasts will continue until Wednesday, 29 June 2016, when analogue will be discontinued. The main broadcasters (Globo, Record, Band, SBT and RedeTV!) are simulcasting in analogue
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
and digital broadcast
Digital broadcasting
Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital data rather than analogue waveforms to carry broadcasts over television channels or assigned radio frequency bands...
, in 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...
and 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
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...
. will complete its analog switch-off on Friday, 21 December 2012.: Canada's DTV transition was complete in mandatory markets on Wednesday, 31 August 2011. Some CBC analog transmitters in mandatory markets have been permitted to operate until 31 August 2012, though CBC does not have plans to convert these transmitters to digital and in fact plans on seeking further extensions. Also on 31 August 2011, all full power TV transmitters had to vacate channels 52 to 69. Low-power analog transmitters and analog transmitters not in the CRTC's mandatory markets are allowed to continue operations. started the switch-off in September 2007 and has plans to finish by November 2011 (some regions June 2012). The areas of Domažlice
Domažlice
Domažlice is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic.Domažlice is also a Municipality with Extended Competence and a Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority within the same borders.-History:...
, West Bohemia, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Central Bohemia, and South Bohemia have already switched off analog broadcasting of ČT2
CT2
CT2 is a cordless telephony standard that was used in the early 1990s to provide short-range proto-mobile phone service in some countries in Europe. It is considered the precursor to the popular DECT system...
.: Gibraltar will cease analogue in December 2012. A concrete date will be announced in June or July 2012.: There has been no confirmation when exactly analogue will terminate, but this document confirms that 2012 is a possible date.'s analogue broadcasting was planned to be switched off by 2012. However, it has been postponed to end 2015. was originally going to switch off analogue broadcasting on 1 January 2012, but was delayed to 1 January 2015. This change was left out of the official English translation of the Hungarian Media Act. will cease all analog broadcasting in 2013. commenced broadcasting digital TV in 2009 choosing DVB-T MPEG-4 standard, with 40% of population having had access to digital TV by mid 2011. The switch over to digital TV will be completed by 2015 and all analogue signals will be pulled from air.'s broadcaster RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
made its digital television service Saorview available to most of the population on 29 October 2010; the first channels available to terrestrial only in digital form were RTÉ Two HD
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
and RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now is a 24-hour news television network in the Republic of Ireland operated byIrish public service broadcaster RTÉ. The channel launched as RTÉ News Now available exclusively online on June 12, 2008. The channel began broadcasting as a free-to-air channel on October 29, 2010 on...
followed shortly afterwards by 3e
3E
3E or 3-E may refer to:*3e, general entertainment channel operated in Ireland*3rd meridian east*Third edition in the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons*NY 3E, alternate name for New York State Route 104*OK-3E, abbreviation for Oklahoma State Highway 3...
.http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/ireland/index.xml Analogue terrestrial will stop on 24 October 2012. There has been no confirmation on when analogue cable will stop, and many major cable companies (i.e. UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
) are still actively offering analogue. Analogue satellite was discontinued on 27 September 2001. previously scheduled its blackout to occur in late 2006 but was delayed to Wednesday, 12 December 2012, as enacted by Italian law ("Legge 29 novembre 2007, n. 222"). shut down all analogue satellite and most of the analogue terrestrial television on Sunday, July 24, 2011, except for 3 prefectures destroyed or heavily damaged by 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
, which will stop analog broadcasting on 31 March 2012. Analogue high-definition television broadcast ended on Sunday, September 30, 2007. Many television stations across the country have already begun broadcasting simultaneously in digital. became the second African country after South Africa to start digital broadcasting on Wednesday, 9 December 2009. The analog network is set to be switched off in June 2012.: The government aims to switch off all analogue television broadcasting on Monday, 29 October 2012.: The switch-off will be completed in 2015.: Analogue shutdown was originally scheduled to occur in 2021, but on 2 September 2010, Mexican president Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
, in its Fourth Report of the Government, advanced the analog shutdown from 2021 to 2015, with transition beginning in 2011. Some digital signals are already on-air, the first being Tijuana's XETV
XETV
XETV is a television station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, serving as the CW Television Network affiliate for the San Diego, California area across the international border in the United States...
