Norkring signs Pink SI for MUX B
Pink SI has become the first broadcaster to sign up for a place on what will be Slovenia’s second DTT multiplex.
Norkring the operator of the DVB-T multiplex signed the agreement with Pink SI at a recent meeting in Ljubljana.
Multiplex B is expected to launch on the 1st September 2010 and Norkring has said that it is in negotiation with 6 other broadcasters for slots on the multiplex.
Source: Norkring press release
Item added: 15th March 2010
Commercial launch of multiplex B announced
Multiplex B, operated by Norkring, is to begin commercial service on the 1st September 2010 with the launch of 6 DTT services. By the time of the ASO on the 1st December 2010, coverage should have reached 85%
Source: Norkring website
Item added: 8th February 2010
Second DTT multiplex on air
Slovenia’s second DTT multiplex has begun test transmissions following the issue of a 10 year licence to Norkring last year by APEK.
Norkring has to broadcast at least 8 TV channels on the allocated frequencies covering the east, center and west of the country.
Both the first multiplex operated by the public broadcaster RTV Slo and the second operated by Norkring use MPEG-4 coding.
Source: Broadband TV News
Tenders for 3 DTT licences sought
The communications regulator APEK is inviting applications for three DTT broadcast licences. The new programme allocations will be made available in multiplexes A and B, which both have national coverage.
The deadline for submissions is the 10th September 2009.
Source: APEK website
Item added: 6th July 2009
Problems for Slovenian DTT
Slovenia’s first multiplex has lost its leading commercial channels Pop TV, Kanal A and TV Pika.
Broadband TV News quotes Satkurier as the source of a story which says that all three broadcasters have been dropped because of a dispute over the non-payment of fees by their owners CME backed PRO Plus. Earlier MTG backed TV3, was removed from the multiplex for the same reason. Now only the three public broadcast channels are carried.
The dispute centres around the much higher fees charged to commercial channels than to their public counterparts on the DTT platform.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 27th April 2009
Norkring to operate DTT multiplex
The Norwegian broadcast network operator, Norkring, has been selected to operate the country's second DTT multiplex, which is to provide viewers with access to 8 television programme services, using the MPEG-4 AVC compression format.
The new multiplex should cover 70% of the population by the 1st September 2009 increasing to 85% by September 2010.
A Korean consortium and the Austrian broadcast network operator ORS also made bids to operate the multiplex but were unsuccessful.
The first multiplex is already on air and operated by the public service broadcaster RTV SLO.
Source: APEK website (22 Dec 2008) item thanks to Digitag
Item added: 9th February 2009
New DTT tender for Slovenia
Although previously reported in June that the tender for multiplex B had been released, recent reports from Broadband TV News state that the Slovenian Post and Electronic Communications Agency (APEK) has just reopened its tender for the second DTT multiplex.
The deadline for submissions is given as the 25th November with a final decision likely by the 23rd December.
The item goes on to say that the previous tender which had attracted bids from companies backed by RTL, Telenor and Austria’s ORS, amongst others, was halted due to irregularities.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 17th November 2008
Trial HD/DTT services continue
HD/DTT services which were originally started for the Olympics are continuing as a trial service in Ljubljana.
The transmissions are on two UHF channels, 26 and 47.
One channel broadcasts the main service from public service broadcaster RTV SLO and the other broadcasts the commercial services Kanal A and Pop TV.
The trial uses DVB-T and the MPEG-4, H.264 AVC format.
Source: APEK DVB-T website
Item added: 11th November 2008
Updated DVB-T receiver specification released
The communications regulator APEK has published a new updated requirement specification for DVB-T receivers to be used in the Republic of Slovenia.
This is the latest specification and replaces the previous release dated the 25th April 2008.
The document details the minimum requirements for HD and SD DVB-T receivers and covers the need for UHF and VHF reception capability as well as the ability to decode the, MPEG-4, H.264, AVC compression format and the need for one DVB-CI slot.
The document goes on to say that the use of MHP or other forms of interactivity are also possible requirements in the future but are not a requirement of the latest specification.
The full document can be accessed on the APEK website by clicking on the “source” link.
Source: APEK website
Item added: 11th November 2008
HD/DTT services from RTV
During the Beijing Olympics, public service broadcaster RTV Slovenia provided viewers in the Ljubljana region with an HD version of the Olympics on the terrestrial platform.
