Thursday, March 28

The future of DTT goes through the Internet: there is already a project to broadcast it via streaming in 5G


Conventional television distribution, as we know it, seems to be close to change. DVB (the consortium that promotes digital television standards) and the 5G Media Action Group (5G-MAG, an intersectoral organization) have joined forces to work on the broadcast of digital television through 5G.

To do this, the entities have created a joint working group that will address, as detailed, how “to bring the commercial deployment of 5G-based television services closer to reality.” The objective is to advance the activities related to the combination of 5G systems and DVB solutions, something that will take time. Therefore, there is still no date or release window.

Digital television goes to 5G

The work of both organizations will be based on the requirements of DVB-I over 5G. It is not a term that is new to us. This standard was approved at the end of 2019 and its purpose is to allow watch DTT through the Internet from TV, without needing to enter the websites of each of the chains.

It is something that makes sense in order to improve the quality of the broadcast and that, in some way, is viable. There are already proposals like Tivify Y Pluto TV, which have put on the table the possibility of retransmit DTT content over the Internet. This system proposed by DVB and 5G-MAG would simply make it simpler and more universal.

It is quite a technical matter and precisely for this reason it will take time. It is expected that the first joint meeting will take place on January 26. It will be then when the technical requirements are delivered and the project begins to be drawn. When will we see the standard and its implementation? Surely you have to wait.

One of the initial steps will be to update the standards to make them compatible with the 5G network.

In the first instance, DVB and 5G-MAG will have to map out the use cases, analyze the commercial requirements of DVB-I over 5G and identify the gaps in the existing specifications. Without going further, DVB-I will have to be upgraded to be compatible with 5G systems and DVB-DASH (adaptive dynamic streaming over HTTP) will need to be extended to support “certain 5G-related interfaces.”

In the words of DVB project chairman Peter MacAvock, “With the widespread deployment of 5G networks in the coming years, we believe that DVB’s proven track record in digital television can underpin the emergence of a truly universal media supply“. Antonio Arcidiacono, president of the 5G-MAG, has affirmed that “joining forces with the DVB project to allow television services based on DVB-I or DVB-DASH is a natural step to enhance 5G capabilities for media.”

More information | DVB, 5G MAG



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