Italian public broadcaster RAI is to broadcast using both DVB-T2 and DVB-T for three principal channels, Rai 1, Rai 2 and Rai 3.
“In September we will convert our Multiplex B to DVB-T2,” confirmed Stefano Ciccotti, Director of Technologies of Rai. “The new service contract has now been signed”.
Unlike other markets, which have transitioned from DVB-T/MPEG-2 to DVB-T2/MPEG-4, Italy chose the halfway house of DVB-T/MPEG-4. Both systems enable a greater number of channels to be included within a broadcast multiplex.
The move to DVB-T2 had initially been postponed postponed from June 30, 2022 to January 1, 2023 and then from January 2024 to September 2024 amid concerns that an insufficient number of homes had the necessary equipment installed.
Last year, Auditel-Censis estimated that 47% installed devices would be unsuitable, equivalent to about 8.4 million households.
