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The coverage of digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting in Hong Kong will be extended from 85% to about 90% of the population in early January, following the completion of eight additional fill-in transmitting stations constructed by the two free-to-air broadcasters.
"This means that more than 6.2 million persons, up by 300,000 from 5.9 million at the end of 2009, will be able to enjoy the brand new audio-visual experience brought by DTT broadcasting," a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said today (January 3).
The eight new fill-in stations extend the DTT signals to cover areas in Stanley, Yuen Long, Cheung Chau, Tai Po Tsai, Luk Keng, Ping Che, Shek O, Tai Lam Chung and Tai O. (Details at Annex.)
"We will work closely with the two broadcasters to further enhance DTT coverage. Nine more fill-in stations will be constructed by end 2011 to enable more viewers to receive DTT signals," the spokesman said.
According to a public survey conducted in September 2010, about 61% of households in Hong Kong (or some 1.4 million households) were receiving DTT services, representing a growth of 7.7 percentage points as compared with 53.3% in June 2010.
The survey also found that while the rate of using integrated digital TV (iDTV) sets to receive DTT signals continued to grow significantly, set-top boxes remained the major type of receiver chosen by viewers when they switched to DTT. Some viewers also watch DTT through their computers.
"In purchasing DTT receivers, the public are advised to select those with labels issued by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) and to make the purchase from authorised dealers," the spokesman said.
As at mid December 2010, OFTA has authorised 199 models of DTT receivers which are capable of receiving channels of standard-definition TV and high-definition TV. Among them, 139 models are iDTV sets and 60 are set-top boxes.
For more information on DTT broadcasting, please visit the Government's dedicated website at www.digitaltv.gov.hk or call the OFTA hotline at 2961 6333.
Ends/Monday, January 3, 2011
Issued at HKT 11:59
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