– an English-language affiliate of The CW serving primarily San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. Groups of cities which are required to simulcast digitally are added in descending order of size, with full coverage of the smallest centers required by 2015.: The New Zealand government is planning to switch to digital-only by the end of 2013. Trackside was the first channel to switch off its nationwide analogue transmissions on 31 July 2011. The first regions to switch off will be Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...
and West Coast
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
on 30 September 2012. The remainder of the South Island will follow on 28 April 2013; the Lower North Island and East Cape on 29 September 2013; and finally the Upper North Island on 1 December 2013.: Analogue broadcasts will stop on Wednesday, 31 July 2013. (DVB-T in Poland
Digital television in Poland
First efforts to introduce DVB-T in Poland was made in 1997 in Gdańsk on initiative of TVP . First test DVB-T emission was carried in Warsaw at 9 November 2001....
)'s government aims to complete the digital switchover by 2012; digital broadcasts started on Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Portugal's government hopes to cover 80% of the territory with DTV by the end of 2009, and simulcasts will remain until Thursday, April 26, 2012, when the analogue broadcasting ends.: The Philippine Government will terminate all analogue transmissions by Thursday, December 31, 2015. Although, according to the National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines, they will introduce first DTV to the country's main cities Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Metro Cebu
Metro Cebu
Metro Cebu is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the nearby island of Mactan...
, and Metro Davao
Metro Davao
Metro Davao is an agglomeration of Davao City and four surrounding cities: Digos City in Davao del Sur, Tagum City, Panabo City and the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte...
. Some transmissions are currently in test broadcast, just like in the government-owned station National Broadcasting Network
National Broadcasting Network
People's Television is the flagship government television network owned by the Philippine Government through People's Television Network, Inc. . Its head office, studios and transmitter are located at Broadcast Complex, Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City .-History:The country's government...
which is transmitting signal coming from its analog broadcast. The first fully operational DTV Station in the country is the Christian Era Broadcasting Service
Christian Era Broadcasting Service
Christian Era Broadcasting Service also known as Global Expansion Media Network is a Philippine television and radio network, and a religious broadcast arm of Iglesia ni Cristo. This station studios are located in Quezon City...
or GEM TV. is scheduled to switch off analogue broadcasting on Sunday, 1 January 2012. has announced that the switch-off is to be completed in 2015. launched its first DTT transmissions in 2005. The first DTT-only channel was made available in 2008. Analogue will be removed from air on 4 April 2012.: The government aims to complete the digital switchover by 2012.'s analogue transmissions will terminate at 04:00 on Monday, 31 December 2012. Until that time, major broadcasters like MBC
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC (Hangul : 문화방송주식회사, Munhwa Bangsong Jushikoesa) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television...
, SBS or other affiliated networks, KBS will broadcast both analog and digital TV in most major cities.: Digital television launched terrestrially throughout Taiwan on Friday, 2 July 2004. Currently, there are simulcasts of analogue and digital television. Analogue television will stop working by the end of June 2012. launched DVB-T2
DVB-T2
DVB-T2 is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial; it is the extension of the television standard DVB-T, issued by the consortium DVB, devised for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television....
on January 25, 2011, transition will start in 2012 and finish on Thursday, 9 April 2015.: The transition started on Wednesday, 17 October 2007 with Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, and is proceeding to a transmitter switchover timetable, implemented by region. The last transmitters will be switched over during 2012; these will be London, Meridian
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
, Tyne Tees and Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
. All analogue broadcasting will finish on 24 October 2012. However, this only applies to the terrestrial network; analogue cable is still allowed to broadcast for now, however Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
has plans to shut down its analogue service by January 2012. Analogue satellite was discontinued on 27 September 2001.: Most full-power analogue translators were shut down on or by 12 June 2009, with the exception of "nightlight" analog stations (which broadcasted a video on how to set up a digital TV). These were shut down on 26 June 2009. Low-power analogue stations are still allowed to broadcast for now, but analogue stations that use channels 52 to 69 will be forced to shut down by 31 December 2011 and the remaining analogue stations will be forced to shut down by 31 March 2016.
