…So in the future I could watch high-definition TV after taking photos in the Seychelles – but I’d rather sit on the beach and enjoy the “TV program” taking place there… 😉
South Africa introduces digital television based on DVB-T2
South African TV viewers will soon be able to receive digital terrestrial high-definition content. This is made possible by the new DVB-T2 transmission standard.
After the broadcasters M-Net and e.tv had already started a corresponding test run in the Seweto region in the summer, the Southern African Development Community, which was in charge, decided to introduce the European version with MPEG4 compression and against competing standards such as the Japanese ISDB or the North American ATSC.
South Africa has been experimenting with DVB-T2 since 2008, including in the Johannesburg region. An exact date for the start of regular operations was not given, but the changeover should take place by the end of 2013 at the latest. The Southern African Development Community is based in Botswana and is responsible for fourteen other countries in addition to South Africa. DVB-T2 is also becoming an issue in Angola, Botswana, Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, the Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The standard has already been introduced in the UK, and Finland and Sweden are also on board. DVB-T2 improves reception characteristics and also allows faster zapping than before. HD signals can also be transmitted.
It remains to be seen when the standard will also be introduced in Germany. Lower Saxony is to be the first German federal state to introduce the new digital terrestrial standard DVB-T2, as requested by the state media authority there. A start could be realized from 2015. In theory, because ARD and ZDF say they have no date in mind.