WATCH VIDEO. Israel will switch off all analogue transmitters in the night of March 31/April 1. The digital terrestrial television service in Israel will be known by the name IDAN Plus.
The first regular digital transmissions started August 2, 2009 on channel UHF 26 in central Israel and on channel UHF 29 in the North and in Eilat area. The initial system consists of 13 main transmitters.
In some areas satellite reception will be required even after final analogue switch-off.
There is currently one multiplex on air with five channels: IBA 1, IBA 33, Channel 2, Channel 10 and the Knesset Channel.
A second multiplex with more channels including an HD simulcast of IBA TV1, as well as all national and local radio stations, will be added following analogue switch-off and a third multiplex with new private channels is planned for 2012.
About 40 analogue broadcasting sites are to be closed during the transition to full digital broadcasting.
The basic free of charge service is called “Idan Plus”. Its aggregation and distribution is under responsibility of the 2nd Authority for Radio and Television in Israel, while technically the network is run by the engineering department of Bezeq Telecom.
IDAN Plus broadcasts in MPEG-4 and has a 7-day EPG. Here is a brief introductory video of the service (please note – the soundtrack is in Hebrew).