Spain’s La 1 begins regular Ultra High Definition broadcasts
FEBRUARY 9, 2024 12.09 EUROPE/LONDON BY JULIAN CLOVER

Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has launched a regular Ultra High Definition feed of its fist channel.

La 1 is being distributed via DTT, the first time a generalist channel has been broadcast on the Spanish network, and reaches 99% of the population.

RTVE has rights to the Olympic Games in Paris and will broadcast coverage between July 26 and August 11 this year.

“It will be very easy to watch it. Regarding the bandwidth, it will be double the usual, so it will look “very good”, said Víctor Sánchez García, director of Media and Operations at RTVE, said at an event hosted by Torrespaña.

Ángel García Castillejo, director of Audiovisual Policies, highlighted the importance of the milestone to guarantee the right to information in all Spanish homes. “We are demonstrating with our work and our effort to the European Commission an efficient use of that scarce value that is the radio spectrum. We have shown that we can offer better image and sound quality in the open air”.

“With consensus as those reached in this sector of Ultra High Definition, we can be proud of all Spaniards. Our thanks to the UHD Spain association and all RTVE colleagues for achieving this (…) We already have an accumulated and collective experience. We have been working for years with UHD SPAIN, among others, testing broadcasts to make this technology possible”.

Spain is using DVB-T and HEVC, meaning the vast majority of modern TV sets are compatible with the format.