The HD service used 1080i/50.
Services are expected to continue beyond the Olympics.
Sources: Digitag (RTV Slovenia) and APEK
Item added: 27th August 2008
Government releases tender for DTT multiplex
The Slovenian government has released the tender for multiplex B on the DTT platform. Applications must be in by 1400 on the 25th August 2008.
More information at APEK
The existing multiplex is managed by public service broadcaster RTV SLO and offers three services from RTV SLO as well as TV3. It is expected that Pop TV, Kanal A and some regional services will also be added soon.
DTT services are available to 50-60% of the population and use the MPEG-4 AVC compression format.
Analogue switch-off is planned to be complete by 2012.
Main source: APEK
Item added: 16th June 2008
DTT information web portal launched
The Agencija za posto in elektronske komunikacije Republike Slovenije or APEK for short has launched a DVB-T portal on its website. The portal in the Slovene language gives up to date details on the status of DTT in Slovenia. The website can be accessed by clicking on the following link. dvb-t.apek.si
Source: Apek
Item added: 4th March 2008
DTT legislation approved by the National Assembly
Slovenia’s National Assembly has approved the countries Digital Broadcasting Act, setting a deadline of 2010 for the completion of the digital switchover process.
Slovenia will be covered by eight multiplexes, four of which will be used for digital TV broadcasting.
Multiplex operators will be chosen by a public tendering process.
One network, reserved for public broadcaster RTV SLO, is already in the build process.
As previously reported Slovenia will use the MPEG-4, H.264 audiovisual coding standard.
Main source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 7th November 2007
Slovenia goes with MPEG-4 for the DTT platform
Despite previous reports that Slovenia would side with bordering countries and use MPEG-2, the Slovenian regulator for postal and electronic communications, APEK, has announced the selection of the MPEG-4 AVC video compression standard for the DTT platform.
The MPEG-4 AVC standard has been selected because of its improved spectrum efficiency compared with MPEG-2 and the consequent ability to fit more channels into the available frequency allocations.
Source: Digitag
Item added: 15th May 2007
DTT in Slovenia
The public service broadcaster RTV SLO is planning to launch DTT services in September 2006 according to the July Web Letter from Digitag.
In November 2005 the Government passed a new law on public service broadcasting allocating a full multiplex for the services provided by RTV SLO.
RTV SLO are already required to provide 3 national television programme services, 1 regional service and 4 radio services. Commercial broadcasters will be allowed capacity on other multiplexes.
A DTT trial service has been running since September 2001 and currently covers 34% of the population using just 2 transmitter sites. An additional 8 transmiter sites will be added by the end of the year increasing coverage to 54.4%. The coverage will be further increased through 2007-2008.
At first MPEG-4 was seriously considered as the compression standard for Slovenia, but because of the significant Slovenian viewing of Italian and Croatian television, the same MPEG-2 standard used by them has been chosen.
Terrestrial TV is viewed by 48% of households in Slovenia and Cable by 39%.
Analogue switch-off has been announced for either 2010 or 2011
Source: Digitag Web Letter July 2006
Item added: 17th July 2006
Digital switch-over by 2012
The Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti has announced that Slovenia would probably switch from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting in 2012.
According to Simoniti, digital switch-over represents a substantial financial cost for Slovenia. He stated: "I hope we can speed up the transition if we get financial support from abroad."
Source: Digitag (Slovene Press Agency STA)
Item added: 21st November 2005
Background information on Slovenia
Digital terrestrial TV will soon be moving forward in Slovenia when a new telecom law drafted by April 2003 is enacted by parliament later in the year.
Public broadcasters started test transmissions in 2000 covering Ljubljana and the surrounding area. The SFN network is planned for expansion when legislation is introduced.
A frequency plan has been prepared and the co-ordination process is in progress. 6 multiplexes are planned with one on VHF and the remainder in the UHF band.
The plan provides SFN coverage of 95% of the population. Three national networks covering 80% of the population will use a mixture of MFN and SFN networks.Two MFNs or SFNs are planned in every regional area. Six small networks (approx. 25km diameter) utilising a mixture of MFN's and SFN's, some in VHF, will be used for mobile reception.
64QAM, 8k transmissions are favoured with QPSK being planned for mobile services. The long term aim is to ensure that portable and mobile reception are available to most of the population.
Main source DigiTag 2003
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Last page update: Barry Tew, 15th March 2010
