Chile. Megamedia, formerly known as Megavision, has made a complete transition to digital television with the company's GatesAir Maxiva transmitters .
Megamedia shut down its GatesAir (Harris) Platinum VHF 45kW transmitter in Santiago after 34 years of service. Megamedia's DTV transition, now complete, includes GatesAir Maxiva liquid-cooled UHF DTV transmitters installed nationwide.
Digital and analog transmitters at its main broadcast site in Santiago operated in parallel until a week before the official cessation of analog television transmission on April 15, 2024, as mandated by a 2019 Chilean government directive. The DTV signal from the Maxiva liquid-cooled transmitter in Santiago is complemented by a network of approximately two dozen smaller regional transmitters that covers most of Chile and reaches more than seven million television homes.
Megamedia's RF engineer, Roberto Hilario Silva Cruces, has operated analog and digital transmitters for several decades. By virtue of the seamless continuity when Harris Broadcast became GatesAir in 2014, Silva continued to work with many of the same company representatives during the same period.
"If it weren't for the mandatory shutdown of analog TV in Chile, this former Platinum transmitter would probably have continued to perform well possibly for another decade or more," Silva said. "During its 34 years of operation, this solid-state transmitter was in service 99.9% of the time and went off the air only for very limited routine maintenance."
While a 10 kW Harris transmitter was purchased 15 years ago for redundancy, Silva says it was rarely needed because of the Platinum main transmitter's exceptional performance. And despite changing its name to GatesAir in 2014, it has always been able to quickly get the parts it needed from the factory. He is also an advocate for GatesAir's consistently responsive customer service and technical support over the years.
Megamedia ceremoniously removed the old Platinum transmitter on April 8 by recording a video and taking photographs of its momentous final broadcast, and Silva hopes to preserve parts of the transmitter as an important relic of the network's history.
"The transition to digital television in the CALA region requires a thoughtful approach and careful balance considering the different DTV transition schedules and standards, as well as the fact that many countries continue to broadcast simultaneously in analogue and digital," said Mark Goins, Vice President of Global Sales at GatesAir. "Chile is no different and we congratulate Megamedia on a successful transition and share our appreciation for our long-standing working relationship with Mr. Silva and his engineering team."
