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. DVB has been standardized by ETSI.
This system transmits compressed digital audio, video, and other data in "physical layer pipes", using OFDM modulation with concatenated channel coding and interleaving. The higher offered bit rate, with respect to its predecessor DVB-T, makes it a system suited for carrying HDTV signals on the terrestrial TV channel.
, it was implemented in broadcasts in the United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand Flanders, Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia, Denmark, Romania and some other countries.

History

Preliminary investigation

In March 2006 DVB decided to study options for an upgraded DVB-T standard. In June 2006, a formal study group named TM-T2 was established by the DVB Group to develop an advanced modulation scheme that could be adopted by a second generation digital terrestrial television standard, to be named DVB-T2.
According to the commercial requirements and call for technologies issued in April 2007, the first phase of DVB-T2 would be devoted to provide optimum reception for stationary and portable receivers using existing aerials, whereas a second and third phase would study methods to deliver higher payloads and the mobile reception issue. The novel system should provide a minimum 30% increase in payload, under similar channel conditions already used for DVB-T.
The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 agreed with the regulator Ofcom to convert one UK multiplex to DVB-T2 to increase capacity for HDTV via DTT. They expected the first TV region to use the new standard would be Granada in November 2009. It was expected that over time there would be enough DVB-T2 receivers sold to switch all DTT transmissions to DVB-T2, and H.264.
Ofcom published its final decision on 3 April 2008, for HDTV using DVB-T2 and H.264: BBC HD would have one HD slot after digital switchover at Granada. ITV and C4 had, as expected, applied to Ofcom for the 2 additional HD slots available from 2009 to 2012.
Ofcom indicated that it found an unused channel covering 3.7 million households in London, which could be used to broadcast the DVB-T2 HD multiplex from 2010, i.e., before DSO in London. Ofcom indicated that they would look for more unused UHF channels in other parts of the UK, that can be used for the DVB-T2 HD multiplex from 2010 until DSO.

The DVB-T2 specification

The DVB-T2 draft standard was ratified by the DVB Steering Board on 26 June 2008, and published on the DVB homepage as DVB-T2 standard BlueBook. It was handed over to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute by DVB.ORG on 20 June 2008.
The ETSI process resulted in the DVB-T2 standard being adopted on 9 September 2009. The ETSI process had several phases, but the only changes were text clarifications.
Since the DVB-T2 physical layer specification was complete, and there would be no further technical enhancements, receiver VLSI chip design started with confidence in stability of specification. A draft PSI/SI specification document was also agreed with the DVB-TM-GBS group.

Tests

Prototype receivers were shown in September IBC 2008 and more recent version at the IBC 2009 in Amsterdam. A number of other manufacturers demonstrated DVB-T2 at IBC 2009 including Albis Technologies, Arqiva, DekTec, Enensys Technologies, Harris, Pace, Rohde & Schwarz, Tandberg, Thomson Broadcast and TeamCast. As of 2012, Appear TV also produce DVB-T2 receivers, DVB-T2 modulators and DVB-T2 gateways. Other manufacturers planning DVB-T2 equipment launches include Alitronika, CellMetric, Cisco, Digital TV Labs, Humax, NXP Semiconductors, Panasonic, ProTelevision Technologies, Screen Service, SIDSA, Sony, ST Microelectronics and T-VIPS.
The first test from a real TV transmitter was performed by the BBC Research & Development in the last weeks of June 2008 using channel 53 from the Guildford transmitter, southwest of London: BBC had developed and built the modulator/demodulator prototype in parallel with the DVB-T2 standard being drafted. Other companies like ENKOM or IfN develop software based decoding.
NORDIG published a DVB-T2 receiver specification and performance requirement on 1 July 2009.
In March 2009 the Digital TV Group, the industry association for digital TV in the UK, published the technical specification for high definition services on digital terrestrial television using the new DVB-T2 standard. The DTG's test house: DTG Testing are testing Freeview HD products against this specification.
Many tests broadcast transmission using this standard are being in process in France, with local Gap filler near Rennes CCETT.
DVB-T2 was tested in October 2010, in Geneva region, with Mont Salève's repeater, in UHF band on Channel 36. A mobile van was testing BER, strength, and quality reception, with special PCs used as spectrum analysers, constellation testers. The van was moving in Canton Geneva, and France. However, none were demonstrated in TELECOM 2011 at Palexpo.

