Digital TV is the name of the game this Christmas

Digital TV is the name of the game this ChristmasRichard Wilson
Digital TV systems suppliers can take heart in the run-up to Christmas that the continues to be steady growth in the viewer market, which is benefiting from new free-to-air terrestrial services.
Almost 40 per cent of UK households had some form of digital TV receiver by the end of September, according to figures published by the Independent Television Commission.
These figures, which include just over a million households with free-to-air digital terrestrial receivers, do not include the recent surge following the launch of Freeview services in October. Latest estimates suggest that digital receiver sales were running at over 100,000 per month in the last two months of the year.
The ITC has also decided to make life easier for digital broadcasters by allowing them to broadcast their digital terrestrial television (DTT) services using either the '16-QAM' or '64-QAM' transmission mode.
Following consultation, the ITC concluded that an enforced mode change should not be mandated. Since transmission at '64-QAM' allows more television services to be transmitted on each multiplex, this decision will therefore allow multiplex operators Digital 3 and 4 and SDN to continue to provide viewers with a wider range of services, said the ITC.
The main benefits of '16-QAM' are improved coverage and improved performance in the presence of impulse interference (e.g. from thermostats, car ignitions, refrigerators etc).

The ITC remains committed to improvements in DTT coverage and will therefore be making amendments to the multiplex licences of SDN and Digital 3 and 4 to require completion of the 3dB power increase programme.
Digital TV through a satellite dish or terrestrial aerial are maintaining their popularity at the expense of some cable distribution media. The total number of cable subscribers decreased by 2% during Q3 to reach 3.38 million while Sky’s satellite service totalled more than 6 million UK subscriber households.
According to the ITC figures, the number of video-on-demand subscribers using newer xDSL technologies decreased by 12.5% during Q3. A total of 16,832 households were subscribing to the service.
While cable modem subscribers grew by 27% over Q3. The total number of broadband subscribers stood at just below 1m by end of the quarter.