On August 31, Transcarpathia will switch to digital TV

Analogue television broadcasting will be terminated on the territory of the region on August 31, 2018. 

A press conference on the switch to the digital format of television took place in the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration.

"The switch will not affect the public broadcaster and the channels that have no alternative to the analog signal. In Transcarpathian region, those are the Transcarpathian branch of the NPBU PJSC "Tisa-1" and the TRC "Khust," – Yaroslav Halas, the deputy head of the regional state administration said.

Experts said that the process of switching to digital broadcasting is irreversible, stressing that Transcarpathian region became one of the first three region in Ukraine, where the frequency resource for digital television broadcasting was calculated. The list of settlements, in which digital broadcasting networks using existing towers have been created, includes a total of 26 cities, towns and villages in 11 districts of Transcarpathia.  

The advantage of digital TV is the excellent image and sound quality, the ability to receive 32 television channels (28 national and 4 local ones), subject to signal coverage. Based on the results of the trial run, certain problems were identified, the main one being digital signal interruptions that occur even in the capital. Another problem is the lack of appropriate equipment. 

The region has the potential for the expasion of the digital broadcast network, in particular, using new towers for installation of the appropriate equipment. In addition, a significant number of Transcarpathians are using satellite, cable and Internet television, besides the digital television signal. Therefore, the residents of the region will not be left without television broadcast.