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Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Frederick Ma, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):
Question:
I have recently received views on digital broadcasting standards from members of the public, and have written to the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) to enquire about the matter. OFTA replied that if the satellite master antenna television (SMATV) systems installed in buildings are upgraded to ones which can receive digital video broadcasting (DVB) satellite signals, satellite television programmes such as those broadcast on high-resolution integrated channels of the China Central Television (CCTV), etc., may be viewed with television sets with built-in DVB decoders, and it is not necessary to install external decoders. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) television sets with built-in DVB decoders can receive channels (e.g. high-resolution integrated channels of CCTV) broadcast with DVB; if they can, of the works required to be conducted on the SMATV systems of private buildings for receiving such signals; and
(b) the Government has issued to the trade concerned relevant technical guidelines on the modification of master antenna television systems, and publicised the relevant information among the trade and the public?
Reply:
Madam President,
Hong Kong has all along adopted an "open sky" policy for reception of satellite television. Hong Kong people may choose to receive some 400 free satellite television programme channels from all over the world, the majority of which being transmitted digitally and with three being high definition (HD) channels (including the Hi-Vision channel of the China Central Television). Nonetheless, television sets available in the market are for direct reception of analogue or digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals and not satellite television signals. It is also impracticable if not impossible for residents in multi-storey buildings to install individual satellite television reception systems (i.e. dish antennae) in their flats. Most residents in Hong Kong are thus receiving signals of satellite television programme channels through satellite master antenna television (SMATV) systems installed in their buildings.
My reply to the question is as follows:
(a) Residents in multi-storey buildings currently receive satellite television programmes via the SMATV systems which convert satellite signals into analogue terrestrial television signals. As the analogue format does not support HD television, pictures of the converted satellite television programmes received by the residents are not of the HD quality.
Technically, it is feasible to enable reception and viewing of HD satellite television programmes without any change in picture quality. Household viewers would need to arrange for the in-building SMATV systems to convert the satellite signals into the signals of "National Standard" which has been adopted for the DTT service in Hong Kong. They can then enjoy the HD satellite TV programmes through their existing television sets with DTT set-top boxes installed, or new integrated television sets with built-in DTT decoders.
(b) Currently, Hong Kong does not have a strong market demand for HD satellite television. So far, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) has not received any application from the SMATV system operators for spectrum allocation to enable their in-building SMATV systems to transmit signals of HD satellite television channels. The OFTA would issue relevant technical guidelines for the trade's reference in response to prevailing market situations if necessary. At the same time, the OFTA has been maintaining close contact with suppliers and manufacturers of electrical appliances to keep track of the development and supply of relevant equipment.
Ends/Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:31
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