JEDDAH, 11 June 2006 — Saudi Arabia is set to enter the world of digital terrestrial television today when the first phase of DTT transmission will be launched in the main cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, according to Riyadh Najm, assistant deputy minister of culture and information for engineering affairs.
“The southern city of Abha and the central city of Buraidah will also have the facility within this month,” he told the Saudi Press Agency. “By February next year the DTT system will cover not less than 23 cities that account for more than 70 percent of the population,” he added.
Saudi Arabia is the first Arab and Middle Eastern country to introduce the technology that offers a greater number of channels (SDTV) and/or better quality of picture (EDTV, HDTV) and sound (AC3, Dolby Digital) through a conventional antenna (or aerial) instead of a satellite dish or cable connection.
He said the DTT technology would allow people to receive all the four Saudi channels — Channel One, Channel Two, Arriyadiah and Al-Ekhbariya — as well as the Saudi radio programs — General Program, Radio Qur’an, Second Program and European Program — with better clarity.
Digital terrestrial television is transmitted on radio frequencies that are similar to standard analog television, with the primary difference being the use of multiplex transmitters to allow reception of multiple channels on a single frequency range (such as a UHF or VHF channel).
DTTV can provide much more to the free-to-air viewer in terms of additional channels, improved quality of service, innovative services and superior sound quality when compared to analog television, with less interference. DTTV can be viewed on personal computers. Using a split-screen format, a computer user can surf the Web while watching television.
