RTVE migrates its satellite broadcasts for Africa to the DVB-S2 standard

Users of RTVE's Africa International Channel will now be able to follow their programming in high definition, with a more updated transmission system and with television services connected under HbbTv.

RTVE has renewed for two years, with the possibility of extending it up to four, the satellite platform for Africa. Viewers on these continents will be able to continue enjoying the Africa International Channel (since January in high definition), Radio Exterior and RNE 1.

Continuing with its commitment to broadcast the International Channel, Radio Exterior and RNE 1 in Africa in open air, in the best conditions for its users, RTVE has opted for the change to high definition on the International Channel, thus offering an improvement in the quality of its images. It will also change to DVB-S2 satellite transmission/reception standard, a more advanced system than the current one, which provides greater efficiency. This standard is currently being used by numerous satellite operators. Finally, it will incorporate the standard HbbTv in order to have access to services connected television.

This update, on which the public channel is committed to providing a better service to its viewers throughout Africa, will soon bring with it some changes in the signal reception conditions. These changes are inevitable and require viewers or radio listeners who are in the affected countries and currently receive the RTVE signal to slightly reorient their reception satellite dishes from the current orbital position (5º West) to the new position (8º West).

Users on the African continent who currently receive the RTVE signal must modify, for one time only, their reception facilities, in order to continue correctly receiving current broadcasts. Although the variation is very small, it is essential to rotate the antennas to point correctly at the new satellite and be able to continue receiving the emissions.

Since it will no longer be possible to receive in the current standard (DVB-S) or in standard definition (SD) from a certain date, it is also necessary that users have a satellite receiver that is high definition (HD) and that can receive in the DVB-S2 system. Currently, the vast majority of receivers on the market work in this way, so, if this were the case, they could also continue to receive other channels that operate in DVB-S or/and MPEG-2. Information about the transmission systems it supports should appear in the equipment's technical manual - or often on the receiver itself -.

Once the antenna is oriented to the new orbital position and if they already have a receiver that operates in DVB-S2 and HD, they will be able to continue receiving RTVE channels by simply retuning the equipment and configuring it with the new technical parameters. In most receivers this process is very simple and is done automatically, once you have chosen the corresponding menu on your device. The technical parameters of satellite broadcasts from RTVE platforms, both current and new, are available, here.

Adaptation time

In order to facilitate this operation for users, a long emission overlap time has been planned in both transmission systems. This means that emissions under the new conditions will begin some time before the current ones end. During this period of simultaneous broadcast with the current and new parameters, users will be able to make changes at any time they wish.

This simultaneous broadcast period will be two and a half months (from January 15 to March 31, 2019). The respective programming of both platforms will be the same at all times.

However, as of March 31, 2019, the broadcasts as they have been carried out to date will definitively cease and only the new ones will remain on the air, so, if the indicated changes have not been made before, RTVE signals will not be able to be received in the countries of the African continent. This simultaneous broadcast process will be complemented in the coming days with a label that will appear periodically on the screens, which will notify the need to make the changes. This label will appear only on the signal that will disappear on March 31, that is, the standard definition signal.

The indicated changes are only technical, so the contents of the programs or the schedules will not be affected. The quality of radio signals will also not be affected, which will continue to be maintained at the current level. On the other hand, the quality of the TV signal will be increased by becoming high definition.