Italy warns about the transition to DVB-T2/HEVC: “It is slowing down local TV investments in new technologies”

Aeranti-Corallo, the association that represents local Italian television stations, has conveyed the situation of helplessness they find themselves in during a transition process to DVB-T2/HEVC that has prioritized the large channels.

According to the complaint association, while the world market presents increasingly powerful and larger television screens, capable of fully exploiting the potential of new high-quality image and sound coding technologies, local italian televisions are still forced to operate with outdated transmission standards, debido a una transición “que no se está completando, además, como exige la ley”.

Marco Rossignoli, coordinador de Aeranti-Corallo, señala a esta situación como consecuencia directa de un plan que ha priorizado a las national televisions, dejando limitadas las capacidades del ecosistema local: “Mientras que a las televisiones nacionales se les ha asignado una capacidad de transmisión adecuada, continuando incluso utilizando el antiguo estándar DVB-T (con compresión MPEG-4 en lugar de MPEG-2), por el contrario, las televisiones locales se ven obligadas a transmitir con una calidad significativamente inferior, a la espera de que se complete la transición a DVB-T2/HEVC”.

For Rossignoli, this situation not only harms the competitiveness of local television, but also negatively affects the informational pluralism and to access to local content by the public. “The continued uncertainty over the deadlines for completing the transition to DVB-T2/HEVC, furthermore, slows local TV investments in new technologies and makes the adaptation of infrastructure difficult, with serious repercussions on the innovation and modernization of the sector,” he adds.

In this context, Aeranti-Corallo reiterates the “absolute necessity” of urgent intervention by the competent institutions and, therefore, requests the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (MIMIT), to define as soon as possible a binding calendar for carrying out the transition to DVB-T2/HEVC, as well as to adopt specific measures to support the technological adaptation process.