Terrestrial Television to go Digital - Dialog TV Commences Pilot Broadcast

Sunil C. Perera in Colombo
 Sri Lanka’s first Terrestrial Digital Television Broadcast went on air, on the 23rd January with the commencement of Dialog Television’s Pilot Launch of DVB-T based Terrestrial Digital Television covering the City of Colombo.

The DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcast  Terrestrial) broadcast standard enables digital broadcast over standard VHF/UHF television spectrum (airwaves), enabling viewers to access the digital broadcast using  standard (analogue) televisions and VHF/UHF antennae with the addition of a DVB-T access device (adaptor or set top box). The broadcast would be also available on vehicle mounted devices, and via DVB-H technology (a variant of the DVB-T standard for Handhelds) on advanced GSM/3G handsets. DVB-T/H standards are currently seeing rapid adoption across the world with strong adoption trends in Western Europe.

The Pilot Broadcast carried out by Dialog Television carries 9 television channels on a single UHF frequency demonstrating at the outset a 9 fold enhancement in Frequency utilisation. State channels Rupavahini, eye/Nethra and ITN join private broadcasters Derana, swaranavahini and The Buddhist on the country’s first terrestrial digital broadcast. The broadcast also carries 3 foreign channels to complete the channel line up. The pilot broadcast will be initially ‘tested’ using selected viewers forming a representative set across the broadcast coverage area.

Dialog Television, currently Sri Lanka’s leading Digital Satellite Television operator set out its commitment to be a premier digital broadcast network provider with the expansion of its satellite based (DVB-S) infrastructure to now incorporate DVB-T and DVB-H broadcast capabilities.
Some of the benefits that DVB-T offers to the consumer are DVD quality video, electronic programme guides and selection, Multi-lingual audio capability, Multi-lingual sub-titling capability and enhanced audio technology such as Dolby Digital, 5.1. The efficiencies delivered by digital broadcast technology are also set to facilitate the expansion of televison (channel) availability to all regions of Sri Lanka, where economic viability constrained the expansion of incumbent analogue infrastructure.