D Day for Thessaloniki

Yesterday 15-12010 is the D-day (digital day switch over )though in pilot stage for nationwide TV channels relaying in Thessaloniki. Most of the western part of the city including parts of the north areas including us in Filiro and Retziki are now able to watch the 7 TV channels via 2 transmitters using MPEG 4 compression technology and COFDM mode.

The 7 TV channels are Ant1 Mega SKAI STAR MACEDONIA Alter and Alpha which last year started a consortium called Digea TV to promote the digital switch-over in Greece for the commercial TV channels (separate from the national TV network). Thessaloniki is the second point with Athens to follow in several months but in the first semester of 2010. First press release was on 16-12-09 and all members of the consortium started banners from the 1rst of this year to inform for the digital switch-over that just made from the point of Filipion central part s of the city but on the mountain) but leaving the older main point of Hortiatis (E of the city) still using analogue mode

More for this including two coverage maps in this page

http://www.digea.gr/news/details/3/8.html

As for now 15-1-2010 and 0700 LT the switch-over has been completed using two 'transponders' on 25 and 29 for the digital format, previously used by Macedonia TV , another (?? No info ) as spare while all other freqs use the following notification for this

Itr says : from 14th Jan 201 the digital TV has been arrived in Thessaloniki . Any one watching this message and can't receive the nationwide (commercial )TV channels from Hortiatis point has to do the following :

• In case yor tv set includes a MP4 decoder please re-tune it on TV channels 25 and 29

• IN case you TV set does not have any MP4 decoder , you will need an external decoder

More info can be found in www.digea.gr or call the number....

Tested my father in law's TV monitor with built in decoder yesterday 15.1 morning 0700 LT . channel 25 was with 3+1 TV channels in the clear (Antenna , Alpha Alter and spare ), while ch 29 due to some in band-QRM showed halted or low-framed video (channels available MAk TV , Mega Sky Star) , though today signal was 100% . This is possibly caused due to a 2 antenna mixed system used so far to pick signals from the two main transmission systems.

As for the picture , with the TV set is better than using a sat system

And here is a listing as found from unknown site

And here is a listing of he freqs used by the DIgea members

The full digital coverage is expected to be carried out by 2012 or 2015

As per Digea site , this is the second digital network system . The first transmission system has installed in Xylokastro (near Corinth on Peloponisos )3 months ago and the next system will be installed in Athens Larisa and Patra

It should be noted however that the Greek national TV network ERT is already transmitting in Mpeg 2 digital format in Thessaloniki since mid 2007 using the transmission facilities from Hortiatis in the TV channel 56 using a special digital package with 3+1 channels (Prisma , ,and RIK the Greek cypriot national TV channel)

Update on 10-10-10 !!

Now the digital scene has changed a bit . Now the channels that can be received (in Litohoron )are as follows:

* : signals coming from Philipion , inside Thessaloniki MP4 format (Digea network )

Other signals are coming from Hortiatis antenna farm .

IN our area the signals from 778 706 514 are NOT receivable

The transmitter on 706 shows only a DVB-T card for the moment It is there for at least 6 moths

! : From the start of October (guessing, but actually on 20.9 as a blog site mentions ) the national public network has added the transmitter on ch 26(514MHz ) with transmitters of ca 20 kW and upgraded their power on ch 56 (754 MHz ) with the same power . It is deemed that they still use the MP2 format

New update on 14-1-11

As on 14.1.11 the transmitter from the Greek national TV on channel 26 has been changed transmission site and frequency:

The transmission point changed to Phillipion (from Hortiatis)

The frequency has changed to 23 ,

replacing the analogue TV channels of ET-3 (on ch 23) NET (of 49)and ET1 (of 39).

But some problems occurred to the transmitter of the other digital package from the national carrier that consists of Prisma /Cine plus /RIK Cyprus/ and Sport PLus with 2-3 signal dropouts per day .

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NEW UPDATE 15-8-11

As per 15-8 the channel bundle on 706 MHz has started programs with the channel 4E ie a religious program from private sector. All 4 slots with the sane TV program

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A new update on 20.10.11

A new search on the band shown a new 'transponder' on channel 50 for Retziki called Depthe as provider. ON the start it shown 3 TV channels namely TV100 frm the local municipality , Thessaloniki TV and another unidentified . Several days after , checked 'today' 1/11 the transponder with 77% signal shown the picture below

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March 2012

IN the western Thessaloniki i found a not new TV channel transmitted from the TEI (tech Institutes in Sindos ) using 1080 HD definition .Signal in Retziki is only 16%

Also :

674 MHZ new with 64% signal with new Nova encoded channels including TV5 and Euronews

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Mid April 12

New transmitters as checked in Litohoron

754 RIK /Vouli/ DW /BBC News

554 DION (Caterini ) / Euro 1 / Egnatia /Nickelodeon

570 BNTV 1 /test card - from Bulgaria with 86% signal

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December 14th 2012

This is the start day for Digital TV in the whole Thessaloniki

The map is now this way :

ONly two channels still transmit in analogue , the national ERT channel 1 which is transmitted in 05 and 36 and TV100 in channel 44 which is also received OK on mountainous areas

The other digital channels are as follows:

* just two blue screens

^ ALTER has been suspended several months ago , --- is just a spare vacant channel

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NEW UPDATE NOVEMBER 2014 & 16

On November 2014 all frequencies have been redesigned by the state and the transmission point for Thessaloniki has been fixed to mountain Hortiatis and the program we could receive in the mountainous points have been disappeared leaving especially us in the top of the mountain under very difficult conditions to watch TV .

The list below is from Litohoron on late November 2014 The list for he moment does not include the special transmissions of NERIT.

Notices : 24 and 36 have signals with no program . 31 is set with these 4 programs without streams

TH : Thessaloniki CH : presume Chalkidiki transmitters

ON 16 AS SEEN IN LITOHORON

Several modifications have been made to the transmitters on 15 making a whole change of the frequencies and networks and possibly transmission powers while on May 16 HD channels have been added on 43 and on eraly June the second network on 48 has been added with only E and hoping that the remain channels will be added in the transmitter .

The terrestrial receiver has shown several strong (90+%) signals on 22 /23 /32/34/49 without any content which i suppose are self hets so i ignore them from the listing. A second receiver in another point shown strong carriers on different frequencies making me to think that they are really self hets . IN that point MRT on 21 could not been found.

Last update on 2020

Thisis the latest editing on 2020 shwing the new changes prior to the new entry of LTE on the 700 and above MHZ as updates from the above table with only reception in Thessaloniki These updates are being held around Feb 2021 as noticed from the news end of Oct

The channels have also been tested via the scanner of SDRplay with a few screenshots shown afterwards. The 9 MHZ channels are unnwon of usage

some interesting spectrun analysis is shown from the mountain place without any comments with associated program if RSP1 as tested in the middle on July