Before we bought a television and looked at the measurements and little else. But since we have cutting-edge screens and technologies, before acquiring a new equipment for our home we have to look at many details and features . From the type of screen, to the technology or the connections.
In addition, there are some acronyms that in the era of digital television can generate serious doubts in us. We are talking, for example, about DVB-T, DVB-T2 and DVB-C . Do you know what they mean and why they are so important when buying a new TV?
But, let us start at the beginning. What does DVB-T mean? These are the acronyms for Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial, or what is the same in Spanish, Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial, the transmission standard for digital terrestrial television or DTT. This standard is responsible for transmitting audio, video and other data through an MPEG-2 stream, through a modulation of 'Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing' (COFDM). More complicated impossible, right?
Through this standard moving images and sound (the one associated with it) are transmitted and it is done by means of a digital signal, through a network of terrestrial repeaters. The information travels encoded, so that the signal can be compressed. This way, you don't need such a wide bandwidth. This offers the possibility of broadcasting more channels, including HD (high definition), which occupy a little more than a standard channel.
This system has important advantages over analog transmission. In this second case, problems were very common, which materialized in areas of shadow, noise, snow, double images, poor quality of colors, and so on. Through the digital transmission system, the coding is logical, so that the receiver is able to correct the distortions generated by the interferences.
DVB-T2, is your TV compatible?
It is possible that when you faced the first era of DTT, you bought a tuner or even a television with integrated DTT that later became obsolete. You remember? And it is that these were not compatible with the transmission of content in high definition (HD).
Well, with DVB-T2 (or TDT2, which is the same) something similar can happen, especially if when buying your television you have not noticed that it has the appropriate support. The current digital terrestrial television broadcasts will soon switch to the so-called DVB-T2, although for now Spain does not have a fixed term.
The problem will be triggered from the release of the 700 MHz band so that we can use the famous 5G . It will happen that those television models that do not have support for DTT2 will not have access to DTT. What arises with the change is the passage of the HEVC H.265 codec instead of H.264, which will save bandwidth. This will leave space to broadcast in UHD through DTT.
With the integration of this standard, it will be possible to broadcast in 4K with HDR Hybrid Log Gamma , which means higher frame rates per second (from 60fps) and multi-channel sound. A full-blown upgrade that, in its wake, could render tons of televisions useless.
And what does DVB-C mean?
Maybe when buying your new television or taking a look at the characteristics of the current ones you have come across these other acronyms: DVB-C. We are facing a type of receiver that can be integrated into the television and that is used to enjoy cable broadcasts, without the need for any additional device. This means that those who tune into channels that currently offer this type of broadcast will be able to watch them without the need for any other complementary technology.
In case you did not know, this is the standard used both in Spain and in the European Union for the transmission of Digital Cable Television. In this case, DVB-C uses a QAm modulation, which is a much more consistent signal against any type of interference that can lead to noise.
In reality, Digital Cable Television is produced thanks to the incorporation of digital technology into the television signal . This is distributed through hybrid fiber optic and coaxial cable networks. In this way, in addition to offering the television signal itself, the companies that provide the service can also offer fixed telephone and internet services.
The most advantageous thing about this option is that it completely ignores interference . There are hardly any delays. However, the installation and implantation is complicated and expensive, since the diffusion is through cable. This means that only the networks that are currently already deployed have coverage and that there is no progress in this regard.
Currently, in Spain there are only four companies that offer transmission through cable . Although at the time there were a total of 13 successful bidders. These four, which are ONO, Vodafone,, Eustaltel, R and TeleCable are the only ones that provide combined packages for data transmission, digital television, digital radio, telephony and Internet access.
Remember: when you want to buy your next TV ...
Although new technologies advance at a frenetic rate and the changes promise not to stop here, it is convenient that before making the decision to buy a new television you are aware of the news that will arrive in a matter of months or years. One of the most important is, without a doubt, the implementation of DVB-T2 or TDT2, so that before acquiring new equipment, you must make sure that this compatibility is included in the list of technical characteristics. Otherwise, you can find yourself with an outdated TV in a very few months. And surely, with a purchase as expensive as this, you are not like to waste money.
If you have doubts, ask the professional who attends you to check together that the television is perfectly adapted to the times to come.