This page provides information on progress in the development of Irish free to air digital TV equipment and other receivers.  Further information is available directly from RTÉ.
 

Latest Information

 RTÉ has announced  that  it has, “appointed Teracom AB to conduct receiver compliance testing for Irish free-to-air (FTA) DTT receivers. Those receivers which pass the tests thereby meeting the Irish DTT specification will be eligible to be licensed to use RTÉ’s “Saorview” logo, which will confirm to consumers that the receiver is Irish FTA DTT compliant.

Manufacturers/distributors wishing to use the “Saorview” logo should contact Teracom (irdtest@teracom.se) to arrange testing. When a receiver passes the tests, it will then be eligible to be licensed by RTÉ to carry the “Saorview” logo.”

RTÉNL will publish a full list of compliant DTT receivers on its web site (http://www.rtenl.ie/).

Information on DTT Receivers

Currently there are no DTT receivers ( set top boxes, PVR's or televisions) which are approved for use on the RTÉ DTT network.  RTÉ has developed a specification for Irish DTT receivers. A copy of this specification is available from the RTÉNL website,

http://www.rtenl.ie/downloads/RTE-FTA-DTT-Receiver-Spec.pdf

 http://www.rtenl.ie/downloads/NorDig-Unified_ver_2.0.pdf

The latest information on DTT receivers suitable for the Irish DTT market is available from RTÉ and the BAI.  

Warning:

There are some digital televisions for sale in Ireland which are marked “Freeview”, have the UK’s “digital tick” logo ttp://www.digitallogo.co.uk/) or are marked as being suitable for use in other European Countries.  This means that they are compatible with DTT systems in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.  There are no televisions currently approved for use on the Irish DTT network. 

DTT receivers/decoders

There are essentially three types of DTT receivers/decoders that are used in typical households in existing DTT markets.

A Set top Box  (STB)
A Personal video Recorder (PVR)
An Integrated Digital Television (iDTV)


A description of these devices is available in the glossary.


The simplest of these is the set top box which is relatively cheap and can be used in conjunction with most existing TV sets. It is similar to the type of set top box used by those who currently receive digital cable, MMDS or satellite services.

The PVR is more expensive but offers additional functionality such as the capability to record programmes and freeze programmes for viewing later.

An Integrated Digital Television (iDTV) is the digital equivalent of the analogue TV and allows viewers to receive free to air terrestrial digital TV content without the use of an external set top box.

Information to Retailers

Retailers are requested to ensure that all iDTV’s  for sale in Ireland will be compatible with the Irish DTT network, when it launches.  Retailers are also requested to provide information to their customers on DTT.
 

In addition, retailers are urged to ensure that a sufficient range of receivers (including set top boxes, integrated digital televisions and personal video recorders) specified for use on the Irish DTT network are available to consumers for the launch of DTT services in Ireland.

The RTE free to air DTT services will use an MPEG 4 compression standard and MHEG 5 (V6) middleware   MPEG 4 is different to the MPEG 2 compression standard used in the UK.  Retailers should note that televisions with MPEG 2 tuners only, will not pick up the Irish DTT service, when it develops.

A free-to-air Digital terrestrial TV (DTT) service providing access to the existing national TV channels and some new Irish TV channels is due to be launched in Ireland in October 2010.   This service will be provided by RTÉ using a network built by RTÉNL.

The free to air DTT service will be provided by RTÉ. There are engineering tests taking place currently on the 13 main transmitter sites in preparation for service launch. These engineering tests carrying RTÉ, TV3 and TG4 are operating using the MPEG4 specifications. More details are available from RTÉ Networks Ltd http://www.rtenl.ie/.

A commercial DTT service is also expected be made available.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is responsible for contracting commercial DTT service providers. The BAI has indicated that OneVision will operate the commercial DTT service.


Updated information on RTÉ's plans for DTT services and the plans for commercial DTT  are available from RTÉ and the BAI.  (http://www.rte.ie/, http://www.rtenl.ie/ and http://www.bai.ie/).