On January 15, they switch off analog TV in the central provinces

Next Monday, January 15, the analog television signal will be blacked out central provinces to give way to the digital era, reported William Del Río, head of radio and television of the National Administration of Public Services (Asep).

Given the success of the first blackout for Panama, Colón and Panama Oeste last year, it is now the province’s turn Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos.

In preparation for this event, This Wednesday there will be a two-minute practice in those provinces so that those viewers who have not yet set up their equipment can do so before next Monday.

The transition to digital television is a a process that lasted more than 10 yearsreported Del Río, who explained that it took time for the receiver market to prepare for this migration.

Panama has adapted DVB-T digital signal which is used throughout Europe and in Colombia, at the level of Latin America.

The user customization was fast and in the first phase, for example, the concerns that existed revolved around the issue of programming boxes, televisions or adjusting the antenna, the official said.

Last October, Asep decided to launch a public consultation to advance the blackout analog signal in the sectors where it is necessary.

For the installation of digital television, the country is divided into four regions, and after the central provinces it will be their turn Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro.

However, instead of waiting a year as happened between the first two phases, this time it will be only six months, since for these provinces in the month of June.

The last province to introduce digital television will be Darien.

Until October there were nine registered retailers and 22 channels in an open and free signal in a digital format that includes better image, sound and data quality in digital information.

At the market level, everything 43 inch televisions or less that are sold in the country must have a built-in digital tuner that they work with in Panama.