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* {{MKD}}: The switch-off will be completed in 2015.
* {{MKD}}: The switch-off will be completed in 2015.
* {{MEX}}: Analogue shutdown was originally scheduled to occur in 2021, but on 2 September 2010, Mexican president [[Felipe Calderon]], in its Fourth Report of the Government, advanced the analog shutdown from 2021 to 2015, with transition beginning in 2011.<ref>[http://www.generaccion.com/noticia/77360/mexico-avanza-hacia-apagon-analogico<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{es icon}}</ref> Some digital signals are already on-air, the first being [[Tijuana, Baja California|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.
* {{MEX}}: Analogue shutdown was originally scheduled to occur in 2021, but on 2 September 2010, Mexican president [[Felipe Calderon]], in its Fourth Report of the Government, advanced the analog shutdown from 2021 to 2015, with transition beginning in 2011.<ref>[http://www.generaccion.com/noticia/77360/mexico-avanza-hacia-apagon-analogico<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{es icon}}</ref> Some digital signals are already on-air, the first being [[Tijuana, Baja California|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.
* {{NZL}}: The New Zealand government is planning to switch to digital-only by the end of 2013. Television channel 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, New Zealand|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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.goingdigital.co.nz/making-the-switch/coverage-areas-2/coverage-areas.html |title= When is my area going digital? - Going Digital |publisher= New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage |accessdate= 17 July 2011}}</ref>
* {{NZL}}: The New Zealand government is planning to switch to digital-only by the end of 2013. Television channel Trackside was the first channel to switch off its nationwide analogue transmissions on 31 July 2011.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} The first regions to switch off will be [[Hawke's Bay]] and [[West Coast, New Zealand|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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.goingdigital.co.nz/making-the-switch/coverage-areas-2/coverage-areas.html |title= When is my area going digital? - Going Digital |publisher= New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage |accessdate= 17 July 2011}}</ref>
* {{POL}}: The switching to digital was started in September 2009, the analog broadcast will stop on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. ([[Digital television in Poland|DVB-T in Poland]])
* {{POL}}: The switching to digital was started in September 2009, the analog broadcast will stop on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. ([[Digital television in Poland|DVB-T in Poland]])
* {{POR}}'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.
* {{POR}}'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.
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* {{KOR}}'s analogue transmissions will terminate at 04:00 on Monday, 31 December 2012. Until that time, major broadcasters like [[Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation|MBC]], [[Seoul Broadcasting System|SBS]] or other affiliated networks, [[Korean Broadcasting System|KBS]] will broadcast both analog and digital TV in most major cities.
* {{KOR}}'s analogue transmissions will terminate at 04:00 on Monday, 31 December 2012. Until that time, major broadcasters like [[Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation|MBC]], [[Seoul Broadcasting System|SBS]] or other affiliated networks, [[Korean Broadcasting System|KBS]] will broadcast both analog and digital TV in most major cities.
* {{TWN}}: Digital television launched terrestrially throughout Taiwan on Friday, July 2, 2004. Currently, there are simulcasts of analogue and digital television. Analogue television will be ceased broadcasting by the end of June 2012.
* {{TWN}}: Digital television launched terrestrially throughout Taiwan on Friday, July 2, 2004. Currently, there are simulcasts of analogue and digital television. Analogue television will be ceased broadcasting by the end of June 2012.
* {{THA}} launched [[DVB-T2]] on January 25, 2011, transition will start in 2012 and will finish in the late 2010s.<ref>http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/thailand/</ref>
* {{THA}} launched [[DVB-T2]] on January 25, 2011, transition will start in 2012 and finish in the late 2010s.<ref>http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/thailand/</ref>
* {{UKR}}: 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.
* {{UKR}}: 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.
* {{GBR}}: The initial plan for transition announced in 1999 was to start in 2006 and finish in 2010 but after [[Independent Television Commission|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]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6453087.stm|title=First digital TV switch date set|publisher=[[BBC News]]|accessdate=2007-04-24|date=2007-03-15}}</ref> and is proceeding to a [[Digital switchover dates in the United Kingdom|transmitter switchover timetable]], implemented by region. The last transmitters will be switched over during 2012; these will be [[London]], [[Meridian Broadcasting|Meridian]], [[Tyne Tees]] and [[Ulster]].<ref>[http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/en/when.html digitaluk.co.uk]</ref> The process is managed by [[Digital UK]], with some viewers eligible for the [[Digital Switchover Help Scheme]]. All analogue broadcasting will finish by December 2012; the specific date for [[England]] is 26 September 2012. Analogue switchoff in [[Northern Ireland]] has not yet started but will start on 24 October 2012 and finish by December 2012.<ref>[http://www.digitaluk.co.uk digitaluk.co.uk]</ref> 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.
* {{GBR}}: The initial plan for transition announced in 1999 was to start in 2006 and finish in 2010 but after [[Independent Television Commission|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]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6453087.stm|title=First digital TV switch date set|publisher=[[BBC News]]|accessdate=2007-04-24|date=2007-03-15}}</ref> and is proceeding to a [[Digital switchover dates in the United Kingdom|transmitter switchover timetable]], implemented by region. The last transmitters will be switched over during 2012; these will be [[London]], [[Meridian Broadcasting|Meridian]], [[Tyne Tees]] and [[Ulster]].<ref>[http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/en/when.html digitaluk.co.uk]</ref> The process is managed by [[Digital UK]], with some viewers eligible for the [[Digital Switchover Help Scheme]]. All analogue broadcasting will finish by December 2012; the specific date for [[England]] is 26 September 2012. Analogue switchoff in [[Northern Ireland]] has not yet started but will start on 24 October 2012 and finish by December 2012.<ref>[http://www.digitaluk.co.uk digitaluk.co.uk]</ref> 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.

