Wednesday 20 October is the date from which a small digital revolution will begin. It will concern the way we watch TV, as the various television networks are announcing more and more frequently with ad hoc advertisements.
From 20 October, in fact, many Rai and Mediaset channels will switch to HD, and will no longer be visible to anyone who owns an old TV. And he hasn’t at least equipped himself with a latest generation decoder.
This is the first step in a process that will end with the transition to the DVB-T2 standard, which will be completed in 2023.
First of all, let’s see what will happen starting from Wednesday 20 October, and above all what to do in order to continue seeing the entire programming of Rai and Mediaset.
The new digital terrestrial: Rai and Mediaset channels from 20 October
With the arrival of the new digital terrestrial what will happen to the Rai and Mediaset channels? Will they all be blacked out, unless you have a suitable HD television or decoder?
The partially positive news for those who have not yet equipped themselves with a new television is that Rai and Mediaset have chosen a soft approach. In the sense that from next 20 October the flagship networks will still be visible from all the main channels. That is Rai Uno, Rai Due, Rai Tre and RaiNews 24. And for Mediaset Canale 5, Italia 1, Rete 4.
The channels visible only in HD from 20 October
The arrival of the new digital terrestrial will have an immediate impact on some thematic channels, nine from Rai and six from Mediaset. For them yes, from 20 October it will be necessary to have a new TV.
The state TV channels involved in the transition are Rai 4, Rai 5, Rai Movie, Rai Yoyo, Rai Sport + HD, Rai Storia, Rai Gulp, Rai Premium and Rai Scuola. For Mediaset, the six channels visible only on HD will be TgCom24, Mediaset Italia 2, Boing Plus, Radio 105, R101 TV and Virgin Radio TV.
How to see all channels from October 20: compatible TVs
Other good news: don’t rush to change your TV before October 20.
The first thing to do is to understand whether or not the TV in your possession is of the latest generation. To find out, just tune into any high definition channel: 501 for Raiuno Hd, 505 for Canale 5 Hd, 507 for La7 Hd. If we receive them, we can sleep peacefully. After October 20, we should just retune the channels.
It should be added that most of the televisions in our possession are compatible with the HD standard. Unsuitable appliances are those sold before 2010.
The transition to the new digital terrestrial
However, this is only the very first phase of the transition to the new digital terrestrial. Which will have its most substantial maneuver with the switch-off from the Dvb-T system to the Dvb-T2. To be precise, this is the real transition to the new digital terrestrial, which will involve the shutdown of all the old channels. When? There is time: the process will end in January 2023.
In this case it will not be enough to have an HD television. But to find out whether or not our device is suitable for the new standards we have another test, or rather two test channels: 100 for Rai and 200 for Mediaset. If we read Test HEVC Main10 on these two channels, the TV is also compatible with the new digital terrestrial: there is no need to change it.
A warning: before carrying out the test, make sure that Rai 1 and channel 5 are seen correctly. If not, re-tune the channels, because if we don’t receive the traditional channels we won’t even see the test channels.
Government Bonuses
In view of the transition to the new digital terrestrial, Mise has made two different bonuses available to those who do not have a television or decoder compatible with future standards. Let’s find out what they are.
He bonus 2020
The first of the two incentives dates back to 2020 and can be combined with the most recent one, which we will discuss in the next paragraph.
In summary, this bonus is aimed at those with an annual income of less than 20,000 euros and entitles you to a discount of 30 euros (it was 50 before the introduction of the 2021 bonus) for the purchase of a decoder or a TV compatible with the DVB-T2 system.
He bonus 2021
The most recent incentive, to which we have dedicated several articles, is a scrapping bonus, and is open to any resident in Italy who is up to date with the payment of the TV license. Each household will be entitled to only one incentive.
The scrapping bonus applies to all devices purchased before December 22, 2018. And entitles you to one 20% discount, for a maximum of 100 euros, on the purchase of a new TV.
The bonus can be used up to 31 December 2022, unless – once the 250 million euro ceiling allocated to the provision has been exhausted – there are no subsequent refinancing.
Meanwhile, on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development it is possible to download the form to request the incentive.