BAI Communications, TX Australia and Free TV are pleased to announce that the second phase of the Queensland trial of a next generation broadcast technology, DVB-T2, is to be undertaken in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast from March to April.

The trial builds upon trials conducted in Sydney and on the Gold Coast in 2018 to assess the performance of next generation DVB-T2 technology in the Australian environment.

The trial will originate from the Gold Coast Translators owned and TX Australia managed transmission site located at Mount Tamborine on the Gold Coast and the TX Australia managed transmission site on Mt Coot-tha in Brisbane. The transmissions will be on Channel 28. It will be operating in a new mode of digital television technology called “extended single frequency”. Results will be analysed to determine the service threshold in the target coverage area in extended SFN (single frequency network) mode.

DVB-T2 is being considered as a technology which could replace the current DVB-T standard for television which has been in operation since 2001. When combined with new compression technologies, DVB-T2 will have the potential to allow 4K TV reception with four times the picture quality of the current high definition standard.

This trial is a collaboration between TX Australia, Broadcast Australia and Free TV Australia who would like to thank GatesAir, Rohde & Schwarz and Enensys Networks for their continued loan of equipment for the trial. It is a prime example of the innovation and first-class engineering skills within the Australian broadcast industry.

Further information

The trial is not expected to impact existing television services. For any reception issues in relation to existing DTV services feedback can be provided via the TX Australia website using the form which can be accessed using this link https://www.txaustralia.com.au/digital-content-delivery/tv-reception-feedback.

TX Australia is a joint venture company of the television networks, Seven, Nine and Ten providing managed digital transmission services to those networks as well as a variety of services to FM broadcasters and other DTV networks, telecommunications companies, internet service providers and emergency service providers.

Gold Coast Translators is a subsidiary of TX Australia and Northern Rivers Television (a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Cross Austereo) is a minority Shareholder.

Free TV Australia is an industry body which represents all of Australia’s commercial free-to-air television licensees.