Revision as of 13:58, 21 October 2011

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.

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 monophonic 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.

  • 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 subchannels, distinct simulcast programming, from the same broadcaster.
  • For government and industry, digital television reallocates the radio spectrum so that it can be auctioned off by the government. In the subsequent auctions, telecommunications industries can introduce new services and products in mobile telephony, wi-fi internet, and other nationwide telecommunications projects.

Timeline for stopping analogue services

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.[1] The European Commission has recommended that digital switchover should be completed by 1 January 2012 - Commission Recommendation 2009/848/EC, of 28.10.2009.[2]

Transitions around the world

Transitions completed

World map of digital television transition progress. Legend:
  Transition completed, all analog signals terminated
  Transition completed for full-power signals; some LPTV stations are still being broadcast in analog
  Transition in progress, broadcasting both analog and digital signals
  Transition not yet started, broadcasting analog signals only
  Does not intend to transition, broadcasting analog signals only
  No information available
Analogue closedown warning broadcast in Spain.
  •  Netherlands 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.
  •  Finland ceased analog terrestrial transmissions nationwide at 04:00, Saturday, September 1, 2007[3] (switch-off was previously planned for the midnight after August 31 but a few extra hours were added for technical reasons). Cable TV viewers continued to receive analogue broadcasts until the end of February 2008.
  •  Andorra completed its switch-off on Tuesday, September 25, 2007.[4]
  •  Sweden: 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.[5] Cable distributors are allowed to continue broadcasting analogue television.
  •  Switzerland 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.
  •  Germany 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.
  •  Isle of Man switched off all analog services on Thursday, July 16, 2009.[6]
  •  Denmark switched off all analog services at midnight on Sunday, November 1, 2009.[7]
  •  Norway: 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.[8]
  •  Belgium: 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.
  •  Spain: The switch-off of the analogue transmissions was completed on Saturday, April 3, 2010. Spain started its DTT service on Wednesday, November 30, 2005.[9]
  •  Latvia's analogue television completely converted to digital broadcasting on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.
  •  Estonia's analogue television was switched off completely on Thursday, July 1, 2010.
  •  Jersey and  Guernsey switched off their analogue signals on Wednesday, November 17, 2010.
  •  Slovenia: the switch-off on main transmitters was completed on Wednesday, December 1, 2010. The last local analogue transmitters were switched off on June 30, 2011.
  •  Luxembourg shut down their last analog transmitter on UHF Channel 21 on Friday, December 31, 2010.
  •  Israel started digital transmissions in MPEG-4 on Sunday, August 2, 2009 and analogue transmissions ended on March 31, 2011. Israel is the first nation in Asia to shut down analog signals.
  •  Wales: The vast majority of transmitters stopped broadcasting just after midnight on 1 April 2010.[10] However analogue transmissions were still broadcast from the New Radnor and Garth Hill transmitters in Wales, until 20 April 2011.[11]
  •  Austria: Began analogue switch-off on Monday, March 5, 2007, progressing from the west to the east.[12] The analog broadcast was shut down nationwide at the end of 2010 regarding the main transmitters.[13] The last analog translators were switched off on June 7, 2011.
  •  Monaco switched off their analog TV broadcasts on 24 May 2011.
  •  Scotland ended its analogue broadcasts on 22 June 2011.[14]
  •  Cyprus terminated all analog transmissions on 30 June 2011 and moved to only digital transmissions in MPEG-4 on 1 July 2011.

