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Public consultation in preparation for the launch of ultra-high definition DTT services
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Female presenter
Since its launch in 2005, digital terrestrial television (DTT) has undergone a number of operations, often on a national scale, to improve quality and enhance the supply.
In May 2023, the French government asked the Authority to grant France Télévisions a right to use the radioelectric resource to enable France 2 and France 3 to be shown in ultra-high definition (UHD). Other broadcasters have expressed an interest in showing their services in improved formats compared to high definition (HD).
As part of the Authority's work over the past few years, and in particular during the public consultation conducted between December 16, 2019 and March 10, 2020, two enhanced formats have been identified:
- one, known as "HD-HDR", which features full high-definition resolution (known as " Full HD ") and contrast and color enhancements ("HDR" for "High Dynamic Range");
- UHD, which, in addition to these contrast and color enhancements, features a spatial resolution four times greater than that of HD-HDR, enabling more detail to be displayed on screen.
Since 2014, the Authority has authorized several trials to test UHD on DTT, in mainland and overseas France.
It is now a question of making provision for the manager in which authorizations could be issued to television service editors in these enhanced image formats. In particular, it is necessary to determine the radioelectric resources that will be allocated to these services.
Legal manager
Deliberation no. 2015-33 (known as "millièmes") sets the share of radioelectric resources allocated to a DTT service within a multiplex, according to its image quality and the video coding norms used. It thus makes provision for a multiplex using the DVB-T transmission standard, the resource used by a standard-definition television service using the MPEG-4 standard, and that used by a high-definition television service using the same standard.
This deliberation must now be supplemented by provisions setting the share of the resource allocated to television services shown in improved formats compared with HD, within the technical scheme laid down by the modified decree of December 24, 2001 on digital terrestrial television, which sets out the characteristics of the signals transmitted and makes provision for the use of :
- the DVB-T2 diffusion norms for services shown in UHD or for services shown on a radioelectric resource summonsed to a company whose first authorization under article 30-2 is subsequent to April 5, 2016;
- and the HEVC coding standard for services broadcast in UHD or shown on a DVB-T2 multiplex (which would be the case for HD-HDR services).
Technical considerations
It emerged from the public consultation on DTT modernised in 2019 that, based in particular on trials carried out on DTT, an HD-HDR service would require a bit rate of around 5.5 Mbit/s, or 160 thousandths of a multiplex using DVB-T2/HEVC norms, and a UHD service around 11 Mbit/s, or 330 thousandths.
Since the public consultation, no online advertising operator has brought to the Authority's attention any technical elements suggesting a change in these values.
Thus, a multiplex using DVB-T2/HEVC norms could simultaneously show three channels in UHD, or two channels in UHD and two in HD-HDR, or one channel in UHD and four in HD-HDR, or six channels in HD-HDR.
Proposed developments in the legal framework
In view of the above, it is proposed that article 1 of deliberation no. 2015-33 be amended as follows (additions in bold, deletions in black strikethrough) by an amending deliberation:
"Art. 1. - Radioelectric resource usage authorizations set the share of useful radioelectric resource allocated to each television service according to the following sharing method:
95 thousandths for television services shown in accordance with DVB-T and MPEG-4 SDnorms;
195 thousandths for television services shown in accordance with DVB-T and MPEG-4 HD norms;
By way of derogation, 160 thousandths for in mainland local television services broadcast in accordance with DVB-T and MPEG-4 HD norms, other than the service shown in Ile-de-France on the national multiplex showing the France 3 channel;
160 thousandths for television services shown using DVB-T2 and HEVC HD-HDR norms;
330 thousandths for television services shown using DVB-T2 and HEVC UHD norms.
The share of the useful radioelectric resource allocated to each authorized television service makes it possible to determine, in proportion to the total data rate available on the multiplex, the bit rate nominally allocated to each service for the broadcasting of its various streams and the implementation of the mechanisms necessary for its diffusion."
How to respond to this consultation
The Authority is seeking comments on this project.
Contributions to this public consultation must be submitted electronically by September 13, 2023 at the latest.
They may be published; contributors must expressly indicate to the Authority any data they consider might fall within the scope of business secrecy.
Download the complete public consultation with annotations and appendix
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- in french