Apsattv
02-03-2008, 09:37 PM
From http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2008/02/123_19694.html
Broadcasters will stop transmitting analog TV signals by Dec. 31, 2012, despite poor preparation, which could wreak havoc with people who use set-top or rooftop antennas to watch TV.
A special committee on broadcasting and communication at the National Assembly approved a bill last Friday that confirmed the deadline. After the date, TV will only be transmitted via digital signals, meaning people will need digital TVs or have to buy additional digital tuners for analog TVs.
The Ministry of Information and Communication and the Korean Broadcasting Commission first proposed the analog-to-digital transition in 2006.
``The transition of terrestrial TV to digital signals will provide video and audio quality six to seven times clearer than analog broadcasting. It will also contribute to the nation's economy by creating new markets in related industries,'' the ministry said in a statement.
The nationwide switch to digital TV is taking place in many rich countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Japan, too. But worldwide, digital is still the minority. According to Graham Kill, CEO of Irdeto, only around 10 percent of TVs in the world are digital, while the rest work on analog signals.
In Korea, many households already watch cable and satellite TVs and they won't be affected much by the cutoff of the analog TV signal. The cable and satellite TV companies will also provide digital-analog converters for subscribers who have analog-only TVs.
But people who watch TVs using rooftop antennas or v-shaped antennas will have to get additional devices. The government is to spend 60.8 billion won subsidizing digital tuners for low-income households, but that amount is only enough for some 100,000 sets. By contrast, the U.S. government is issuing coupons for every household that demands a digital tuner for free.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communication, only 31.8 percent of TV sets in Korea are digital-capable, far lower than 77.4 percent and 60 percent in Britain and the United States. Even in Japan, which started digital broadcasting in 2003, two years later than Korea, about 51 percent of TVs are suited for digital signals. Japan is to cease broadcasting analog TV in July 2011.
Though the number of digital TVs sold is steadily increasing, there are still significant sales of analog TVs because they are less expensive. Among TVs sold last year in Korea, 1.47 million were digital and 810,000 were analog.
After broadcasters stop transmitting analog TV, the government is to resell the radio frequency bands for other uses such as faster mobile phone and wireless Internet-protocol TV services.
Broadcasters will stop transmitting analog TV signals by Dec. 31, 2012, despite poor preparation, which could wreak havoc with people who use set-top or rooftop antennas to watch TV.
A special committee on broadcasting and communication at the National Assembly approved a bill last Friday that confirmed the deadline. After the date, TV will only be transmitted via digital signals, meaning people will need digital TVs or have to buy additional digital tuners for analog TVs.
The Ministry of Information and Communication and the Korean Broadcasting Commission first proposed the analog-to-digital transition in 2006.
``The transition of terrestrial TV to digital signals will provide video and audio quality six to seven times clearer than analog broadcasting. It will also contribute to the nation's economy by creating new markets in related industries,'' the ministry said in a statement.
The nationwide switch to digital TV is taking place in many rich countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Japan, too. But worldwide, digital is still the minority. According to Graham Kill, CEO of Irdeto, only around 10 percent of TVs in the world are digital, while the rest work on analog signals.
In Korea, many households already watch cable and satellite TVs and they won't be affected much by the cutoff of the analog TV signal. The cable and satellite TV companies will also provide digital-analog converters for subscribers who have analog-only TVs.
But people who watch TVs using rooftop antennas or v-shaped antennas will have to get additional devices. The government is to spend 60.8 billion won subsidizing digital tuners for low-income households, but that amount is only enough for some 100,000 sets. By contrast, the U.S. government is issuing coupons for every household that demands a digital tuner for free.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communication, only 31.8 percent of TV sets in Korea are digital-capable, far lower than 77.4 percent and 60 percent in Britain and the United States. Even in Japan, which started digital broadcasting in 2003, two years later than Korea, about 51 percent of TVs are suited for digital signals. Japan is to cease broadcasting analog TV in July 2011.
Though the number of digital TVs sold is steadily increasing, there are still significant sales of analog TVs because they are less expensive. Among TVs sold last year in Korea, 1.47 million were digital and 810,000 were analog.
After broadcasters stop transmitting analog TV, the government is to resell the radio frequency bands for other uses such as faster mobile phone and wireless Internet-protocol TV services.