History of Europe

DVB-T:The comeback of the antenna

by Carina WernerWith a portable television, digital television can also be received on the beach.

Digital television has many birthplaces. One of them is Northern Germany. Because what experts from Hamburg and Braunschweig designed in the early 1990s conquered the market a decade later:digital terrestrial television, or DVB-T for short. On August 26, 1998, the first test transmitter in northern Germany was switched on at CeBIT Home. Since then, "everywhere television" has not only developed rapidly, but also helped the aging television antenna to make a comeback.

Giggle boxes and antenna forests

Television, that was taken for granted in Germany for many decades, terrestrial television. In 1928, at the Berlin Radio Exhibition, television reception via antenna was presented for the first time. Since the 1950s, the "flicker boxes" have populated the living rooms en masse. With them, the antenna forests grow on the roofs. Until the competition comes along:cable TV in the 1980s, satellite TV a few years later. Both offer more program diversity and almost completely conquer the German market by the end of the 20th century. Too few programs, "snowy" pictures:Terrestrial transmission via antenna no longer stands a chance against cable and satellite. Analogue terrestrial television is threatened with extinction.

The "Big Bang" in Braunschweig

Exactly when and where the history of DVB-T begins is difficult to say. Perhaps it was the "big bang" when the first sketches for the later standard were drawn up at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Professor Ulrich Reimers, then technical director of the NDR and a pioneer of digital television, plays a central role here. In 1991, the first discussions took place in small groups of experts. The goal:to advance the digitization of television - via antenna. And thus to permanently secure terrestrial television as a third reception path. Not for nostalgic reasons, but for strategic reasons:It is of great importance for public service broadcasters to strengthen the only transmission path that makes them independent of the strategies and corporate decisions of commercial cable network and satellite operators.

From idea to experiment

In the spring of 1992, the first discussions resulted in the working group European Launching Group. A short time later he presented a report showing how a DTVB (Digital TeleVision Broadcasting) system could be developed for Europe. In September 1993, the working group officially became the DVB Project, which since then has been the crystallization point for work on the development of digital television in large parts of the world. However, there is still a long way to go before DVB-T is actually introduced. It leads from laboratory tests to extensive field and model tests.

The DVB-T Northern Germany project

With DVB-T you can even receive the news in the bistro.

The most important pilot projects are taking place in the greater Berlin area and in northern Germany. The DVB-T project Berlin/Brandenburg starts at the IFA 1997. Four channels will initially be put into operation, over which eleven programs will be transmitted. It is the first public presentation of DVB-T beyond laboratory tests.

The DVB-T Northern Germany project can benefit greatly from the experiences in Berlin. On August 26, 1998, on the occasion of the CeBIT Home in Hanover, the first DVB-T transmitter in northern Germany is switched on. Right from the start, five television and four radio programs will be broadcast. On the same day, the agreement to carry out a DVB-T pilot project in northern Germany is signed in Hanover. Among other things, it stipulates that public and private broadcasting should be involved on an equal footing. It is a balancing act to reconcile the different - and sometimes conflicting - interests of the project partners.

The North German pilot project will be put into operation at the CeBIT in March 1999. The autobahn between Wolfsburg and Bremerhaven serves as a test area. The focus of the investigation is, for the first time worldwide, on portable and mobile reception. Because what was initially only intended as a "waste product" quickly developed into the specific strength of DVB-T:Where only a small rod antenna is required, television in the best quality can also be received in the car or on portable devices such as laptops or mobile phones. The pilot project is successful and thus forms the basis for the rapid introduction of regular operations in northern Germany and beyond.

Media policy framework

The Federal Government also recognizes that the future of television broadcasting is "digital". At the end of 1997, she called together broadcasters, broadcasting network operators, research institutes, the appliance industry, consumer protection groups and tenants' associations. This marks the birth of the Digital Broadcasting Initiative (IDR), which in the summer of 1998 decided on a "Starting Scenario 2000". Among other things, it stipulates that analogue television technology should be replaced by digital technology for all three distribution platforms (antenna, cable, satellite) by 2010 at the latest. By 2015, the radio should also be completely digitized.

The first regular operation in Berlin/Potsdam

The Berlin/Potsdam region becomes a pioneer:On November 1, 2002, the changeover from analogue to digital terrestrial television begins here. As in the early days of ZDF, viewers have to buy an additional device, the set-top box. In return, they now receive more programs and with better sound and picture quality. On August 4th, 2003 the analogue distribution in Berlin/Potsdam will be stopped completely.

The changeover in Northern Germany

Other regions in northern and western Germany will follow on May 24, 2004:in Hanover/Brunswick, Bremen/Unterweser and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The historic moment is flanked by celebrations. A ceremony with many guests takes place in Pier 51 in Hanover:Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Christian Wulff, Dr. Alfred Tacke, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Prof. Jobst Plog, ARD Chairman and NDR Director General and other project participants jointly press the "symbolic button" for the official launch of DVB-T. In Bremen, the beginning of the new television era is celebrated on the ship Oceana, also with prominent participants. On November 8, 2004, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein will also begin to switch to digital terrestrial reception in the Hamburg - Lübeck and Kiel regions.

The introduction of DVB-T is accompanied by extensive media education work, because the public should be as well informed as possible in advance. A dedicated hotline will also be set up. The North German viewers make good use of the opportunity to ask questions:more than 35,000 inquiries are received. Only in the Hanover area are there brief picture disturbances in the first few days after the start of broadcasting. Otherwise the changeover runs smoothly.

DVB-T worldwide

DVB-T is now in operation worldwide. For example in Scandinavia, France, Australia, Singapore, India and South Africa. The fact that it was able to come to this is not least thanks to a special coup:at the Expo 2000 in Hanover, many state guests are picked up in VW buses that are equipped with DVB-T receivers. The guests are enthusiastic and absolutely want to have the new reception technology for their country.

Today there are countless variants of DVB-T receivers:set-top boxes, the smallest receiving components in the format of PC cards, USB sticks that can be used to turn notebooks into mobile televisions, or even digital pocket televisions that can be used as travel companions serve. More than eleven million DVB-T receivers have been sold in Germany to date. Nothing works without DVB-T:car manufacturers like BMW hardly ever build models without an integrated DVB-T device. As early as the end of 2008 - two years before the IDR's target - classic analogue terrestrial television will be switched off throughout Germany.