Argentina Plans April DTV Launch

By Doug Lung
published


Argentina's Channel 7 television is expected to begin digital TV broadcasting in Buenos Aires next month using the Japanese-Brazilian SBTVD terrestrial DTV standard.

According to the Latin American Herald Tribune article Argentine Public TV to Start Digital Broadcasts, the station plans to offer some amount of high-definition programming with the launch.

Two of Argentina's public TV channels--one with children's programming and another with Argentine and Latin American films--will join Channel 7's DTV efforts in the near future.

The public television system also has rights to broadcast soccer matches. Public television officials said the games would be available with "extraordinary quality" for viewers traveling in cars or in public transportation.

During the first phase of DTV broadcasting, households will need to use a converter box and antenna to receive the programs.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.