Debate: Does it annoy you that RTE are only Broadcaster on HD on Saorview?

High capacity DVB-T2 mux combined with the high compression codec HEVC is the next step for broadcasters. Already included in most if not all TVs on the market now. Already the broadcast standard in Germany for a few years now. Will be used by broadcasters for 4k terrestrial transmissions, France for example by the 2024 Olympics.

Beyond that 5g broadcast is a likely candidate.

5g terrestrial broadcast, if it eventually replaces DVB will share spectrum with 5g internet services, hi-tower hi-power for broadcast, low-tower low-power for internet services. Various trials happening around the world.

WRC-2023 will be making decisions on the future of the UHF band but no changes before the end of 2030 as broadcasting is locked in by regulation until then.

Can't see myself any pressing reason in the short to mid term for Ireland to go on from its present terrestrial DVB-T/MPEG4 broadcasting network to a newer generation of transmission & compression. Unlike Germany, HD channels can already be accommodated on Ireland's terrestrial network and unlike France no Irish broadcaster has signalled intentions of wanting to broadcast 4K via DTT. Should anyone want to broadcast via Saorview there's still plenty of spare capacity over the two DVB-T multiplexes even for HD. In Italy the terrestrial conversion to DVB-T2/HEVC is being done in parallel to their 700 MHz band clearance as the capacity gains by moving to a higher capacity per Hz system in DVB-T2 alongside moving from MPEG2/MPEG4 to HEVC will be badly needed in a reduced UHF broadcast spectrum - if you take a look at the digitalbitrate.com website you'll see that at present there are 28 DVB-T multiplexes serving Milan and 26 in Rome! (One RAI mux in VHF Band III, the rest in the UHF bands).

Looking at the stats for the 2 muxes just now there appears to be very little spare capacity, approx. 1 Mbps on each mux, not enough to bump up an existing channel to HD

Italy is a mess when it comes to broadcasting spectrum, causing lots of issues for its neighbours in their attempts to clear the 700MHz band, Malta and Croatia come to mind, interference from masts in Italy using frequencies allocated to their neighbours. The EU's RSPG "Good Offices" procedure offers bilateral assistance between the parties involved but resolution of issues happens slowly

Now with the addition of RTE2+1 and Sky News, spare capacity is scarce.

Adding additional video streams to the current Saorview platform is not so much about the raw bit rate currently available but more about the perceptive video quality of each channel that is/would be available. 2RN are very conservatively set up for the bitrate they allocate for their SD channels - The Dublin digitalbitrate.com receiver (at https://www.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?mux=PSB-MUX-2&liste=2&live=15&lang=en ) shows that some SD streams are averaging up to 3Mb/s video for a 544x576 resolution, so the pictures might be soft looking but they very rarely suffer from marco blocking. This is compared to an average video bitrate of around 2.5-2.7Mb/s for a 720x576 resolution video stream on the RNI_1 mux in NI, or around 1-1.3Mb/s for the two (MPEG4) SD channels on the UK PSB3 multiplex that have a 544x576 resolution themselves. At my own rough calculations, you could likely get either one new HD or three new SD streams on each 2RN multiplex (especially if you eliminate the Saorview info channel & 2rn testcard, which are taking up very little bitrate themselves) and the perceptual loss of quality to the current channels on the platform would likely be minimal with most viewers not noticing.

And yes, Italy is definitely a place where there seems to be very little regulation of broadcast spectrum (as is Spain to a lesser extent). However, if the current channel offerings are to be maintained after their 700 MHz clearance then they'll have to upgrade to newer generation technology - RAI and Mediaset will likely no longer have 4-5 multiplexes each for them to play about with by this time next year.

Capt'n Midnight - we can all talk about the current state of what's available on the Saorview platform (though the bit about Channel 4's a red herring - Freesat isn't aimed at viewers in ROI, plus the HD channel on satellite only currently carries advertising for the London region, not to mention there is no Irish HD version at present), but there's not the many of us can do much about it. Saorview is only a primary viewing platform for a small percentage of households in the state and so terrestrial television broadcasting doesn't hold the same political weight as it does in say the UK or France. I've said for a long time now that one thing that hinders more channels potentially appearing on digital terrestrial in the Republic (other than the structure of its present costs) is that there is just a single broadcasting "layer" where both multiplexes are available from all 64 sites - a multiplex that was only available from around a quarter of the sites but would otherwise cover approx 85-90% of the population, similar to that of the commercial multiplexes in the UK, might be more viable in terms of cost to potential broadcasters. Finally, if energy costs of the current Saorview platform are or become an issue, there's a quite simple solution - reconfigure the present multiplexes to have their FEC changed from 2/3 to 1/2 while in parallel reduce the ERP by 3db. This would reduce the current net bitrate of each multiplex from 24.1Mb/s to 18.1Mb/s while the required SNR for reception of each multiplex falls, depending on the method calculated, by 3-4db. Compared to a single DVB-T2 multiplex in VHF Band III which (assuming other than the 7MHz bandwidth is equal to the configuration of the PSB3 mux in the UK, a fair comparison as the current two 2RN multiplexes are configured the same as the PSB1 & 2 multiplexes in the UK) gives a net data rate of 35.2Mb/s - the above 3db power reduction & FEC change gives 36.2Mb/s capacity and involves no equipment changes (new receivers or STBs needing to be added, new VHF aerials at TX & RX sites etc.) except possibly a retune for some receivers, and should result in no loss of present terrestrial coverage.

Channel 17 would fall into the entertainment category I think, so I can't think of anything that might launch there. I was hoping some more news channels might launch, but they would be in the 20's. I guess it's just a bit of messing around by the tech guys in Saorview.

LCN 11-20 are reserved for time-shift channels which would point to an RTEjr +1, but why?

So we have Virgin Media Four launching on Saorview ch.7 on the 24/08/22 which explains why RTE Jr. moved to ch.17.

Are VM in HD yet? Considering that they're buying a lot of sports rights lately they should be

All so they can show yet more repeats of crappy game shows. Having a third VM channel was a joke never mind launching a fourth.

Regarding TG4 and VM One it's down to cost. Broadcasting costs more on DTT rather than on Satellite

If Saorsat is cheaper than Saorview then we'll use the satellite option, VM1 and TG4 should of course be in HD.

Looks like it went HD overnight

https://www.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?mux=PSB-MUX-1-KIPPURE&pid=1104&live=15&sec=0&lang=en