Transitions not yet started
: The Albanian Parliament passed legislation to switch off analogue broadcasting by end of 2012. According to KKRT, such a commitment is unattainable, thus Albania is seeking to postpone the transition to 2015.: DVB-T became available to a small community in 2011. Analogue was planned to be ceased in 2015 but got cancelled for unknown reasons.: The switchoff is due to happen sometime in 2017.: The government has plans to close down analogue on Sunday, 1 January 2017.: Will shut down analogue permanently in December 2018. began to propose DVB-T in May 2009, and the analogue switchoff will take place approximately 15 years later, most likely in 2024.: The target date is Tuesday, 1 January 2019.: The Cabinet has given the go ahead to switch off analogue television. On cable and terrestrial, it will have four phases, in a 3-year transition starting on 31 March 2012 and finishing on 31 March 2015. There has been no confirmation that analogue satellite will be discontinued yet. For more information go to this website.'s analogue television will be phased out starting in 2014. It will take four years before it's switched off nationwide, which is scheduled for 2018.: The initial plan for transition was announced in May 2007 to start in 2011 and complete in 2015. The government announced in 2010 that they were going to delay this to finish in 2042. In 2011, plans were modified again to being phased out in the 2030s. However, since digital television has still not been launched it is likely that they have delayed the start time to later in the decade.: Information Ministry was planning to shut down the country's analogue television system in phases beginning from 2012 and finishing with the country exclusively broadcasting in DVB-T in 2015. However, it was shelved after the rise of Prime Minister Najib Tun RazakNajib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
following the deposition of former Abdullah Badawi. It was soon revealed that ASEAN's commitment to the digital switchover will take effect between 2015 and 2020. plans to close down analogue on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. On air with ISDB-T from March 2010. plans to complete the switchover to digital broadcasting in line with ASEAN's commitment to the digital switchover, which, similarly to Malaysia, will take effect between 2015 and 2020. Once analogue switchoff is completed, all of MediaCorp
MediaCorp
Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....
's free-to-air TV channels will be broadcast fully in digital. started simultaneous digital and analogue broadcasting in November 2008 in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. Switch-off was originally scheduled to be completed by 1 November 2011, but for unknown reasons it has now been pushed back to an expected completion date of 1 December 2013. However, transmitters can choose to switch off analogue before this date, but no analogue transmitters have switched off so far. will stop analogue transmittions sometime in 2015.'s analogue transmissions will be terminated on Friday, 17 July 2015. Launch of a full-fledged digital TV network capable to replace the existing analog transmissions will occur in 2011 or 2012. The DVB-T2 standard will be used for both SD and HD. plans to close down analogue on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. officially launched DVB-T in 2010 exclusively to the northern part of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, with analogue being terminated in 2020 in that area. The southern part of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
will launch DVB-T at some point in the 2010s, but no official switchover date has been announced in that area. will terminate analogue on 1 December 2013.
Digital-to-analog converters
After the switch from analog to digital broadcasts is complete, analog TVs will be incapable of receiving over-the-air broadcasts without the addition of a set-top converter box. Consequently, a digital converter box – an electronic device that connects to an analog televisionAnalog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
– must be used in order to allow the television to receive digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
broadcasts. In the United States, the government is subsidizing the purchase of such boxes via their coupon-eligible converter box
Coupon-eligible converter box
A coupon-eligible converter box was a digital television adapter that met eligibility specifications for subsidy "coupons" from the United States government...
program, funded by a small part of the billions of dollars brought in by the spectrum auction
Spectrum auction
A spectrum auction is a process whereby a government uses an auction system to sell the rights to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign scarce spectrum resources. Depending on the specific auction format used, a spectrum auction can last from a single...
of 12 of the upper UHF channels. The program is managed by the Department of Commerce through its National Telecommunications and Information Administration
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the...
.
United Kingdom
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
was replaced by Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
it changed the plan to a 5-year transition between 2007 and 2012. The transition started on Wednesday, 17 October 2007 with Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, and is proceeding to a transmitter switchover timetable, implemented by region. The last transmitters will be switched over during 2012; these will be London, Meridian
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
, Tyne Tees and Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
. The process is managed by Digital UK
Digital UK
Digital UK is the body in charge of the digital switchover of television in the United Kingdom.Digital UK communicates switchover to the public, works with industry to build support for the switchover programme, and co-ordinates engineering work across the UK broadcast network...
, and viewers that are aged over 75 and/or live in a care home will be able to apply to Digital Switchover Help Scheme
Digital Switchover Help Scheme
The Switchover Help Scheme is part of the digital television switchover process in the United Kingdom. Funded by an increase in the TV licence fee, and administered by the BBC on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, it aims to ensure that up to 7 million households meeting its...
until March 2013.
All analogue broadcasting will finish on 24 October 2012; the specific date for England is 26 September 2012. Analogue switchoff in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
has not yet started but will finish on 24 October 2012. However, this only applies to the terrestrial network; analogue cable is still allowed to broadcast for now, however Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
has plans to shut down its analogue service by January 2012. Analogue satellite was discontinued on 27 September 2001. The old analogue service has been replaced by a stronger digital service and 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...
(HD) channels in regions which have finished the switchover.