The standard

The following characteristics have been devised for the T2 standard:
The following table reports a comparison of available modes in DVB-T and DVB-T2.
DVB-TDVB-T2
Input InterfaceSingle Transport Stream Multiple Transport Stream and Generic Stream Encapsulation
ModesConstant Coding & ModulationVariable Coding & Modulation
Forward Error Correction Convolutional Coding + Reed Solomon
1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8		LDPC + BCH
1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, 6/7, 8/9
ModulationOFDMOFDM
Modulation SchemesQPSK, 16QAM, 64QAMQPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM
Guard Interval1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/321/4, 19/128, 1/8, 19/256, 1/16, 1/32, 1/128
Discrete Fourier transform size2k, 8k1k, 2k, 4k, 8k, 16k, 32k
Scattered Pilots8% of total1%, 2%, 4%, 8% of total
Continual Pilots2.6% of total0.35% of total
Physical Layer Pipesnoyes

For instance, a UK MFN DVB-T profile and a DVB-T2 equivalent allows for an increase in bit rate from 24.13 Mbit/s to 35.4 Mbit/s. Another example, for an Italian SFN DVB-T profile and a DVB-T2 equivalent, achieves an increase in bit rate from 19.91 Mbit/s to 33.3 Mbit/s.
Recommended maximum bit-rate configurations for 8 MHz bandwidth, 32K FFT, guard interval 1/128, pilot pattern 7:
Modu-
lation		Code
rate		Bitrate
Frame
length LF		FEC blocks
per frame
QPSK1/27.44427316050
QPSK3/58.94573256050
QPSK2/39.95412016050
QPSK3/411.1979226050
QPSK4/511.9486516050
QPSK5/612.4565536050
16-QAM1/215.03743260101
16-QAM3/518.0703860101
16-QAM2/320.10732360101
16-QAM3/422.61980260101
16-QAM4/524.13627660101
16-QAM5/625.16223660101
64-QAM1/222.48170560151
64-QAM3/527.01611260151
64-QAM2/330.06144360151
64-QAM3/433.81772460151
64-QAM4/536.08492760151
64-QAM5/637.61878960151
256-QAM1/230.07486360202
256-QAM3/536.14075960202
256-QAM2/340.21464560202
256-QAM3/445.23960460202
256-QAM4/548.27255260202
256-QAM5/650.32447260202

Technical details

The processing workflow is as follows:
When the digital terrestrial HDTV service Freeview HD was launched in December 2009, it was the first DVB-T2 service intended for the general public. As of November 2010, DVB-T2 broadcasts were available in a couple of European countries.
The earliest introductions of T2 have usually been tied with a launch of high-definition television. There are however some countries where HDTV is broadcast using the old DVB-T standard with no immediate plans to switch those broadcasts to DVB-T2. Among countries using DVB-T for nationwide broadcasts of HDTV are France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and Taiwan. These are usually using MPEG4. Australia started broadcasting HD content over DVB-T with MPEG2, although in 2015 some Australian broadcasters switched to MPEG4.
Countries where DVB-T2 is in use include:
France announced in May 2014 DVB-T2 tests in Paris for Ultra HD HEVC broadcast with objectives to replace by 2020 the current DVB-T MPEG4 national broadcast.
The Southern African Development Community announced in November 2010 that DVB-T2 would be the preferred standard for the region.
In Serbia, both SD and HD broadcasts will air in DVB-T2.
The Media Development Authority of Singapore announced in June 2012 that the country's free-to-air TV channels will go fully digital by the end of 2013 using DVB-T2.
It has been trialled in Spain and Germany. Sri Lanka Austria is also expected to use it.
Currently Malaysia, which has yet to officially launch its DVB-T transmission, is running tests on DVB-T2. The government has announced that it plans to roll out DVB-T2 in stages starting in mid-2015, with analog shutoff planned for sometime in 2017.
Broadcasters in the United States are starting experimental trials of DVB-T2 in the Baltimore, MD area on WNUV-TV in the early morning hours as of 15 February 2013. The tests are to determine viability as a broadcast standard for mobile devices and UltraHD.

