Swedish terrestrial pay-TV platform Boxer has today launched two packages of HD channels onto the digital terrestrial system. The channels will use MPEG-4/T2. At launch Boxer will have an estimated 70% household coverage, the highest of any of the T2 launches to date.
“With the launch of HDTV, with both free and pay television, the digital terrestrial network has taken a major step forward. The goal is to soon be able to offer all Swedes the most popular channels in HDTV quality,” said Crister Fritzson, CEO of Boxer.
SVT1 HD and SVT2 HD will both broadcast free-to-air and unencrypted. Among the pay channels MTVN HD and National Geographic HD start immediately, the Boxer HD package is completed by TV4 HD, which commences on December 18.
The launch of Canal Sport HD and Canal Series on the terrestrial platform. Although broadcast in T2 MPEG-4, Canal Series will transmit in SD. This takes Canal’s DTT bouquet to five channels.
Two new multiplexes have been created to house the new channels, Multiplex 6 and Multiplex 7, using spectrum that has been reshuffled following analogue switch off. Multiplex 6 is not entirely new as it was used for channels that were licensed to use MPEG-4 in 2008, but better coding has enabled the channels to be redistributed in Multiplexes 2-5, allowing Multiplex 6 to be used for MPEG-4/T2.
While Multiplex 6 is entirely UHF, in some parts of the country VHF frequencies have been utilised for Multiplex 7.
