Dear Editor,
It is good news for television broadcasters and viewers that finally Guyana has moved along the path to Digital TV, with the recent approval of the final draft of the roadmap that outlines the process of transition from analog to digital television broadcast.
I am pleased to see that there is expected to be more public consultations, particularly involving broadcasters who would have a significant role and would be impacted by this transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting.
One of the greatest challenges in making the switch lies in the fact that consumers will discover their old analog televisions, and even the newer digital televisions, depending on the digital broadcast standard chosen, will no longer receive over-the-air television.
Consumers will be forced to buy an external tuner (called a converter box) that receives DTV signals directly and converts them to analog for the existing television.
Alternatively, the user may purchase a new TV with a built-in digital tuner suitable for the chosen broadcast standard. The Government will need to make a decision as to who will cover the cost of the new infrastructure. Will it be Government subsidized or will the viewer be required to bear the full cost?
For the broadcaster, Digital TV encoding allows stations to offer higher definition video and better sound quality than analog, as well allowing the option of programming multiple digital subchannels (multicasting).
However, it provides these advantages at the cost of a severe limitation of broadcast range. Digital signals do not have ‘Grade B’ signal areas, and are either ‘in perfectly’ or ‘not in at all’. Further, since most stations use UHF channel allocations, their actual broadcast range will be less than before the switch.
Additionally, broadcasters may find that they will be forced to give up their individual transmission facilities, instead becoming content providers, submitting their content to a single service provider to be bundled into a digital program stream, which would then be transmitted to the television viewer.
This method immediately puts the broadcaster at the mercy of the service provider, despite whatever legal protections will be built into the final act.
With all these considerations, it is heartening to note the transition period runs from 2016 to 2020, and I hope the actual switch occurs nearer to 2020, as there are significant discussions to be had with all interested parties, and significant investments must be made to facilitate this switch, therefore both viewers and broadcasters alike must feel they receive value for their money.
Sincerely,
Annalisa Ally