Afghanistan

In April 2015, "OQAAB" started DVB-T2 broadcasting in Kabul. Current challenges are the security situation and the economic development of the country. The company who was issued the license is still waiting for the digital regulation which is not issued yet by the government. So the switch off date of the analogue network is not announced. The infrastructure in six more provinces is built but the transmitters are not installed yet.

Albania

In July 2011, "DigitAlb" started DVB-T2 broadcasting in Tirana, Durrës at 29 UHF 29 channels.

Belgium

In April 2013, Telenet started with DVB-T2 broadcasting in Flanders. However
it was discontinued one year later on 31 March 2014.
As of the end of 2017, TV Vlaanderen started offering DVB-T2 television using Norkring's network. The following centre frequencies are used in Flanders: 650 MHz, 658 MHz, 674 MHz and 682 MHz.

Colombia

In 2012, Colombia adopted DVB-T2 as the national standard for terrestrial television. This replaced DVB-T, the previously selected standard for digital TV, which was chosen after technical evaluation of several digital TV standards. The two standards coexisted until 2015 when DVB-T was turned off.
Digital TV has been deployed gradually across the country, starting with the four main cities, Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla followed by smaller cities such as Armenia, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Manizales, Pereira and Santa Marta. By 2014, most main cities had digital TV. Due to the country's topography as well as there being no sharing of masts between the public and private broadcasters, the coverage in rural areas is patchy. There has been talk of using DVB-S2 to ensure 100% coverage: as of January 2020 this hasn't happened.
The first two transmissions were by the two private TV channels RCN TV and Caracol TV. RTVC started to broadcast using the standard in 2013.
The digital system is known in Colombia as TDT which means Televisión Digital Terrestrial.

Croatia

On 13 October 2011, the Croatian Post and Electronic Communications Agency granted license for MUX C and MUX E, both in DVB-T2 standard.
Also in October 2011, OiV – Transmitters & Communications started testing on UHF channel 53 from Sljeme.
Two DVB-T2 multiplexes launched in late 2012 by pay TV platform EVO TV.
In addition to that in September 2019 DVB-T2 was launched for free-to-air television, using the HEVC/H.265 codec and 720p or 1080p resolution. Possible future SD broadcasts are predicted to use the AVC/H.264 codec, once legacy DVB-T broadcasts cease. By that time Evo TV will probably switch to HEVC as well.

Czech Republic

DVB-T2 was launched in March 2017, using video format HEVC/H.265. DVB-T will end in October 2020.

Finland

Finland, the first country in Europe to cease analog terrestrial TV and move to DVB-T, has announced that DVB-T2 will be used exclusively from end March 2020, but currently there is no set date for transition. Many FTA channels are dual broadcast in SD via DVB-T and in HD using DVB-T2. All pay-TV channels moved to DVB-T2 in 2017. The DVB-T2 switchover will allow more channels to move to HD as well as releasing bandwidth for new SD channels over DVB-T2.

India

Digital Terrestrial Television services to provide mobile TV at 16 cities e.g. Pitampura, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati, Patna, Ranchi, Cuttack, Lucknow, Jallandhar, Raipur, Indore, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Bangalore and Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, were started on 25 February 2016. Mobile TV can be received using DVB-T2 Dongles in OTG enabled smart phones and tablets, Wi-Fi dongles, besides in integrated digital TV.
Public and private transportation vehicles and public places are potential environments for mobile television. Currently DD National, DD National HD, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Sports, and DD Regional/DD Kisan are being relayed.

