Broadcasters belonging to Italy’s Confindustria Radio Televisioni (CRTV) have agreed to work towards the complete end of MPEG-2 encoding by December 20.
From the following day, all terrestrial TV broadcasts in the country will only use MPEG-4.
In a statement, CRTV said: The setting of a common date makes it possible to plan an adequate communication campaign, even institutional, aimed in particular at the weaker segments of the population who have not yet provided for the replacement of the older obsolete receivers. Particular attention is paid to the elderly to whom the “decoder at home” operation was intended. This facility must be adequately communicated at an institutional level and valued for the important social value it represents.
“The broadcasters for their part will also launch their own communication campaign to inform the population of the date of complete decommissioning of MPEG-2, within which the so-called “girths” will also be launched to inform the programmes still broadcast with this technology.
“However, it is important that the competent institutions agree both on the date of complete disposal of the MPEG-2 encoding, and on the level of communication to citizens and other system companies involved in the process (such as equipment manufacturers and retailers). In short, everyone, companies and institutions, must play their part, always with the aim of not leaving anyone behind”.
Established in June 2013, CRTV includes among its members Italy’s major national broadcasters: Discovery Italia, Elemedia (GEDI), GMH, La7, Mediaset, Persidera, Prima Tv, Qvc Italia, Radio Italia, CN Media, RAI, Gruppo 24Ore, RDS – Radio Dimensione Suono, Rete Blu, RTL 102,500 Hit Radio, Sportcast, Tivù, ViacomCBS Networks Italy, EI Towers. The satellite operator Eutelsat Italy is aggregated member, and major local TV and radio broadcasters are represented in CRTV through the Association of Local Televisions and the Association of Local Radios FRT.
