DVB-T2 is no future, it is today. Our receiver is a wonderful machine, it is another world . (Francesco Di Stefano Europa7)
“DVB-T2 is the technology capable of creating the right value for the best events. Today we consider “Serie B” as a great beginning and we hope soon to add the Serie A and then perhaps the Formula 1. We want to show the public a never seen quality and DVB-T2 allows us to.”
These are the words of Francesco Di Stefano of Europa 7 network, who first in Italy started using the new broadcasting standard, the second generation innovative digital terrestrial broadcast, “DVB-T2”.
Di Stefano says: “Many new tv sets on sale now are already implementing a DVB-T2 on board decoder and within next year practically every tv manufacturer will integrate it in the new models which are soon to become a standard. Among these, Sony has DVB-T2 decoder within the whole range of TVs and LG on five models, Samsung on five, and by the end of this year official figures say around 2million similar sets will be sold. Up to today around 400 thousand DVB-T2 receivers units are said to be sold.
Europa7 network is already selling on their website (Europa7.it) these decoders so we are not talking of a future event but of something actual. Official switch-off to T2 broadcast is foreseen in 2015, so it is about time to talk and decide.”
So Europa7 made an agreement with President of Lega Serie B, Andrea Abodi, and recently started broadcasting a new channel “SerieBtv” and nine contemporary live matches. Besides Di Stefano declares a not definitive but close agreement with Serie A for a well known football package of former Dahlia TV, now closed, so he says there are very good chances to start broadcasts with Serie A too.
Europa7 chose DVB-T2 because it allows a very neat quality of images and its signal is very robust, especially on its channel VHF 8 and for the possibility to broadcast and perfectly receive events on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, using a DVB-T2 dongle or DVB-T2 tablet integrated decoder.
Using a DVB-T2 decoder allows Europa7HD to broadcast a higher quality image on digital transmissions, over at least 25% than traditional DVB-T decoders, since it upscales all images up to 1080i (even those in SD).
It is continuously and automatically updated retuning and memorizing all signals once per month; it makes use of a proper chipset developed by Sony, which is the result of over one year and a half study to make it perfectly suitable to the Italian broadcast situation, one of the worst in the world.
It comprises favorite lists, quality and strength incoming signal measures. Over 5000 decoders were sold in 2 years and no faults are reported,, besides it includes a “piracy proof” card reader which will allow to broadcast cinema premieres to the homes simultaneously to the cinema theaters.
The adoption of DVB-T2 broadcasts allowed Europa7 to synchronize T2 signals at 200 km distance, a not even conceivable distance in T1 and actually with only 5 high frequency sites Rohde & Schwarz equipped Europa7 can cover around 22million inhabitants in Piemonte, Lombardia, Veneto and Emilia Romagna.
DVB-T2 coupled with VHF Channel 8, allows reception of the signals even in the mobile domain, indoor and outdoor, actually the difference in signal reception between channel 8 and a typical signal in V Band is of 14dB,and exactly this difference allows Europa7 to air a signal perfectly receivable in mobility on smartphones and tablets.
Di Stefano closes: “After an incredibly long series of difficulties Europa7 network was awarded a right to operate on channel 8 VHF. After carefully analyzing the consequent problems, what initially seemed a huge problem (VHF band) was overcome by choosing DVB-T2 as a standard and this band has become an opportunity for mobile reception, being able do deploy all potentials of such channel with the new generation Digital T2 signal.
