South Africa will complete the process of migrating from analogue to digital television by December 2013, Communications Minister Radhakrishna Padayachie announced on Friday.
The analogue switch off date was originally set for November 2011 but has since been changed to December 2013 by Cabinet.
The minister also revealed South Africa would adopt the DVB-T2 standard for the process of digital migration.
He said South Africa’s December 2013 deadline for switching off the analogue signal was in keeping with a global decision to switch off the signal by 2015.
After the December 2013 deadline, existing analogue TVs will not be able to display transmitted images but viewers who have digital TVs would not experience any problems.
Once the analogue signal has been switched off, those with analogue TVs will need a Set-Top-Box (STB).
“This little box…will receive the digital signal, convert it to analogue and then take it back to the analogue TV so that the images can be seen,” the minister explained.
Government will subsidise STBs but only for the “poorest of the poor”. Those who fell above a certain income band will be expected to buy them.
Padayachie would not speculate how much the STB would cost, saying it would depend on the capabilities the box can deliver.
He added that there were “export opportunities” with regards to STB as other African countries, who were busy with digital migration, could look to South Africa as the manufacturing base of STB.
The digital migration process could serve as a catalyst to revitalise the South African electronics manufacturing industry, Padayachie said.
One advantage of the switch from analogue to digital was that it would result in “crisper, clearer” images for TV viewers.
“Perhaps the biggest dividend out of the whole thing is that it will start liberating spectrum currently being used in the broadcasting of signal…This opens up the opportunity to have more channels,” Padayachie added.
DVB-T2 had the capability to give viewers access to 14 channels. Not only would the increase in the channels give viewers a wider range to choose from, but it would also stimulate the production and creative industries, the minister noted. – BuaNews
DVB-T2 for Dummies:
- Will I need a new TV? No, you will however need a DVB-T2 set top box to receive the signal, some newer television sets can receive dvb-t signals however you should not rush out to buy a new television until the launch is official and the details can no longer change.
- Do I need a need a new aerial/antenna? Not likely if you already receive ETV or Mnet, DVB-T2 is in the UHF spectrum in South Africa however digital signals are more sensitive and you may need to align your aerial correctly or upgrade to a better one if the signal is weak. Remember you should point the antenna towards the tower and try to have line of sight.
- How much will a Set Top Box (STB) cost? Estimates are calculated from an imported wholesale unit price of $55.00 / R374.00 (based on an order of 50 000 units) and compared to the UK where an STB costs $150.00 / R1 020.00 retail.
Head on off to the DVB-T2 topic on Wikipedia if you are a techno freak.
Alan Straton
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The current lowest UK retail price for a DVB-T2 STB is £40 ~ R440 and this includes a 20% VAT.
Lars 🙂
Thanks Lars – my highest possible figure of $150.00 / R1 020.00 was based on a report to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group dated 3 June 2010, with a quick verification from Amazon.co.uk.
At the end of the day and by the time 2013 rolls around we may very well see much lower prices than now being paid in the UK for the Set Top Boxes.
I am sure that you can help me out with this question, Lars:
Set Top Boxes are intelligent and can contain what is called ‘Security key signing’ which ‘Provides unique protection to each deployment’ – am I correct in assuming that this can be coupled to the TV License and that people who do not pay will be cut off?