Danish world premiere of next generation DVB-T2 Lite

As one of the first in Europe, Open Channel started trials of the next generation digital terrestrial TV standard – DVB-T2 in 2010. Open Channel again leads the way, airing the next generation of mobile TV, based on the new standard DVB-T2 Lite profile. The service is now on air on UHF channel 39 in Copenhagen. “We received so much interest in our T2 Lite trials when we announced it at the broadcast fair IBC in Amsterdam in September last year,” said Open Channel’s CEO, Kenneth Wenzel (pictured). “We are pleased with the interest shown by a large number of companies providing equipment and expertise for the trial, such as Danish firm ProTelevision Technologies, Spanish BTESA, Norwegian T-VIPS and the Dutch company DekTec.” Open Channel last year obtained a T2 Lite trial license from the Radio-TV Board, for UHF channel 39 (also called MUXKBH-2) in the Copenhagen metropolitan area, starting on 1 January 2012 for a period of up to three years. Broadcasted with vertical polarisation, 2 kWatt ERP at a height of 100 meters from the TDC radio tower at Borups Alle in the center of Copenhagen, the signal can be received by more than 700,000 households. The background for the Open Channels trial is that DVB-H was never the success that many thought and hoped for. “One of the problems is that a DTT operator had to pay for the installation and operation of an independent broadcasting system that could only be utilised for mobile TV. In reality it meant more expense than income. Furthermore, there was no demand to see broadcast TV on a tiny cell phone screen – and certainly not if you had to pay for it. In other words, no business case,” said Wenzel. Now, with the increasing popularity of iPads and other tablets, the demand for linear TV viewing on smaller screens has arrived. When people watch TV on a tablet today, it primarily happens through home Wi-Fi or outdoors via a Wi-Fi hotspot or 3G networks. The challenge with the new tablets is that they have a screen size of 720p or 2048×1536 with the new iPad, so they easily need a bandwidth of 2 Mbit/s. With the growing numbers of tablets in use, the bandwidth necessary for unicast mobile TV can be a challenge for mobile operators – especially during major sporting events. Here, DVB-T2 Lite provides an efficient new platform for broadcasting mobile TV. www.openchannel.dk