Facts and figures about digital television

Analog TV is living its last days. Well, maybe not days, but years - in this case it does not matter. Another thing is important. Digital TV (DTV) was previously an attribute of the “beautiful far”, about which experts like to talk so much and in relation to which they are so often mistaken. Now it is a full-fledged component of today, moved from forecasts to business reports. What players and technologies will dominate this market, who are already flying by at plywood speed, from whom to expect a breakthrough? Let's argue, especially since there are at least a few reasons to talk.

Reason one. CSTB 2013 Forum

From January 29 to January 31, Moscow hosted a forum and exhibition devoted to modern television and telecommunication technologies - CSTB 2013. Habrinimenanie traditionally bypasses this event, and in vain: there is no better way to find out what is happening with digital media streams in the country and the world. What happens to them?
Digital TV is now no surprise anyone. Almost anywhere in the world, you can find a way to connect to it - if only there is electricity. At a minimum, you will have satellite TV available. Many Internet providers offer an additional service to watch TV on their access networks - IPTV service. Finally, recently we are witnessing a rapid growth of DVB-C cable digital networks - this is already the third option. Residents of large cities in Russia are usually available all three ways. There is a fourth option: paid and free subscriptions for online broadcasting, piece and whole packages. Statistics knows the approximate distribution of carrier-wide options across Russia: cable - 56% of the market, satellite TV - 35%, IPTV - 9%, Internet subscriptions are not considered here. At the same time, the share of cable TV is declining (last year - by 5%), and IPTV is increasing, and at a rapid pace. But what the picture looks like with analog TV technologies.



We will talk more about the struggle of numbers and analogs in our country, but for now let us return to the interesting figures voiced at the forum. Does the television need internet? Even 10 years ago this question sounded a bit strange, now we know the answer to it for sure: YES! And even know why. Smart TV technology (neatly - Connected TV) constantly erasing the boundaries between the TV, Internet terminal and computer. That is, the latest generation of televisions, being essentially computers from the inside, now have the opportunity to use this stuffing. Currently, the Smart TV label bears the devices of leading world manufacturers: Philips, LG, Toshiba, Sony, and, first of all, Samsung. According to the results of the first half of 2012, 565 thousand Smart TVs were sold in Russia (14% of the entire Russian market) - the same amount as in the whole of 2011. But the global statistics: just on the planet there are 200 million TVs connected to the Internet, and the share of Smart TV is 30%. Do not immediately believe it, but 78% of all network video content is now viewed on TV! Here is what the sales dynamics looks like.
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In parallel with the increase in the intelligence of the TV, the quality of his picture improves. Here you can’t particularly speculate, obviously, everyone likes a good image more than a bad one, so long as the quality of the video stream matches the capabilities of the receiver. The picture with the penetration of FullHD into the masses is as follows.



If everything is more or less clear with the “last mile,” then there is some uncertainty about the “last foot” (probably, it would be more logical to call it a yard). How will the "heavy" multimedia be delivered to the TV? Obviously, wirelessly. Currently, experts are looking at the new Wi-Fi standards 802.11ac and 802.11ad with hope, but their predictions, as already mentioned, should be treated with caution - it is quite possible that some other idea will “shoot”. In the meantime, experts foretell something like the following.

The second reason. DTV steps across Russia

The final demise of analog TV will come when it is completely replaced by the digital one, including in the on-air incarnation. The process of disconnecting analog terrestrial transmitters began in Europe in 2006. We, as usual, are late, but the process of introducing the “on-air figure” is also going on here. According to the decision of the authorities, it is divided into 4 stages. Map of the inclusion of DTV is as follows.



The first multiplex program package included 8 federal and 3 regional TV channels, the second - another 10. The second multiplex test is now broadcast in the Khabarovsk Territory, the first in test mode and pointwise in almost all regions of the third stage of implementation. According to the interim results for the first half of 2012, construction of 1344 broadcasting centers and 40 multiplex formation centers was completed; Digital television broadcasting coverage is more than 54 million people in 45 regions of the Russian Federation. Now this figure is, of course, more, but the statistics have not yet been published. According to the master plan, by the end of 2012, 1958 broadcasting points were to be built in 80 regions of Russia.



“Well, what is the reason for this?” - you ask. The fact is that just at the time of writing the post, namely on February 20, a test DVB-T2 DTV was launched in my native region - the Nizhny Novgorod region. The next, according to the signalers of communications, will be Samara. The quality of reception is ... test is, in general, quality. However, let's hope for the best - frankly, the providers of wired DTV do not make us happy with the picture either.
By the way, do you think all Russians are happy about the arrival of DTV? You can be sure - the absolute majority up to 69 years old inclusive. We were all counted.

The third reason. Intel is a new player in the DTV market

February 12, Eric Haggers (Erik Huggers), vice president of Intel, speaking at the conference “Dive into Media” held by the All Things Digital portal, announced the company's intentions to launch its own TV online service this year. . There are still few figures in this fact, more intentions, however, these intentions are quite serious. The idea is not just to produce components for set-top boxes (known as Set Top Box, STB), but also, for example, to narrow the set of content provided by adjusting it more precisely to a specific user. It is even said that the STB will be equipped with a camera to recognize those sitting in front of the TV, in order to be able to provide the video they prefer, which suggests the use of the recent development of Intel - Perceptual SDK .


It is obvious that Intel is looking for new areas of activity. It is also obvious that the task set by Intel is not easy (as experts say, but this is understandable without them). Internet delivery of media content is technically difficult and financially unpredictable. The operator is compressed from two sides: with one - by the producers of content, on the other - by Internet providers; everyone has their own commercial interests. In addition, we should not forget that this field is already played by several large and many small companies with which they will have to compete. But Intel has significant advantages: an excellent existing and continuing development platform based on the Intel Atom, as well as recent experience of entering a fundamentally new market - processors for mobile devices. The company knows how to start a business from scratch, which gives hope for success.

So in conclusion to all readers of the article, I propose to participate in the voting. Thus, we will further increase the statistics on digital TV.