Republic of Ireland
Digital television was launched in the Republic of Ireland as SaorviewSaorview
Saorview is the national free-to-air digital terrestrial television service in Republic of Ireland.The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation it was required to be available to approximately 90% of the population by end of...
on 29 October 2010. At launch it had 5 standard-definition channels and 1 high-definition channel. The analogue service is set to terminate on 24 October 2012 and will be replaced by a second multiplex for Saorview.
United States
All US full-power analog TV broadcasts came to an end on 12 June 2009. New television devices that receive signals over-the-air, including pocket sized portable televisions, personal computerPersonal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
video capture
Video capture
Video capture is the process of converting an analog video signal—such as that produced by a video camera or DVD player—to digital video. The resulting digital data are computer files referred to as a digital video stream, or more often, simply video stream...
card tuners and DVD recorder
DVD recorder
A DVD recorder , is an optical disc recorder that uses Optical disc recording technologies to digitally record analog signal or digital signals onto blank writable DVD media...
s, have been required to include ATSC digital tuners since March 1, 2007.
On 8 September 2008, Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
became the first city in the United States to fully switch over from analog to digital broadcasts. All analog signals were terminated at noon. This switchover was a test by FCC to make further improvements to the transition process before the whole nation was switched over to digital. Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
followed on 15 January 2009. By midnight on 17 February 2009, the original cut-off date set by the Congress, 641 stations representing 36 percent of U.S. full-power broadcasters were transmitting exclusively in digital. After that, most of the remaining full-power U.S. broadcasters were beaming their signals in both analog and digital formats.
In a January 2009 study, 70% of over-the-air viewers expected to get a DTV converter box, 10% would switch to pay TV
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
services, and 20% would abandon TV altogether. Based on this survey and considering that 13–15% of TV viewers depend on over-the-air TV, 3% of the overall TV viewership might be lost due to the DTV conversion. Potential negative impacts on TV stations include reduced TV advertising and pledge drive
Pledge drive
A pledge drive is an extended period of fundraising activities, generally used by public broadcasting stations to increase contributions. The term "pledge" originates from the promise a contributor makes to send in funding at regular intervals for a certain amount of time...
revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
.
Cable TV systems are not required to convert, but must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
rules will require local stations to be carried in analog for at least three years after the over-the-air cutoff, until early 2012. Must-carry rules requiring digital-only subchannels to be carried have been a source of contention.
Australian deployment
Digital television commenced in Australia's five most populous cities on Monday, January 1, 2001. Digital switchover was originally intended to be complete by 2008, but got delayed to an expected completion date of Tuesday, 31 December 2013 with Mildura being the first region to terminate its analogue network on 30 June 2010. The second region to terminate its analogue network was Riverland and Broken Hill on 15 December 2010. Regional centers will switchoff between 2011 and 2012, while the main capitals will cease the analogue network in 2013. Until that time, free-to-air stations will be 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...
, along with digital-only channels like ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
. Since 1999, legislation has required all locally made free-to-air television transmissions to be in 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
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....
format. Cable television networks began simulcasting in 2004 and analogue cable services were switched off in April 2007. The switchover is being co-ordinated by the Digital Switchover Taskforce operating under the federal Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
Switchover table
-
Mildura: 30 June 2010 - Riverland and Broken Hill: 15 December 2010
- Victoria (Australia)Victoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
: 5 May 2011 -
QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
: 6 December 2011 - Southern New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and the ACTAustralian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
: 5 June 2012 - Northern New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
: By 31 December 2012 - TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
: By 30 June 2013 - SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, DarwinDarwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, Central AustraliaCentral AustraliaCentral Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...
and Eastern Australia: By 31 December 2013
New Zealand
New Zealand officially began broadcasting digital terrestrial television using DVB-TDVB-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...
MPEG-4
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...
under the name Freeview in 2007. Analogue began to be phased out on 31 July 2011 when Trackside was removed from analogue. The first region to lose all of its analogue channels will be Hawke's Bay and West Coast on 30 September 2012. The remainder of the South Island will follow on 28 April 2013; the Lower North Island and East Cape on 29 September 2013; and finally the Upper North Island on 1 December 2013.
See also
- Digital UKDigital UKDigital UK is the body in charge of the digital switchover of television in the United Kingdom.Digital UK communicates switchover to the public, works with industry to build support for the switchover programme, and co-ordinates engineering work across the UK broadcast network...
- List of digital television deployments by country
- Digital televisionDigital televisionDigital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
External links
- Digital Switchover UK
- EU Switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting
- Digital UK
- DigiTAG
- DigiTAG Handbook on ASO
- Digital Home Canada Over The Air Digital TV Forum Forum covering everything about the DTV transition in Canada