Rapid TV News

Warning over Portuguese DTT

Iñaki Ferreras ©RapidTVNews | 07-12-2008

Ahead of Portugal's next free-to-air DTT launch (due by April 2009), the National Communications Authority (ANACOM) has demanded that all future DTT decoders must be MPEG4/H.245 and DVB-T standardized.

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In case these two conditions are not fulfilled the user should be able to buy an integrated digital TV set with DVB-T reception capacity and video decoding MPEG-4/H.264 system. Or else those users who want to keep their present TV set should be able to buy a set-top-box to be placed between the aerial and the TV set.

ANACOM has warned that a lot of Portugal's DVB-T decoders being sold don't incorporate MPEG-4 video compression and are unlikely to allow reception of HD signals. These are likely to be broadcast from the A multiplex, in-the-clear.

Here the authority says it's compulsory at least for these equipments to include a minimum vertical solution of 720p meaning those TV sets with the standardized logo 'HD Ready'. And in the case of a set-top-box ANACOM advises for it to have the HDMI interface preferably of the 1.3 version and also with the possibility of HDTV video decoding.

© Rapid TV News 2008