Transitions to be completed in 2010s

  •  Argentina: Digital television broadcasts started on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 in Buenos Aires. The analogue network will be terminated on Sunday, September 1, 2019.
  •  Australia: Digital television commenced in Australia's five most populous cities on Monday, January 1, 2001. Mildura was the first to terminate its analogue network on 30 June 2010, and was followed by the 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 simulcast, 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.[15] The full date for the final analogue switchoff is Tuesday, December 31, 2013.
  •  Azerbaijan: Began analogue switch-off on October 17, 2010, is expected to complete by 2012.[16]
  •  Bolivia: Started on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, is expected to complete by 2012.
  •  Brazil: Began free-to-air HD digital transmissions, after a period of test broadcasts, on Sunday, December 2, 2007 in São Paulo, expanding in January 2008 to Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte.[17] 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.[18] Analogue and digital simulcasts will continue until Wednesday, June 29, 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.
  •  Bulgaria will complete its analog switch-off on Friday, 21 December 2012.
  •  Canada: Canada's DTV transition was complete in many areas on Wednesday August 31, 2011. Low-power analogue transmitters and analog transmitters not in the CRTC's mandatory markets that are not occupying channels within the 52 to 69 range are allowed to continue operations until 2016. Some CBC services will continue to operate until August 31, 2012. Transmitters in non-mandatory markets that are in this channel range moved to another channel or transitioned to a low-power service.
    Further information: Digital television in Canada
  •  Chile: The switchoff is due to happen sometime in 2017.
  •  Colombia: The goverment has plans to close down analogue on Sunday, January 1, 2017.
  •  Costa Rica: Will shut down analogue permanently in December 2018.
  •  Croatia: Analogue television broadcasts were switched off for all national TV channels on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 12:35. Local services continue to operate in analogue.[19]
  •  Czech Republic 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.
  •  El Salvador: The target date is Tuesday, January 1, 2019.[20]
  •  France will have completed the switch-off on Wednesday, 30 November 2011.
  •  Gibraltar: Gibraltar will effect DSO during 2011 / 2012, with concrete plans to be announced during June / July 2011.
  •  Greece: In Greece, digital television started broadcasting in 2006 and the switch-off will complete by the end of 2012. [2].
  •  Hong Kong's analogue broadcasting is planned to be switched off by 2012.[21] However, it has been postponed to end 2015.[22]
  •  Hungary was originally going to switch off analogue broadcasting on 1 January 2012, but was delayed to 1 January 2015.[23] This change was left out of the official English translation of the Hungarian Media Act.[24]
  •  India: The Cabinet has given the go ahead to switch off analogue television, with the first means of broadcasting, cable, to switch off analogue services on 31 March 2014. It will then switch off remaining analogue services in phases similar to the United Kingdom which should be finished by the late 2010s. For more information go to this website.
  •  Indonesia'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.
  •  Iran 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 TV signals broadcast terminated.[25][26][27]
  •  Ireland's broadcaster RTÉ made its digital television service Saorview available to most of the population on the 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.[3] Analogue signals will be terminated on 24 October 2012. [4].
  •  Italy previously scheduled its blackout to occur in late 2006 but was delayed to Wednesday, December 12, 2012, as enacted by Italian law ("Legge 29 novembre 2007, n. 222").
  •  Japan 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.[28] Many television stations across the country have already begun broadcasting simultaneously in digital.
  •  Kenya became the second African country after South Africa to start digital broadcasting on Wednesday, December 9, 2009. The analog network is set to be switched off in June 2012.[29]
  •  Lithuania: The government aims to switch off all analogue television broadcasting on Monday, October 29, 2012.
  •  North Macedonia: The switch-off will be completed in 2015.
  •  Mexico: Analogue shutdown was originally scheduled to occur in 2021, but on 2 September 2010, Mexican president Felipe Calderon, in its Fourth Report of the Government, advanced the analog shutdown from 2021 to 2015, with transition beginning in 2011.[30] 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.
  •  New Zealand: The New Zealand government is planning to switch to digital-only by the end of 2013. Television channel Trackside was the first channel to switch off its nationwide analogue transmissions on 31 July 2011.[citation needed] 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.[31]
  •  Poland: The switching to digital was started in September 2009, the analog broadcast will stop on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. (DVB-T in Poland)
  •  Portugal'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.
  •  Philippines: 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.
  •  Romania is scheduled to switch off analogue broadcasting on Sunday, 1 January 2012.
  •  Russia has announced that the switch-off is to be completed in 2015.[32]
  •  Serbia launched its first DTT transmissions in 2005. The first DTT-only channel was made available in 2008. The government plans to terminate the analogue network by the end of 2011.
  •  Singapore plans to complete the switchover to digital broadcasting in line with ASEAN's commitment to switchover to digital broadcasting between 2015 and 2020. When switchover is completed, analogue signals will have been phased out and all of MediaCorp’s free-to-air TV channels will be broadcast fully in digital.[33]
  •  Slovakia: The government aims to complete the digital switchover by 2012.
  •  South Africa 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 late 2013.[34]
  •  South Korea'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.
  •  Taiwan: Digital television launched terrestrially throughout Taiwan on Friday, July 2, 2004. Currently, there are simulcasts of analogue and digital television. Analogue television will be ceased broadcasting by the end of June 2012.
  •  Thailand launched DVB-T2 on January 25, 2011, transition will start in 2012 and finish in the late 2010s.[35]
  •  Ukraine: 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.
  •  United Kingdom: 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,[36] 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.[37] The process is managed by Digital UK, with some viewers eligible for the Digital Switchover Help Scheme. All analogue broadcasting will finish by December 2012; the specific date for England is 26 September 2012. Analogue switchoff in Northern Ireland has not yet started but will start on 24 October 2012 and finish by December 2012.[38] 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.
  •  United States: Most 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), in which these were shut down on 26 June 2009, and low-power analog stations, in which these translators will be forced to shut down by 1 September 2015.[39]
    Further information: DTV transition in the United States

