Aeranti-Corallo, the association representing Italian local television broadcasters, is warning the transition to DVB-T2 HEVC is “penalising” the local TV sector.
It claims that local broadcasters are still being “forced to operate with obsolete transmission standards” due to the transition to DVB-T2 not being complete.
Marco Rossignoli, coordinator of Aeranti-Corallo, said that while Italy’s national broadcasters have been assigned adequate transmission capacity (including DVB-T with MPEG-4 compression), local broadcasters are being “forced” to transmit at a “significantly lower quality”.
“This situation not only damages the competitiveness of local TV, but also negatively affects information pluralism and the use of local content by the public,” he added. “The ongoing uncertainty about the completion times of the transition to DVB-T2/HEVC, moreover, slows down local TV investments in new technologies and hinders the adaptation of infrastructures, with serious repercussions on innovation and modernisation of the sector.”
Aeranti-Corallo is calling on Italy’s Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (MIMIT) to set out a “binding timetable” for the completion of the transition to DVB-T2/HEVC, as well as adopt specific measures “to support the technological adaptation process”.
Italian broadcaster RAI began broadcasting some TV channels via DVB-T2 HEVC last August.
