Digital Television
On August 28, 2008, Colombia adopted the European digital terrestrial television standard, DVB-T using MPEG4 H.264 and a channel bandwidth of 6 MHz.
Señal Colombia —Colombia's state-owned channel— has made digital terrestrial television broadcast tests since 2006, in northwest Bogotá and downtown Cartagena, transmitting in the three DTV formats (ATSC, DVB-T, and ISDB-T). Also the Chinese standard DMB-T/H, was considered, but couldn't be tested.
HDTV-ready television sets (DVB-C) have been available in Colombia since 2003, but as of December 2010 cable companies have not broadcast HD content to their subscribers. Satellite television DirecTV Colombia offer HD channels.
On December 28, 2010, Caracol TV and RCN TV officially started digital broadcasts for Bogotá, Medellín and surrounding areas on channels 14 and 15 UHF using DVB-T h264. Señal Colombia and Canal Institucional had started test digital broadcasts earlier in 2010.
On January 9, 2012 Colombia adopted the latest European digital terrestrial television standard, DVB-T2, using a channel bandwidth of 6 MHz, reneging on their earlier decision to use DVB-T. The transmitters in Bogotá and Medellín now transmit DVB-T2 and DVB-T in parallel (T2 started on 1 August 2012). DVB-T from these two masts is due to be turned off in 2015. The TV transmitters in Barranquilla and Cali were DVB-T2 enabled in May 2012. As with Barranquilla and Cali, all other masts will be DVB-T2 only.
Read more about this topic: Television In Colombia
Famous quotes containing the word television:
“The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.”
—Frederic Raphael (b. 1931)