Transitions to be completed in 2020s

  •  Venezuela plans to close down analogue on Wednesday, January 1, 2020.[citation needed]
  •  Peru plans to close down analogue on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. On air with ISDB-T from March 2010.[40]
  • Vietnam: Northern part of Vietnam started testing DVB-T in 2003 and officially launched it in 2010 with a second digital-only channel becoming available in 2011. Analogue broadcasting will be terminated by late 2020.
  •  Malaysia: Information Ministry was planning to shut down the country's analogue television system in phases beginning from 2012 and set to convert to full DVB-T in 2015. However, it was shelved after the rise of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak following the deposition of former Abdullah Badawi.[41] It was soon revealed that ASEAN's commitment to the digital switchover will take effect between 2015 and 2020.

Transitions to be completed in 2030s

  •  Laos: The initial plan for transition was announced in March 2007 to start in 2011 and complete in 2015. The government announced in 2010 they were going to delay this to finish in 2042, later changed to the 2030s, with digital television still not launched.

Transitions delayed indefinitely or cancelled

  •  Albania: 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.
  •  Cambodia: DVB-T became available to a small community in 2011. Analogue was planned to be ceased in 2015 but cancelled for unknown reasons.
  • Vietnam: Southern part of Vietnam has not yet launched DVB-T and has no plans to convert.

Digital-to-analog converters

Main article: Digital television adapter

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 television – must be used in order to allow the television to receive digital broadcasts.[42] 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.[43]

European deployment

United Kingdom

Main article: Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom
Digital switchover in the United Kingdom
  Switchover has not yet started
  Switchover in progress; BBC2 has been removed
  Switchover complete and all channels have been removed

The DTV transition began in the United Kingdom as Freeview, broadcasting additional standard-definition (SD) programming using DVB-T. The United Kingdom has a phased switchover based upon region, with the last analogue signals to be shut down by December 2012.[44] In most regions, BBC Two will be switched off first with all channels coming to an end two weeks later.

The old analogue service has been replaced by a stronger digital service and high-definition (HD) channels in regions which have finished the switchover.

Republic of Ireland

Digital television was launched in the Republic of Ireland as Saorview 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.

North American deployment

United States

Main article: DTV transition in the United States

All US full-power analog TV broadcasts came to an end on 12 June 2009.[45] New television devices that receive signals over-the-air, including pocket sized portable televisions, personal computer video capture card tuners and DVD recorders, have been required to include ATSC digital tuners since March 1, 2007.[46]

On September 8, 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.[47] By midnight on February 17, 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.[48] 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.[49] Based on this survey and considering that 13–15% of TV viewers depend on over-the-air TV,[50][51] 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.

Oceania deployment

New Zealand

Main article: Freeview (New Zealand)
Digital switchover map

New Zealand officially began broadcasting digital terrestrial television using DVB-T MPEG-4 under the name Freeview. In a similar way to the analogue terrestrial switchoff in the United Kingdom, New Zealand will phase out analogue terrestrial signals region by region, starting with Hawke's Bay and West Coast on 30 September 2012 and finishing in the Upper North Island on 1 December 2013.

See also

References

  1. ^ "DigiTAG Analogue Switch Off Handbook" (PDF). 2008.
  2. ^ http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:308:0024:0026:EN:PDF
  3. ^ "Digi-tv esillä ympäri maata". Finnish Ministry of Communications. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  4. ^ "Andorra fa el salt a la TDT" (in Catalan). Vilaweb.
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