Johannesburg - Sentech has been given the go-ahead to roll out digital terrestrial television (DTT) and take South Africa's TV industry into the digital age.
Sentech will play a major role in the 2010 World Cup by ensuring that South Africa's analogue broadcasting infrastructure is upgraded to a digital ready terrestrial system.
This upgrade is necessary in order to meet national broadcasting requirements as well as requirements for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
"Most significant revolution"
Punted to be the most significant revolution TV has yet seen, DTT will give users access to a multi-channel, multi-platform viewing experience.
Aimed squarely at average TV viewers, DTT will finally bring true convergence into living rooms.
Digital terrestrial television (DTT) test transmissions have commenced from Sentech's main broadcast tower site in Brixton, Johannesburg.
Frans Lindeque, Sentech's acting COO, says Digital TV sets will increasingly become integrated with fixed and mobile broadband networks, allowing viewers to switch easily between watching television, surfing the internet, or even doing online shopping.
DTT thus opens the way to combine the pay-per-view services available on the internet with the simplicity of television.
Sure to "delight consumers"
"A primary benefit of DTT that is sure to delight consumers will be the clearer, sharper pictures provided by DTT, without the interference and ghosting that some residents of built-up areas or hilly terrain sometimes experience.
"DTT also offers a wide screen format and multiple language offerings per channel," Lindeque says.
Sentech, who have already started DTT test transmissions, are set to spend close to R1bn over the next five years on upgrading infrastructure.
Lindeque says that the first requirement is to upgrade their network and duplicate the current analogue network channels on a digital system. Sentech anticipates the first phase of network upgrades will take two years, with digital migration commencing in 2008.
Most of the 220 sites needed to broadcast DTT to 92% of South Africa's population are in fact already in place and only need upgrades to become fully digital, he says.
Once that process is complete, DTT and analogue systems will be run side-by-side (a dual illumination process) until South Africa is ready to switch off analogue transmission.
"Thankful" to see upgrading
Broadcasters will be thankful to see the old infrastructure upgraded.
"Dating back to the mid 1970s, South Africa's analogue infrastructure has become increasingly expensive to repair and DTT provides a timely answer to this problem," Lindeque says.
A set-top box costing in the region of R500 each is required to decode the signal, even for public broadcasting service and free-to-air channels.
Although the cost of the set-top boxes should reduce significantly over the next five years, they will still need to be subsidised if the main aim of reaching the masses in a relatively short time (4 to 5 years) is to be achieved.
It is possible that incentives will be provided to electronics companies to establish set-top box manufacturing facilities in South Africa.
This would contribute to a reduction in the cost of the set-top boxes.
The final decisions on these issues will ensure that DTT will revolutionise television in South Africa, Lindeque concludes.