Digital terrestrial DVB-T2, how to check the compatibility of your TV

With the start of the new year, the "operational phase" of the transition to DVB-T2 has begun. Here's how to check if your TV is compatible with the new digital terrestrial

January 1, 2020 has triggered the X hour for the televisions we have at home. Starting from this date, the procedure for the switchover to DVB-T2, the new generation digital terrestrial television, has started and will end by June 20, 2022. It is therefore time to buy a new TV (or a new decoder) compatible with the new standard if our TV does not support DVB-T2.

To do so, a state incentive is also available, granted by the Ministry of Economic Development directly at the purchase of the new device. But if the TV is already compatible, it is not necessary to buy anything new. And, already now, it is possible to test for free if our Tv (or our decoder) is compatible with the new standard and thus be sure that the transition to DVB-T2 will be painless. How to do it? By tuning in to a channel. The procedure is already available in all the geographical areas which, later on in 2021 and 2022, will switch to the new TV broadcasting standard in stages. Here is how to check today if we will have problems tomorrow.

The new sign on the Mux Mediaset 4

To be 100% sure that our TV supports DVB-T2 we will just go to channel 200 of the TV guide: if the TV is ok we will see a sign saying "720p HEVC Main 10". If our TV is not compatible we will see a completely black screen. From tomorrow, January 17, we can do the same test on Mux 1 Rai, going to channel 100. Also in this case, if you can see the writing is ok. In entrambi i casi è necessario fare una nuova sintonizzazione delle frequenze, altrimenti non vedremo alcun cartello anche se la nostra Tv è compatibile.

DVB-T2: i prossimi passaggi

L’addio del vecchio digitale terrestre in favore del nuovo servirà sia ad aggiornare lo standard delle trasmissioni sia a liberare la banda di frequenze a 700 MHz, che saranno in futuro usate dalle reti 5G. Nelle intenzioni del Ministero entro quest’anno dovrebbe essere sostituito tutto il parco Tv non ancora compatibile, poi a settembre 2021 si partirà con lo switch vero e proprio diviso per aree geografiche secondo questo calendario:

  • Dal 1/09/2021 al 31/12/2021: Valle d’Aosta, Piemonte, Lombardia, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna e le Province Autonome di Trento e di Bolzano
  • Dal 1/01/2022 al 31/03/2022: Liguria, Toscana, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Sardegna
  • Dal 1/04/2022 al 31/06/2022: Sicilia, Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, Marche