The first High Definition (HD) terrestrial broadcast of an Irish sporting event takes place this afternoon.
While digital broadcasts are common on satellite and cable, the Leinster Football Final between Laois and Dublin at Croke Park will be the first such transmission terrestrially.
The broadcast is a trial to prepare for the eventual end to analogue due by 2012 under EU plans.
Launching the transmission this afternoon, Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan, said Ireland should have turned off its analogue signal well before the target date.
"I would also encourage RTÉ, the BCI [Broadcasting Commission of Ireland] and ComReg to work together to roll-out digital terrestrial services over the next 12 months so that the citizens of Ireland can start to benefit from the digital age.
We want consumers to have a real choice in how they access Irish programmes and we want a new digital platform which can provide new channels and broadcasting services to every home in the country," Mr Ryan said.
This afternoon's broadcast is the second phase of the HDTV trial and involves some of the 500 households in counties Dublin and Louth issued with special equipment since last March.
From tomorrow they will be a able to access a specially created channel containing HD content content from RTÉ, TV3 and TG4.
The High Definition trial was organised by the three broadcasters, as well as Esat BT and the Consumer Electronics Distributors Association (Ceda).
Chair of the group, John Hunt, who is director of operations at RTÉ Television, said: "High Definition is important to broadcasters and it is vital that the terrestrial providers do not get left behind in the development of improved services made available by such technology."