Indonesia

The project to adopt DVB-T technology in Indonesia was started about 2007 with 'full' government support as the project initiator. All television broadcasters were offered to transform their analog broadcasts into the new digital form, some were interested to follow suit and started testing their new digital broadcasts and some are still uninterested back then.
During the DVB-T testing period, Indonesian government wanted to switch to DVB-T2 technology which provides better signal efficiency, capacity and corrections compared to DVB-T. The TV broadcasters still testing their DVB-T broadcasts agreed to join the DVB-T2 conversion program offered by the government since they saw the significant benefits by switching to DVB-T2, even though it would introduce additional cost for those who have bought DVB-T equipment. The official switch to DVB-T2 from DVB-T was started February 2012, based on ICT Minister decree.
The Indonesian Ministry of Information & Communication Technology expects the final DVB-T2 digital television regulation to be finished in 2020 and the analog switch off transition will begin in the same year.

Malaysia

Started testing DVB-T in mid 2006, but outlined plans to switch to DVB-T2 in 2011, after which tests of both were run concurrently. The DVB-T test concluded in 2016 and at the same time license to roll out DVB-T2 transmitters was contracted to Puncak Semangat Sdn. Bhd. Roll-out began in late 2016 in the Borneo states of Malaysia and has mostly concluded by mid-2017. Plans to shut off analog by mid-2018, but after the opposing party won in the 14th general election, the shutdown was postponed to mid-2019.
South and central Peninsular Malaysia has switched to fully digital TV on 30 September 2019. North and Eastern Peninsular Malaysia has also shut off analog on 14 October 2019. The rest of the country is scheduled to switch over on 31 October 2019.

Nepal

Currently, a private company called Prabhu TV is operating in Nepal.

Netherlands

started to switch its digital terrestrial television platform Digitenne to the DVB-T2 HEVC standard in October 2018, this transition completed on 9 July 2019.

Palestine

On 5 January 2015 StarCom company switched to DVB-T2 technology which provided a better signal, reaching most regions of Palestine instead of limited signal covering.
Star TV Transponder offers a range of entertainment and sports channels system dvb-t2. The package consists of 10 channels on the UHF ch35.

Romania

Although Romania started DVB-T Broadcasting in 2005 with the MPEG-2 standard for SD broadcast and MPEG 4 for HD, it was only experimental. In June 2011 Romania shifted to MPEG4 both for SD and HD. In 2012, the Romanian authorities decided that DVB-T2 will be the standard used for terrestrial broadcasts, as it allows a larger number of programs to be broadcast on the same multiplex. Romania's switchover plans were initially delayed due to economical and feasibility-related reasons. One of the reasons was that most Romanian consumers already extensively used either cable or satellite services, which developed very quickly and became very popular after 1990. In fact, a technological boom started around 2003, driven by a solid economical development in the field of telecommunications, made several private operators create large networks of fiber optics and cable covering all of Romania, which are now used for providing both TV, telephony, and high quality broadband internet. As the prices for complete packages are low and the quality quite good, the interest for over-the-air TV quickly became very low. There are rumors that commercial broadcasters that traditionally transmitted over-the-air using analogue channels will give up terrestrial broadcasting and will be available only on pay-TV services, like cable, satellite and IPTV. It is also rumored that the DVB-T standard will continue until 2018.
On 17 June 2015 analogue terrestrial television was switched off, with the exception of the main public TV program which will continue to be broadcast strictly in the VHF band until the end of 2016.
Free-to-air DVB-T2 broadcasts on MUX1 are available since June 2015 in Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, and Bucharest. The coverage will be extendend so that at the end of 2016, over 90% of the territory will be covered. For now, only five channels are broadcast on MUX1: TVR1, TVR2, TVR News, TVR 3, and TVR HD, with plans to be extended to 14-16 SD and HD programs. Radiocom's MUX2 and MUX4 implementations will also start in 2016. Legacy DVB-T broadcasts are still available in Bucharest: 6 channels can be received on channels 54 and 59, but will be shut down eventually, being replaced by DVB-T2. TVR announced that TVR News and TVR 3 will be closed, and the fate of TVR HD, is uncertain. This will lower the number of channels available on DVB-T. On 2 July 2015, Kanal D Romania left the terrestrial platform. The only broadcast that remained on terrestrial except TVR is Antena 3, but it is unknown whether it will stay on DVB-T, will shift to DVB-T2 or completely leave terrestrial platform. This will lead to only 3 channels in DVB-T2, and with many TV sets that are only DVB-T compatible to an unattractive terrestrial platform, and more and more people will subscribe to a cable provider, or a DTH operator in areas where there is no cable TV available.
The DVB-T transmitters were shut down since 1 September 2016, so only the DVB-T2 network remains on air.
As of 1 October 2016, 85% of the population and 78% of the Romanian territory are covered by DVB-T2 signal. The 9 TV channels that are broadcast at the moment are produced by the national television: TVR HD + 8 SD channels TVR1, TVR2, TVR3, TVR Cluj, TVR Craiova, TVR Iasi, TVR Timișoara, TVR Tg Mures.

