Terrestrial HDTV in Great Britain. Great Britain, the European leader in implementing newest television technologies, will provide open-access high-definition terrestrial TV broadcasts.
The UK television broadcasters - BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five, and the market regulator - Ofcom, have introduced a new concept of digital terrestrial TV development. It intends that the Olympic Games 2012 should be available in HDTV resolution from terrestrial transmitters.
From among the 6 multiplexes that currently distribute digital terrestrial programs in Great Britain, one will be designated for this new technology. HDTV broadcasts are to be transmitted in new standard - DVB-T2, which should be approved in 2008.
DVB-T2 uses, among others, MPEG-4 AVC compression, QAM modulation, and MIMO technology. The standard is to be backward compatible with DVB-T, to enable the new receivers to receive DVB-T programs, but the currently used equipment will not be able to receive DVB-T2 broadcasts.