Digital terrestrial television takes a new step this Wednesday with the disappearance of all the channels that still broadcast in standard quality (SD). Starting today, Wednesday, all channels will broadcast, at least, in high definition (HD). This will comply with the Royal Decree of January 2023 that established February 14, 2024 as the date for the cessation of emissions in SD.
This is the end of a path that most European countries have already taken and that Spain is taking late. The change was going to occur on January 1, 2023, but the Government decided to delay the measure to give time to update the televisions and equipment used by the stations. The jump from broadcasts to high definition will allow viewers to enjoy a clearer and sharper image and will free up the 2.6 GHz band for the full deployment of 5G in European territory, as explained in Royal Decree 16/2013 of the BOE.
What channels disappear?
This change means the disappearance of the channels that still broadcast in standard definition. Until now, some channels such as TVE, Antena 3, La Sexta, Telecinco, Cuatro or the regional channels, had two versions on DTT, one SD and the other HD. Starting this Wednesday, only the high definition versions will remain. In certain cases, their blackout has been brought forward by several days. La 1, La 2, Canal 24 Horas, Teledeporte and Clan have only broadcast in high definition since February 6. The SD versions of Telecinco, Cuatro, Antena 3 and La Sexta disappear this February 14. FDF, Divinity, Energy and Boing, from Mediaset, and Nova, Neox and Mega, from Atresmedia, in addition to others such as Paramount, DKiss or DMax, until now broadcast only in SD, but starting this Wednesday, their same frequencies will be occupied the broadcasts of those channels in HD, so, in these cases, it will not be necessary to retune the televisions. Be Mad was already broadcasting in HD. For its part, Trece broadcast the signal in HD although it reached televisions in SD, so starting this Wednesday it will be received in high definition.
FORTA’s regional public channels, like TVE, anticipated the change and turned off their standard quality versions in advance. Telemadrid and ETB have broadcast only in high definition since February 8. The Cat3 channels (including TV3) and Televisión de Canarias deactivated their SD versions on January 16, while Canal Sur, À Punt, Televisión de Castilla-La Mancha, Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias and IB3 (Radiotelevisió de the Balearic Islands) carried out the blackout on February 12.
What should the viewer do? Will the televisions have to be retuned?
This change will mean that viewers who still watch any of the SD channels will have to search for the HD versions in their list of stations or, if they have not caught them, retune the television to find them. In the case of FDF, Neox, Divinity, Nova and others, it will not be necessary to retune because the new version will occupy the same place as the old one.
What if my device does not support HD?
According to the Government, more than 98% of current devices allow high definition reception. In the case of televisions before 2008 that do not support HD, you have two options to receive channels in high definition: buy a decoder or use a device. streaming with internet connection. A third option is to buy a new television.
What is the next step?
Taking advantage of the current DTT blackout, RTVE has begun to regularly broadcast La 1 programming in Ultra High Definition (UHD) throughout Spain with coverage of more than 99% of the population. Thus, it becomes the first broadcaster in the world to broadcast the programming of its main television channel in Ultra High Definition on DTT throughout its national territory. UHD is the highest audio and video quality technically possible today in DTT. These broadcasts, as explained by the corporation, will be carried out in 4K with High Dynamic Range and with immersive audio in Dolby Atmos, which makes it possible to better take advantage of the advantages offered by the progressive increase in the size of television screens. To enjoy Ultra High Definition broadcasts it is necessary to have a television or DTT decoder compatible with DVB-T and HEVC. As a general rule, all televisions marketed from 2017 onwards are compatible with these broadcasts. On November 20, 2022, RTVE began testing broadcasts in UHD for the World Cup in Qatar.