Russia

In September 2011, Russian governmental authorities have approved the decision that since this date all newly built terrestrial digital TV networks will use the DVB-T2 standard. In some regions of Russia DVB-T/MPEG-4 networks have already been deployed before this decision was made.
On 1 March 2012 "Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network" has started DVB-T2 broadcasting in Tatarstan. This is the first region in Russia where DVB-T2 is being used.
In January 2015, transition to DVB-T2 finished. DVB-T2 used on the whole territory of Russia. In 2019 almost all TV in Russia became digital.

Serbia

In May 2009, the Serbian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society officially announced that the DVB-T2 standard will be the national digital terrestrial broadcasting standard for both SD and HD. Serbia has become one of the first countries to commit to the DVB-T2 standard. First public test with DVB-T2 signal in Serbia was during Telfor 2009 conference in Belgrade. Analog switch off has been planned for 4 April 2012. But it was postponed to 2013. Now the final switch off is planned to finish on 1 May 2015.
On 21 March 2012 JP ETV started trial DVB-T2 transmission across Serbia offering viewers a total of 10 SD channels and a HD version of the public broadcaster's channel RTS.
On 14 November 2013 JP ETV has updated initial network for digital terrestrial television, and now DVB-T2 signal is available to over 90 percent of the population of Serbia.
In June 2015, transition to DVB-T2 finished.

Singapore

Following a small-scale trial by the state-owned Mediacorp and pay television provider StarHub, Singapore announced in June 2012 that it would adopt DVB-T2 as its digital terrestrial television standard, determining that it was best-suited for Singapore's urban environment. By December 2013, Mediacorp had launched digital simulcasts of its channels. The analogue switchover occurred shortly after midnight on 2 January 2019.

South Africa

On 14 January 2011, the South African Department of Communication officially announced that the DVB-T2 standard will be the national digital terrestrial broadcasting standard. Analog switch off has been planned for December 2013.

Sri Lanka

With the completion of construction of Colombo's Lotus Tower which will be 350m tall broadcast and leisure tower, DVB T2 will be implemented in Sri Lanka's Colombo and other areas. Completion is set for 3Q 2015.DVB T2 is already implemented from Kakavil Tx station by SLRC.

Sweden

On 17 June 2010, the Swedish Radio and TV Authority and the Swedish Government granted a total of nine licenses to broadcast channels in HDTV spread over two multiplexes using DVB-T2.
Broadcasts started on 1 November 2010, with five channels available initially: SVT1 HD, SVT2 HD, MTVN HD, National Geographic HD and Canal+ Sport HD. From this date a coverage of 70% of the population is achieved, with 90% expected by mid-2011 and nationwide coverage by 2012.

