The DVB-T standard It is the most widespread in the world to watch television. More than 100 countries use it, and it is the one used mainly in the European Union. However, changes are coming in the future, and you may not be prepared to see the future standards coming to DTT.
The DVB, or Digital Video Broadcasting, is an organization that is responsible for promoting internationally accepted digital television standards, either through terrestrial or satellite. They are currently working on the development of several standards, including the upcoming DVB-I.
DVB-I
DVB-I, whose last letter means Internet, is a standard that seeks to unify DTT broadcasts so that the same content can be accessed from the Internet or through linear television. By the year 2030 it is estimated that there will be tens of millions of televisions connected to the Internet, and in this it is possible to enjoy content in a much better way than through linear television.
Therefore, the situation may arise in which you end up using the 5G or the future 6G for television broadcasts depending on the capacity of the antennas and the available technology. Broadcasting over the Internet would allow access to television with a simple Internet cable to have better quality and fewer signal problems.
The implementation could be done by the network operator, the manufacturer of the device, a third-party app, or by the operating system of the device. In the case of the television, it will be the Smart TV itself that will decide which source to use, if Internet or DTT to view the content. It is currently in the development phase, but it could change the way we watch TV in the coming years. Only Smart TVs would be compatible, being necessary an external device in the case of wanting to see it on a TV that does not have Internet.
DVB-T2
The standard that is called to replace the current DVB-T. On January 1, 2023, all DTT channels will be HD. However, we do not yet know if it will be HD using the current DVB-T, or if it will be forced to make the move to DVB-T2. In the event that the latter is decided, millions of televisions will have to be replaced and millions of tuners purchased, since only televisions after 2015-2016 are compatible with DVB-T2.
In Italy, for example, they have decided to use MPEG-4 for all HD channels, which is the same standard that we use in Spain now, so they have not had to change tuners or televisions, since most are compatible with HD channels.
What will come next?
There is still nothing written about DVB-T3. DVB is fully working with DVB-T2, which offers excellent functionalities using current software and advances. The codec that will be used in the future of DTT will, in all probability, HEVC (H.265). For the future DVB-T3 may be opt for standards such as H.266, which are not yet finalized, or even others to come in the future. And it may not even come if you finally decide to make the leap to DTT over the Internet, since the codec used would not be so important.