Until recently, TVP Kultura and TVP Woman were part of MUX-8. From Friday, they are available only in the MUX-6 lineup next to TVP Nauka, TVP Dokument, TVP World, TVP Polonia and TVP Rozrywka. The following remain in MUX-8: Nowa TV, WP, Zoom TV and Metro. The eighth multiplex is still broadcast in the old standard of digital terrestrial television.
MUX-3 (TVP1, TVP2, TVP3, TVP Info, TVP Sport and TVP Historia) does not have to change the standard until the end of 2023.
If someone has currently lost the signal of TVP Kultura and TVP Woman, and only receives channels from MUX-3 and MUX-8, they should replace the decoder or TV with a DVB-T2/HEVC compatible one. The other multiplexes broadcast in a newer standard.
Differences in multiplex ranges
It may also happen that the recipient has access to MUX-1 (TVP ABC, TV Trwam, Stopklatka, Eska TV, Polo TV, Antena HD, Fokus TV, TTV) MUX-2 (TVN, TVN7, Polsat, Super Polsat, TV4, TV6, TV Puls, TV Puls 2), MUX-3 and MUX-8, but not receiving MUX-6. At that time, it was probably not within the reach of the sixth multiplex, which until February 2023 still has an experimental status.
The naked eye on Emitel’s website shows that the network of transmitters in the experimental multiplex is less dense than in the eighth one. MUX-6 reaches about 90 percent. population, and MUX-8 to 97 percent. Its range was built in stages. In mid-2016, the multiplex reached only 44 percent. population. It is very likely that the same will happen with MUX-6, which will be a regular multiplex from February 2023. MUX-1 and MUX-2 reach 98.8 percent. population, MUX-3 to 99.5%, and MUX-4 (Events24 and the paid Polsat Box package) to about 70 percent.
In the initial stage of MUX-8 operation, Telewizja Polska did not want to use it due to its smaller range. She delayed signing the contract with Emitel for a long time. It was not only about the gradual construction of the transmitter network, but also the fact of broadcasting in the VHF band (other multiplexes operate in UHF). In addition, the eighth multiplex is usually transmitted in vertical (V) polarization, not horizontal (HD), like most of the other MUX broadcasts. This makes it necessary to expand the antenna system.