For viewes

Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT), is a widely available and free TV programme distribution platform. The users of terrestrial television have access to nearly 40 most popular, national free-to-air TV programmes. It’s the main source of TV signal for around 13 million people in Poland.

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), i.e., a digital terrestrial radio broadcasting system, allows for the broadcasting of digital radio programmes. In other words, this technology enables the emission of digital sound together with a number of other functions, e.g., image transmission, transmission of information in text form, or radio programme guides.

One of the most important reasons behind the creation of the DAB technology was the overcrowding on radio frequencies. Digital radio broadcasting opens a new space for new, constantly emerging radio stations. Moreover, the digitally transmitted audio is free of static or interference.

By choosing the digital radio, listeners gain access to a potentially larger amount of radio stations and can enjoy a better quality of music and sound.

DAB+ technology is a more advanced and more modern DAB system. It is based on the HE-ACC codec, thanks to which listeners can access three times as many channels and receive an even clearer sound. The utilisation of the new codec also allows for fitting several radio stations on one band.

The DAB+ technology also allows for the transmission of information in the form of text, pictures, and radio programme guides. You could say it’s the radio counterpart of a TV programme guide! The displayed subtitles compliment the sound and allow for easier assimilation of important information. What’s more, it’s the listener who decides which data they want to view.

When it comes to the receivers themselves, the ones equipped with a DAB+ tuner support the older format as well, while the DAB tuners are not always compatible with the newer technology.

Have you been wondering how to receive digital terrestrial television? It’s very simple! You’ll need a DVBT-2/HEVC set-top box, which you can buy for less than a hundred zloty, and – if you don’t have it yet – an appropriate antenna. That means digital terrestrial TV is quite easily available to practically anyone.

What’s important, the newer TVs often include a built-in DVBT-2/HEVC set-top box. In that case, you won’t have to buy any additional equipment, but only connect the receiver to the antenna cable. Any device produced after 2020 should include a built-in terrestrial TV reception module.

You might have heard that multiplex 8 (MUX-8) – which is a different network of digital terrestrial television, recently launched in Poland – does not require the DVBT-2/HEVC standard, and the signal is broadcast in SD quality. That’s all true. Technically, you’ll only need a DVBT set-top box to receive digital terrestrial TV from that network. But remember that, eventually, all terrestrial television in Poland will be broadcast in the DVB-T2/HEVC standard, so investing in appropriate hardware today will allow you to avoid having to replace it in the near future.

Analogue radio is emitted, among others, over UHF waves, and the only equipment required for its reception is a standard radio.

Digital radio, besides the Internet, is emitted using the DAB or DAB+ technology. To receive it, a receiver with a DAB or DAB+ module is required. It’s important to remember that DAB receivers can not play the radio of the newest standard (DAB+), while DAB+ receivers are able to play both the digital DAB radio and the analogue radio, broadcast on UHF waves.