Spain tests 8K as part of digital terrestrial TV...

[sanjay kumar]

Spain became the first country in the world to broadcast 8K content via the DVB-T2 standard as part of the DTT platform. This step was taken by the TV group RTVE, which used the TVE 4K channel and Cellnex Telecom equipment to transmit the signal to seven cities: Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Barcelona, ​​Santiago de Compostela, Malaga and Ciudad Real.

For test reception, we chose Samsung QLED TVs with 8K support. The signal was broadcast from the tower of the Madrid Polytechnic Institute on the 44th channel of the decimeter wave range.

Interestingly, RTVE has been recording 8K TV programs since last year, and continued to do so even during the lockdown. So, in particular, the television group shot a documentary tape about the Renaceres a 8K coronavirus in this format.

In 2014, when the penetration rate of digital terrestrial TV in Spain was 69%, the country approved a plan for the migration of frequencies in the 800 MHz range, which was given for 4G. The following year, Spain switched the signal to 13 million households. In 2019, a new migration plan appeared from the 694-790 MHz band under 5G. Now the transition continues, but the number of multiplexes - there are eight of them (RGE1, RGE2, MPE1, MPE2, MPE3, MPE4, MPE5 and MAUT) - and the channel order will remain unchanged. Thus, despite the financial assistance from the authorities, the population still has to either purchase new equipment or reconfigure existing ones every five years. And this is approximately the average cycle time for replacing TVs. So RTVE obviously hopes that people will gradually buy TVs that support 8K anyway.