The Government puts order in high definition

In response to the demand formulated on numerous occasions by user and consumer associations, as well as manufacturers who had been demanding greater seriousness when it came to regulating high definition, the Council of Ministers of February 11 has regulated high definition broadcasts in Spain. In addition to the obligation to inform the viewer when it comes to native HD broadcasting, it enables a more flexible formula in the exploitation of half of each multiple in equal parts.

High definition broadcasts must be easily distinguishable by viewers, and not only because of their quality, but operators will be obliged to mark them as such, distinguishing them from other options such as the rescaling that most channels currently apply to HD DTT broadcasts.

HD broadcasts must meet a series of technical requirements, and only in those cases can they be accompanied by a distinctive sign that identifies them as high definition broadcasts.

The new text that modifies the Royal Decree that regulates the allocation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) multiplexes after the cessation of analogue television broadcasts and the Royal Decree that regulates DTT in HD, seeks to ensure that citizens have more information and know at all times when they are receiving a television broadcast in high definition.

For this purpose, it is established that operators may only signal on the screen that a television program is being broadcast in high definition (regardless of the symbol or logo used, especially with the acronym HD) when said program has been produced and edited originally with a vertical resolution of the video component equal to or greater than 720 active lines with an aspect ratio of 16:9, without prejudice to the fact that its content may be partially made up of fragments of content or programs that have not been produced with said characteristics.

Technological advances

On the other hand, the modification introduced in the Royal Decree that regulates the allocation of DTT multiples after the cessation of analogue television broadcasts responds to the latest technological advances, which translate into greater efficiency of compression systems for audio and video signals.

This allows the broadcast of television content with higher technical quality or to increase the number of channels that can be broadcast on the same multiplex.

In fact, operators have begun the simultaneous broadcast of some of their DTT channels in high definition, which represents a superior quality service for citizens, as well as a new boost to the development of technological innovations and a window of commercial opportunities.

For all these reasons, it is considered that no impediments should be placed on the provision of higher quality television services, as long as it is carried out through the spectral capacity initially assigned to each operator.

More flexible formula

Thus, the established limitation that operators must share the assigned capacity through the exploitation by each of them of two digital television channels in each multiplex is eliminated and a more flexible formula is enabled, which means that operators must share this capacity through the equal exploitation of half of each multiplex.

Operators will only be able to broadcast, from a programming point of view, four television channels. If they want to exploit a greater number of digital channels, the broadcasts of the additional channels must fully replicate the programming of one of the four initial channels.