DTT launched in Ireland

Ireland’s free-to-air Digital Terrestrial Television platform called SAORVIEW was launched by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Pat Rabbitte on the 26th May 2011.
SAORVIEW is now available to 97% of Irish households and carries eight Irish channels: RTÉ One, RTÉ Two HD, TV3, TG4, RTÉ News Now, 3e, RTÉjr and RTÉ One + 1. SAORVIEW will also carry a new enhanced digital RTÉ Aertel information service and all of RTÉ’s radio services.
“My aim is to ensure that there is a free television service available to all Irish viewers after analogue switch off in 2012. When combined with other pay or free platforms SAORVIEW will offer a wide choice of TV channels to viewers, and the choice of channels available on SAORVIEW will grow further in 2012. A precise date in 2012 for analogue switch off will be announced later this summer”, said Minister Rabbitte.
Transmissions use DVB-T and are coded using the MPEG-4, H.264, AVC standard.
Source: Saorview website
Item added: 31st May 2011