Free TV and Broadcast Australia* (a BAI Communications company) today announced that they had agreed to conduct trials of next generation broadcast technology in Sydney. Australia’s national public broadcasters, SBS and the ABC, will also be active participants in the trials.
The trial will assess the performance of next generation DVB-T2 technologies in the Australian environment. DVB-T2 is being considered as a technology to replace the current DVB-T standard for television delivery in the medium term. When combined with new compression technologies, DVB-T2 will have the potential to allow 4K TV reception—four times the picture quality of the current high-definition standard.
Broadcast Australia CEO Peter Lambourne said: “Terrestrial free to air television delivers its service to 99% of the population and over 20 million Australians tune into television every week. This trial is an important part of ensuring that when the time is right, the terrestrial television platform is ready for the next stage of its evolution and that it can deliver the best possible viewing experience.”
Free TV CEO Bridget Fair said: “While our current platform has many years of life in it, this trial is about planning for our long-term future. Over the past 62 years, television broadcasters have demonstrated their ability to evolve with the times, from black and white to colour, analog to digital, standard to high definition. I’m very pleased to be working with BA to ensure that all Australians will continue to have access to the free news, sport and entertainment programs that they rely on and love.”
Laboratory trials are currently underway at Broadcast Australia’s premises in Chatswood. Wider trials will commence from three transmission sites across Sydney from April to June.
*Broadcast Australia rebranded to BAI Communications in 2019.
