DTT growing in the UK

Figures released yesterday by Ofcom, the UK media regulator, indicate that the incredible growth of the DVB-T based Freeview platform shows no sign of slowing. Since the platform was launched in October 2002, over 27 million DVB-T receivers have been sold. The bulk of these, 17.5 million, are set-top boxes, but the number of IDTVs (TVs with an integrated DVB-T tuner) is growing. In the last quarter of 2007, for example, 2.3 million IDTVs were sold, as against 1.8 million set-top boxes.

In a market where 87% of homes now receive digital television, the terrestrial platform is the most popular with 37% of all homes watching DTT. Digital satellite commands 36% of the market (of which 4% watch free-to-air services), and digital cable has a 14% share.

Digital TV has been a real success in the UK and many other countries (e.g. New Zealand, Indonesia, etc...) are now looking to mirror that success by making a similar range of services available under similar circumstances.

Slow take-up for DTT in Brazil

As predicted here and elsewhere, it looks like expensive receivers are ensuring that the launch of DTT services in Brazil are to blame for a very slow take-up of the new services. A report on Advanced-Television.com last week that only 10,000 households have made the switch to digital since the launch of services in Sao Paulo at the beginning of December. At this rate the analogue switch-off target date of 2016 looks amibitious.

Meanwhile, DVB-T receivers continue to fly off the shelves in Spain, France, the UK and elsewhere... Cheap receivers are a necessary pre-requisite for quick take-up of newly launched DTT services - ISDB-T (the Japanese system adopted by the Brazilians) is not synonymous with cheap set-top boxes. An average DVB-T zapper box is now selling for less than USD $40 in many markets across the world.

UK retailers boost for DVB-T sales

A report on the BBC website indicates that electrical retailers Currys, Dixons and PC World are to stop selling analogue TV sets and will stock only models with built-in digital receivers from now on. Such products are known as IDTVs, or Integrated Digital TVs. Already, they say, more than 90% of the sets they sell are "digital". This is sure to provide a boost to Freeview with purchasers of a new TV set having immediate access to more than 40 channels, with no further payment due (other than the TV license!).

Prices tumble in Oz

Word reaches us from Australia that discount supermarket chain ALDI is selling HD DVB-T receivers for less than AUS $100 (or about EUR 60) and SD receivers for AUS $35 (about EUR 21). MPEG-2 video coding is used for both SD and HD services in Australia, where 7MHz channel bandwidths are used.

The attached photo shows that the HD box outputs 576p, 576i, 720p and 1080i video, with a range of connections including HDMI and DVI.