Television sets marked "High Definition TV (HDTV) ready" does not mean they will be able to receive the digital broadcasting that debuts in November, warns Department of Communications director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole.
Shope-Mafole made this statement late last week during a parliamentary briefing, during which deputy communications minister Roy Padayachie appealed to the media to help spread the word about the possibility of TV dumping during the digital migration period.
The country is due to switch on the new digital terrestrial TV (DTTV) broadcasting signal on 1 November and a period of dual-illumination, when it will be transmitted alongside the current analogue signal, will end on 1 November 2011.
During the briefing, communications minister Ivy Mastsepe-Casaburri said she expected her department to finalise its overall strategy for DTTV migration in June this year, almost a year later than it was first expected. This strategy should detail a number of issues, such as the manufacturing and specifications of set-top boxes (STBs) that will be used to decode the digital signals for reception on the current generation of analogue TV sets.
"We are particularly worried that the country will become a dumping ground for manufacturers who need to get rid of old stocks," Padayachie commented during the briefing.
Shope-Mafole explained that HDTV referred to the resolution and not the ability of the TV set to receive a digital signal.
"One will still need a set-top box," she said.
According to Web site www.hdready.org.uk, an HD-ready TV set can display a resolution of up to five times that of current TV sets, allowing for cinematic-type displays. However, such a TV set would still need a STB to receive signals that allow for the increased resolution to give full effect.
In his state of the nation address in February, president Thabo Mbeki said about 50% of SA's population would receive DTTV signals by the switch-on date. However, the national signal distributor has indicated this would be unlikely as it lacked the funding to put in the required number of transmitters to meet this target.
Furthermore, because the STB specs had not been set yet, there are expected to be few, if any, of the devices available to the market.
Shope-Mafole said these were not issues as there would be little real demand for the STBs on 1 November.
"The real demand and necessity to own a STB would only come towards the end of the dual-illumination period," she said.
The DOC expects STBs to be sold for between R400 and R500, depending on the features included and how the devices are distributed. The department also wants to make government information and services available over the system.
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