Looking forward to the NEXT digital switchover !

As the UK slowly moves into the switchoff phase of it's analogue television services, it seems inevitable that in time MPEG-4 along with the new DVB-T2 standard will be used for Standard Definition TV services as well as HDTV. This combination would permit as many as 19 TV channels per multiplex instead of the current 8.

A complete changeover would render all existing Freeview receivers obsolete.

Last Friday, the UK regulator Ofcom published Terms of Reference for a technical pilot to trial digital TV DVB-T2 transmissions.

The pilot will help to establish the technical standards for the delivery of high definition services on digital terrestrial television. The document can be found here http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/dttfuture/pilot_tor.pdf

Ofcom, who will coordinate the pilot, has also published an open letter inviting participation in the pilot from interested parties. The letter can be found here http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/dttfuture/pilot_letter.pdf