Three Years of Digital TV in Brazil *

On December 2, 2007, there occurred the first transmission in High Definition TV in São Paulo after a lot of controversy around which technology Brazil would adopt among the European, American and Japanese systems. Three years later, most of the Brazilian capital cities and other large cities have been using this signal, and year-by-year more cities will be using it as well.

What many people don’t know is this new technology arrived in Brazil more than a decade ago, when between 1997 and 1998, universities and private companies celebrated partnerships to study and develop digital TV technology. The government later created more partnerships to encourage research, and finally in 2003 the Brazilian System of Digital Terrestrial TV was created. In 2006, the Forum of the Brazilian Terrestrial Digital TV was founded, responsible for standardizing and harmonizing technologies.

Exactly what is wrong with the current analog system? This model has worked well for decades; however, the main problem is the quality of the resolution of the image. With the advent of computers, we have been conditioned to use monitors where the resolution is much higher than analog TVs, allowing many more pixels (the smallest element of a display device), and providing more quality and details of image. With digital TV not only is the picture resolution improved, but other features as well: the sound may be transmitted on up to six channels; and in the latest improvement, the viewer can interact with the channel by looking at the program menu, or more so, participating directly in the program being presented.

Basically, to have a digital and also a high definition image in your TV at home, you need the digital signal available in your city and a UHF antenna. Most of the newest TVs like plasma, LCD and LED have the signal converter (known as set-top-box) embedded, since most of them are Full HD or at least HD ready. For TVs that are neither HD nor Full HD ready, the signal converter is required, but these will not take advantage of enjoying the new features.

The lack of public interest in digital TV is due not just to the high prices of equipment like new TVs and converters or insufficient coverage. The nonexistence of significant news discourages people to switch to digital transmission. Two features that could promote digital TV nowadays are interactivity and the offering of more content. Today the efforts being made to have this technology take off are huge, and consequently the market is full of opportunities. According to the government’s calendar, the analog signal will be cut off in Brazil in 2016. Therefore, sooner or later, you will be watching your favorite soccer game with the smallest details visible, just like you are on the soccer field.


* Article published on Curitiba in English.