Thailand

On 25 January 2013, The Royal Thai Army Radio and Television station, Channel 5, has launched a trial DVB-T2 service. The service had broadcast 6 SD channels including 2 HD channels. It has successfully completed Thailand's first DVB-T2 digital terrestrial TV trial with the help of Harris and one of its Maxiva UAX air-cooled UHF transmitters.
On 4 March 2013, Free TV channels 3, 5, 7, 9, NBT and Thai PBS received temporary permission to broadcast in digital DVB-T2 system until the official launch of Digital TV in Thailand in April 2014.

Ukraine

Ukraine's national terrestrial TV network uses the DVB-T2 standard for all four nationwide FTV multiplexes, for both SD and HD broadcasts. Before settling for DVB-T2, Ukraine was testing both DVB-T/MPEG-2 and DVB-T/MPEG-4 options, and some experimental transmitters operating in those standards are still live. Ukraine has never had a full-fledged nationwide DVB-T network, thus not having to do a DVB-T-to-DVB-T2 migration.
Zeonbud's network consists of 167 transmitter sites, each carrying four DVB-T2 multiplexes, with transmitter power ranging from 2 kW to 50 W. As of 2011 October 10, 150 of the 167 transmitter sites have officially gone live. The biggest problem of Ukraine's DVB-T2 rollout for now is the acute shortage of inexpensive DVB-T2 set-top-boxes.
The four multiplexes carry in total 28 nationwide channels and 4 local channels. Up to 8 of those 28 nationwide channels can broadcast in HD format.
, there are 32 channels available on the air, up from 4 channels in October 2012.

United Kingdom

On the terrestrial television system across most of the UK, there is only one multiplex assigned to digital broadcasting in the DVB-T2 standard. This multiplex is controlled by the service company Freeview HD, which offered to host up to five DVB-T2 HD channels on it.
Freeview HD started its "technical launch" on 2 December 2009, hosting BBC HD, and ITV HD. On 30 March 2010, Freeview HD had its official launch, and added Channel 4 HD to its broadcasts. The fourth channel hosted was BBC One HD, while the fifth slot was used for a high-definition simulcast of CBBC during the daytime and a high-definition simulcast of BBC Three during the evening. The fifth HD stream on the DVB-T2 multiplex was going to be used by Channel 5 for their HD service, but they withdrew their application to Ofcom for the slot in December 2011.
In June 2012, the BBC launched a temporary stream in order to broadcast a high-definition red button service for the 2012 Olympics on Freeview, alongside BBC One HD and BBC HD. At the time, it was still undecided as to the permanent use of the 5th stream after the Olympics.
In Northern Ireland however, a second DVB-T2 multiplex was launched on 24 October 2012. This multiplex carries RTÉ One, RTÉ Two and TG4. All three channels on this multiplex are carried in SD rather than HD.
On 16 March 2013, the BBC announced that it would launch BBC News HD, BBC Three HD, BBC Four HD, CBeebies HD and CBBC HD on all digital television platforms which carry HD channels. On Freeview HD, BBC Three HD and CBBC HD would use capacity on the BBC's existing HD multiplex covering 98.5% of UK homes; BBC News HD, BBC Four HD and CBeebies HD will use new HD capacity which will cover part of the UK and grow in coverage over time. These high-definition simulcasts are available on the second multiplex, but the second multiplex is only broadcast from selected transmitters, providing around 70% coverage across the whole of the UK.
On 26 March 2013, BBC HD was replaced by BBC Two HD.

Vietnam

As of 11 November 2011, two DVB-T2 SFN networks of the Audio Visual Global JSC have been officially launched in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. Later, the same service was offered in the Mekong Delta with transmitter in Can Tho and other cities.
Each network with three multiplexes carry totally 40 SD, 05 HD and 05 audio channels.

Western Asia and North Africa

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia have all adopted DVB-T2.
Kuwait has also committed to install the second generation standard. Iraq has already implemented its DVB-T2-based system in parts of the country, while Bahrain, Oman and Yemen are assessing the technology.